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Toilet training

Melanie Pay
Melanie Pay

This document provides guidance on toilet training a puppy. It emphasizes establishing a designated toilet area and routine, closely supervising the puppy, and using positive reinforcement when the puppy eliminates correctly. Crate training is also recommended to encourage the puppy to keep its sleeping area clean and alert owners when it needs to go out. With patience and consistency using these techniques, owners can fully house train their puppy.

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PUPPY PRESCHOOL TOILET TRAINING Puppies will always have accidents before they fully comprehend where the desired toilet area is. Toilet training requires time and patience, but your hard work in the beginning will mean a lot less work in the long run. This hand out is designed to provide information on how best to toilet train your puppy based on where you want the pup to eliminate. Firstly NEVER EVER punish your puppy for having an accident inside. Your puppy will not understand that you are punishing the act of toileting inside, but rather the act of going to the toilet. This creates fear and will generally lead to the puppy hiding from you to go to the toilet. This is when you start to find presents behind the television cabinet, because the pup has learnt that going to the toilet in front of you will lead to punishment. Secondly Not all puppies are the same. I had my Golden Retriever fully house trained in three days. He had three accidents the entire time and all of them were my fault for not noticing him asking to go out. My second pup however, took seven weeks to toilet train and still had accidents after that. This is partly due to the difference in the dogs and mostly because my lifestyle was different to when I had my first pup. Do not put expectations on your new puppy based on previous dogs. Patience and vigilance is needed when toilet training a puppy. Whether you want your dog to toilet outside or inside on newspaper, the following steps should be taken to ensure your dog understands where you want it to go. Establish a toilet area: Pick a location where you want your puppy to eliminate - Take your pup to this spot consistently to reinforce that association with toileting and that area. Choose your location wisely - If the pup has to run down the hallway, wait at the door and then run across the yard, you are making things harder for you and your pup. Choose a spot close to where the pup has access to reduce the journey it takes to get there. Take your lifestyle into consideration - Dont decide that you want your pup only to eliminate outside and then restrict the pups access to that area when you are not home. Think about where the pup is going to sleep and be when you are away before you choose a dedicated spot. Training for inside and outside toileting areas is more difficult than having one spot, but not impossible. Make the toilet smell like a toilet - When the pup does soil inside, having gloves, a bucket and a sponge can assist in creating your toilet spot. Soaking up the urine and putting it in the desired spot can help tell your puppy where it needs to go. Ah the joys of puppy ownership! Yes, I am aware that this is gross and you dont have to follow this tip! Dont let the house smell like a toilet! Using a cleaning agent with a fragrance often encourages dogs to mark back over that spot ooh the pine-o clean dog has been here, I will toilet here too. Bio-zet (washing detergent mixed with warm water) or odour eating products such as Bac-To-Nature will eliminate the odour while not leaving one of its own. Establish a Routine: Scheduling frequent toilet breaks will minimise accidents - Puppy should always be taken to the toilet after naps, playing and eating. Every 1-2 hours, ask yourself if your pup has been to the toilet. If the answer is no, take him/her out just in case. If possible, schedule your puppys feeding times - Having consistency in when the pup eats, will assist in a more consistent schedule for eliminating. Put a word to it - Using words like go toilet or quick-quicks can trigger the act of going to the toilet. Praise like a maniac when you have instructed the pup to go toilet and he/she does it (owning a dog involves looking foolish sometimes!). Do not wait until you are back inside to praise, its there and then or nothing at all.
