House Training Your First Puppy
Adopting a new puppy can be an exciting moment as a pet parent. Housetraining can help pet parents and puppies adapt to living in the same environment, leading to a better life. Through house training, you will develop a potty routine for your puppy over time.
When Can I Start Potty Training?
It is never too early to start potty training a puppy. However, puppies have a small bladder than mature dogs do. This can lead to more frequent needs to go potty and more frequent accidents. Patience and consistency is key to success with potty training. Getting your puppy used to where and when they can go potty helps them get used to a routine earlier, which they can continue using as they mature.
Find a Bathroom Spot
Through housetraining, you can encourage your puppy to use a common spot outside when they need to go potty. Always taking your puppy to a consistent spot will teach them where the best place is to go. You can also encourage them through praise when they go potty in the desired spot outside. This is beneficial to playing or hanging out in your backyard without having to worry about stepping in something accidentally.
Use a Consistent Feeding Schedule
Using a consistent feeding schedule can help your puppy get used to when they might need to go potty. When they are young, puppies are fed up to three times a day. As they get older, this changes to two feedings per day. By feeding your dog at the same times every day, they will develop a routine around when to expect food and when they might need to go potty.
How Long Does It Take to Potty Train a Puppy?
The length of time it takes to potty train will vary for each puppy. This depends on a variety of factors: consistency in training, maturity of your puppy, and other factors involved in your environment. If you want your puppy to be potty trained as soon as possible, have patience and be consistent day to day. Use the same training methods on a daily basis and adjust when needed based on how your puppy responds to training. However, do not adjust too often, as potty training requires continued routine to develop over time.
Choosing a Training Program
The program you choose will depend on the goals you want to achieve through training. For younger puppies, you may want to opt for virtual training if they have not received their vaccines yet. This is the safer option for puppies so that they are not exposed to other dogs and diseases or contagions that their immune system is not built up to protect against yet.
Find a training program that fits your schedule and allows you to remain consistent with your training. When you are consistent, you will begin to develop a closer relationship with your puppy as they exhibit desired behavior that you encourage.
