POTTY TRAINING 101
The question we get asked the most often? Is the dog potty trained? And most often our answer is no. We say no because the dog may not be when he gets to your house. It doesn't always transfer well. But we would rather you were happily surprised then disappointed.
So how do you get your new dog trained?
It doesn't really matter whether you adopted a puppy or an older dog. The training is basically the same. An older dog may catch on faster but that's about the only difference.
We will tell you two different ways to train your dog to potty outside.
Potty Training on a Leash:
-When you get your new dog home put him on a leash, take him on a tour of your home. Let the dog sniff around and really get to know their new surroundings.
-Immediately following the tour, with dog still on leash, take the dog outside to potty. Encourage the dog, telling them to go potty or whatever language you will consistently use. Give him a couple minutes to find a spot.
- If the dog does go potty, praise him with lots of love and verbal praise. Let the dog off the leash for some play time (about 10 minutes). Put the leash back on the dog and go inside.
-If the dog does NOT go potty, return to the house with the dog still on leash. Keep the dog on the leash and close to you watching him carefully. Watch for the dog to give you signs he has to potty.
-It's time to potty when a dog is circling and sniffing....after a playtime....after a nap...about a half hour after napping.
-Watch for the potty signs. When he is exhibiting those signals, take the dog back outside. Again, if the dog potties take him off leash and let him have some free playtime. If the dog does not potty, go back in the house with the leash on until he again exhibits potty signs.
-The trick here is to catch your dog when he really needs to go potty so he can do the right thing, be praised and then know what it is you want him to do. The leash simply is a way of keeping you and he very close together so you will not miss the dog signaling you. The same thing can be done without the leash, however, you will have to be able to keep a constant eye on the dog to catch his signals.
Potty Training with a Crate:
Crate training is basically the same thing as leash training but the crate serves as the "leash". Any time that you are not watching your dog very carefully, put the dog in the crate. Many dogs will not potty in an area that they feel is their "bed". You will need to take the dog out every hour or so. Reward the dog generously when they potty outside.
Do NOT punish a dog when they potty in the house. You will be teaching that dog to hide the behavior and you don't want the dog pottying behind the couch. Rather use positive training and catch the dog doing the right thing and praise them.
The question we get asked the most often? Is the dog potty trained? And most often our answer is no. We say no because the dog may not be when he gets to your house. It doesn't always transfer well. But we would rather you were happily surprised then disappointed.
So how do you get your new dog trained?
It doesn't really matter whether you adopted a puppy or an older dog. The training is basically the same. An older dog may catch on faster but that's about the only difference.
We will tell you two different ways to train your dog to potty outside.
Potty Training on a Leash:
-When you get your new dog home put him on a leash, take him on a tour of your home. Let the dog sniff around and really get to know their new surroundings.
-Immediately following the tour, with dog still on leash, take the dog outside to potty. Encourage the dog, telling them to go potty or whatever language you will consistently use. Give him a couple minutes to find a spot.
- If the dog does go potty, praise him with lots of love and verbal praise. Let the dog off the leash for some play time (about 10 minutes). Put the leash back on the dog and go inside.
-If the dog does NOT go potty, return to the house with the dog still on leash. Keep the dog on the leash and close to you watching him carefully. Watch for the dog to give you signs he has to potty.
-It's time to potty when a dog is circling and sniffing....after a playtime....after a nap...about a half hour after napping.
-Watch for the potty signs. When he is exhibiting those signals, take the dog back outside. Again, if the dog potties take him off leash and let him have some free playtime. If the dog does not potty, go back in the house with the leash on until he again exhibits potty signs.
-The trick here is to catch your dog when he really needs to go potty so he can do the right thing, be praised and then know what it is you want him to do. The leash simply is a way of keeping you and he very close together so you will not miss the dog signaling you. The same thing can be done without the leash, however, you will have to be able to keep a constant eye on the dog to catch his signals.
Potty Training with a Crate:
Crate training is basically the same thing as leash training but the crate serves as the "leash". Any time that you are not watching your dog very carefully, put the dog in the crate. Many dogs will not potty in an area that they feel is their "bed". You will need to take the dog out every hour or so. Reward the dog generously when they potty outside.
Do NOT punish a dog when they potty in the house. You will be teaching that dog to hide the behavior and you don't want the dog pottying behind the couch. Rather use positive training and catch the dog doing the right thing and praise them.