Supervise: Dont give puppy free reign of the house if you dont want him to soil it - Confining puppy to an area will allow you to better supervise him/her and minimise accidents. Baby gates and pens are great for this, or keeping the pup on lead Learn the signs - Sniffing, walking around in a circle and that staggered walk are all key signs that puppy is about to eliminate. Catch them in the act and take them outside. When you know something is about to happen, this is the best time to use your word and praise enormously when puppy goes. Crate Training Using a travel crate is a wonderful way to housetrain a puppy at night. Youll forgive me for suggesting it when they start letting you sleep through the night, I promise! Crate Training creates a den-like atmosphere for a puppy and makes the most of a puppys natural instinct to keep clean. A pup will not soil on its sleeping area unless it has absolutely no alternative (for this reason, crate training is not always ideal for puppies purchased in a pet store, as they have been forced to soil their sleeping and eating area). Using a crate encourages the pup to have a designated sleeping area and alert you when he/she needs to go to the toilet. It is also useful for travelling in the car, having a confinement area when visiting others and offering a safe-haven area for you and your pup to get some much needed time out. The crate is NEVER to be used as a place to punish your dog it is always a place of comfort. Some basic steps of crate training are: 1. Put all of the pups bedding in the crate to create a cozy atmosphere. 2. Introduce the pup to the crate slowly locking them in there straight away will cause unnecessary stress. Make the crate pleasant, feed meals in there with the gate open. Pup should never be forced into the crate. You can start with the food bowl only just in there, then slowly move it further back. 3. When the pup is comfortable with being in the crate with the door open and will walk in readily, feed a meal at the back of the crate and carefully close the door while pup is eating. Open the door when he finishes his meal. 4. After each success, leave the door closed for longer periods of time. If pup cries, you may have moved too fast and should use a shorter period next time. Do not let the pup out immediately if he does cry though, wait until he settles a bit and then let him out. Crying should not be the way to get out. 5. Leave pup in the crate for a period where the pup is comfortable and release him before any crying begins. Do not make a big fuss over getting out of the crate being in there is what is being rewarded. 6. When the pup is showing no anxiety with being in the crate, you can confine him/her for short periods while youre at home, leaving a chew toy or something nice in there. You can start letting them sleep in there over night and let them out when they cry/scratch to go to the toilet. Once they have been to the toilet, put puppy back in the crate with minimal fuss and do not let him back out if he starts crying again. As hard as it can be, ignoring it and only letting pup out to go to the toilet will pay off in the long run and eventually your pup will be able to hold on long enough to sleep through the night. You will be able to wake up every morning to no accidents and have a pup that understands where the toilet spot is and how to alert you when they need to go. Copyright Melanie Pay 2010. Please do not reproduce without permission. This information does not seek to replace training or advice. Please see a veterinary behaviourist (not a vet) if you are having serious behavioural issues with your dog.

