If you're in the process of preparing your home for your new, furry addition, it's time to prepare for the most important lesson your new puppy will ever learn—house training. Without proper house training, your puppy will relieve itself all over your home. Those messes might not be difficult to clean up while your puppy is small, but once your dog is full-grown, you're going to be grateful that you took the time right now to house train.
If you've never house trained a puppy before, you might be concerned about the amount of work that will go into the process. Don't be. While it's true that house training does require time and effort, if you stick to the program, your pup will be fully trained in no time at all. The trick is finding the right combination of training tactics. Here are two tactics to get you started.
Choose Food Carefully
You might think that puppy food is all the same. Unfortunately, that's not entirely true. While all puppy food is designed to nourish your puppy, not all brands contain the same ingredients. In order to make house training easier, you should choose a food that contains the least amount of fillers and artificial additives.
Puppies have a hard time digesting fillers and additives, which means they're going to have more bowel movements. Choosing a natural puppy food with less fillers will help your pup digest more of its food, which will translate into fewer bowel movements—a plus when you're trying to get your puppy on a schedule.
Limit Free Time
Puppies aren't born with the ability to control their bodily functions. That's where house training comes in. During the training process, you need to limit their free time around the house. There are a couple of ways to do that.
Crate Training
Crate training is a great way to train your puppy, especially if you spend a lot of time away from the house. The trick is to choose a crate, or dog carrier, that's just big enough for your pup to stand up, lay down, and turn around in. This will prevent your pup from using one end of the crate as its bathroom facilities and the other end as its den.
Until you have your pup on a schedule, leave it in the crate for most of the day. Take it out for feeding and then immediately take your pup to its outdoor bathroom spot. Once it relieves itself outside, give it a treat and then allow it about 5 minutes of down time in the house.
Umbilical Cord Training
If you spend the majority of your time at home, umbilical cord training is an excellent way to house train your new pup. The trick is to keep your pup attached to you throughout the day, using a collar and leash. Your puppy will walk with you all day, which will allow you the opportunity to learn its bathroom signs. As soon as it starts to sniff around, turn in circles, or squat, you can say "no" and head outside to its bathroom spot.
If you're about to pick up your new puppy, make sure you're ready to start house training right away. Use the tips provided here and talk to a breeder like Bar R Kennels for more advice on how to make the process easier.
Share11 October 2016
After our youngest daughter was in high school, I realized that I liked having people around to take care of and that my window for doing that was closing quickly. Instead of having more children, I decided to see about adopting a pet or two. I looked everywhere for a dog and a cat that would meld well with my lifestyle, and it was incredible to find a pet that I really connected with. However, I was able to find pets that I absolutely adored, and so I made them a part of our home. This blog is here to help new pet owners to adjust to their new situation and to learn to love everything about having new pets.