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Toilet training

  • 1. PUPPY PRESCHOOL TOILET TRAINING Puppies will always have accidents before they fully comprehend where the desired toilet area is. Toilet training requires time and patience, but your hard work in the beginning will mean a lot less work in the long run. This hand out is designed to provide information on how best to toilet train your puppy based on where you want the pup to eliminate. Firstly NEVER EVER punish your puppy for having an accident inside. Your puppy will not understand that you are punishing the act of toileting inside, but rather the act of going to the toilet. This creates fear and will generally lead to the puppy hiding from you to go to the toilet. This is when you start to find presents behind the television cabinet, because the pup has learnt that going to the toilet in front of you will lead to punishment. Secondly Not all puppies are the same. I had my Golden Retriever fully house trained in three days. He had three accidents the entire time and all of them were my fault for not noticing him asking to go out. My second pup however, took seven weeks to toilet train and still had accidents after that. This is partly due to the difference in the dogs and mostly because my lifestyle was different to when I had my first pup. Do not put expectations on your new puppy based on previous dogs. Patience and vigilance is needed when toilet training a puppy. Whether you want your dog to toilet outside or inside on newspaper, the following steps should be taken to ensure your dog understands where you want it to go. Establish a toilet area: Pick a location where you want your puppy to eliminate - Take your pup to this spot consistently to reinforce that association with toileting and that area. Choose your location wisely - If the pup has to run down the hallway, wait at the door and then run across the yard, you are making things harder for you and your pup. Choose a spot close to where the pup has access to reduce the journey it takes to get there. Take your lifestyle into consideration - Dont decide that you want your pup only to eliminate outside and then restrict the pups access to that area when you are not home. Think about where the pup is going to sleep and be when you are away before you choose a dedicated spot. Training for inside and outside toileting areas is more difficult than having one spot, but not impossible. Make the toilet smell like a toilet - When the pup does soil inside, having gloves, a bucket and a sponge can assist in creating your toilet spot. Soaking up the urine and putting it in the desired spot can help tell your puppy where it needs to go. Ah the joys of puppy ownership! Yes, I am aware that this is gross and you dont have to follow this tip! Dont let the house smell like a toilet! Using a cleaning agent with a fragrance often encourages dogs to mark back over that spot ooh the pine-o clean dog has been here, I will toilet here too. Bio-zet (washing detergent mixed with warm water) or odour eating products such as Bac-To-Nature will eliminate the odour while not leaving one of its own. Establish a Routine: Scheduling frequent toilet breaks will minimise accidents - Puppy should always be taken to the toilet after naps, playing and eating. Every 1-2 hours, ask yourself if your pup has been to the toilet. If the answer is no, take him/her out just in case. If possible, schedule your puppys feeding times - Having consistency in when the pup eats, will assist in a more consistent schedule for eliminating. Put a word to it - Using words like go toilet or quick-quicks can trigger the act of going to the toilet. Praise like a maniac when you have instructed the pup to go toilet and he/she does it (owning a dog involves looking foolish sometimes!). Do not wait until you are back inside to praise, its there and then or nothing at all.
  • 2. Supervise: Dont give puppy free reign of the house if you dont want him to soil it - Confining puppy to an area will allow you to better supervise him/her and minimise accidents. Baby gates and pens are great for this, or keeping the pup on lead Learn the signs - Sniffing, walking around in a circle and that staggered walk are all key signs that puppy is about to eliminate. Catch them in the act and take them outside. When you know something is about to happen, this is the best time to use your word and praise enormously when puppy goes. Crate Training Using a travel crate is a wonderful way to housetrain a puppy at night. Youll forgive me for suggesting it when they start letting you sleep through the night, I promise! Crate Training creates a den-like atmosphere for a puppy and makes the most of a puppys natural instinct to keep clean. A pup will not soil on its sleeping area unless it has absolutely no alternative (for this reason, crate training is not always ideal for puppies purchased in a pet store, as they have been forced to soil their sleeping and eating area). Using a crate encourages the pup to have a designated sleeping area and alert you when he/she needs to go to the toilet. It is also useful for travelling in the car, having a confinement area when visiting others and offering a safe-haven area for you and your pup to get some much needed time out. The crate is NEVER to be used as a place to punish your dog it is always a place of comfort. Some basic steps of crate training are: 1. Put all of the pups bedding in the crate to create a cozy atmosphere. 2. Introduce the pup to the crate slowly locking them in there straight away will cause unnecessary stress. Make the crate pleasant, feed meals in there with the gate open. Pup should never be forced into the crate. You can start with the food bowl only just in there, then slowly move it further back. 3. When the pup is comfortable with being in the crate with the door open and will walk in readily, feed a meal at the back of the crate and carefully close the door while pup is eating. Open the door when he finishes his meal. 4. After each success, leave the door closed for longer periods of time. If pup cries, you may have moved too fast and should use a shorter period next time. Do not let the pup out immediately if he does cry though, wait until he settles a bit and then let him out. Crying should not be the way to get out. 5. Leave pup in the crate for a period where the pup is comfortable and release him before any crying begins. Do not make a big fuss over getting out of the crate being in there is what is being rewarded. 6. When the pup is showing no anxiety with being in the crate, you can confine him/her for short periods while youre at home, leaving a chew toy or something nice in there. You can start letting them sleep in there over night and let them out when they cry/scratch to go to the toilet. Once they have been to the toilet, put puppy back in the crate with minimal fuss and do not let him back out if he starts crying again. As hard as it can be, ignoring it and only letting pup out to go to the toilet will pay off in the long run and eventually your pup will be able to hold on long enough to sleep through the night. You will be able to wake up every morning to no accidents and have a pup that understands where the toilet spot is and how to alert you when they need to go. Copyright Melanie Pay 2010. Please do not reproduce without permission. This information does not seek to replace training or advice. Please see a veterinary behaviourist (not a vet) if you are having serious behavioural issues with your dog.