Spring is a time when a lot of people Get new puppies or adult dogs in their Families so I'm recently starting to get A flood of questions about caring for These new pets and one of the most Common questions that I get is what tips Do you have for potty training to make It as easy and successful as possible I Do have nine tips that I share with Everybody who asks me this these are Kind of my go-to things when I'm talking To people about potty training their dog Exactly you know what tips to follow so That this can really be a successful Thing for you and for your pet so that You can both feel good about the process Of potty training so that it's as quick And painless as possible for both of you So my first tip is to limit your dog's Freedom in the house this is a huge Mistake that a lot of pet parents make Especially after the puppy starts to get Comfortable those first few days even For the first week or two the dog's not Really left alone a lot because you're Playing with the new dog you're Interacting you're bonding your family Members are all spending time with the Dogs and then after that kind of initial Break-in period you know you sort of go Back to life as usual Um and you know the dog doesn't get as Much one-on-one attention this is when The dog is more comfortable in the home
They might start wandering a little bit And you really want to make sure that You limit their freedom so you can use a Playpener or pet gate to keep them Confined in an area if your dog has free Reign he may create his own little potty Place his own little potty area and That's going to be a major problem Because once that habit is created it's Really hard to break it so you want to Start out by limiting that freedom it's Imperative that you catch your dog in The act and bring him Outdoors where you Want him to go to the bathroom Immediately you don't want him to go to The bathroom in the house and then you Find it 15 minutes half an hour two Hours later or you want to be able to Catch him in the act so this is really Key to limiting his freedom in your House give him his own spot his own area Again Gates and play pens can really Make this an easy thing to do especially In those first few weeks or a couple of Months where you're working on potty Training number two when you bring your Dog outside to use the bathroom you want To pick a potty spot this is something That a lot of people don't think about They just sort of wander around put Their dog on a leash take them for a Walk and let them go to the bathroom Wherever they feel they need to go but What you want to do is pick a spot this
Is going to make training so much easier On you take your dog out very first Thing whether you're going for a walk or You're just going out to use the Bathroom take your dog to that potty Spot on a leash that's your first stop Directly even if you have a yard where Your dog's gonna have free range or you Have a fenced-in area when you're potty Training use a leash take the dog there First thing to the potty Spot while he's Relieving himself use a specific Specific word or phrase for my dogs it's Gopi so you use something go to the Bathroom do you have to potty you know Whatever it is keep it short and sweet Just one to two words so you know potty Pee go pee go potty something quick and Easy that your dog's gonna pick up and Use that phrase every single time Eventually before you get there your Dog's gonna know where you're headed You're going to the potty spot and when You use that phrase go pee my dogs are Six and seven years old and I still when We're outside we live in Maine it's Winter right now when I'm wanting them To go to the bathroom really quickly we Go outside and I say go pee and Everybody knows that means go do your Business and you know we're going back In because it's cold outside or it's Raining or whatever the case may be Um so use that phrase every single time
And then your dog will start to Associate going to the bathroom with That phrase and also they will associate Going to the bathroom with that Particular potty spot in the yard I sort Of mentioned this on one already but my Third tip is to keep your potty training Dog on a leash like I said whether you Have a fenced in yard or he's going to Have free range and you're trying to do Some boundary training when you're potty Training keep your dog on a leash this Will allow you to direct him to the Potty spot immediately keep him focused On going to the bathroom before sniffing Or roaming around checking out the yard Or playing so your uh you're directly Taking him to what he needs to do Showing him that this is what we do when We go outside first things first we do Business then we can play and the other Thing it's going to do is allow you to Be right there when your dog goes to the Bathroom so that you can freeze him and Reward him for that which brings me to My number four tip before potty training A dog reward them every time they Eliminate Outdoors so it doesn't always Have to be a food reward it could be Just freeze pets love that's a reward But make sure that your dog knows that What he's doing is good what he's doing Is what you want him to do it's what You're expecting you need to show him in
Some way that what is happening is the Right thing so and this rewarding has to Be done right after they've eliminated You don't want to wait until your dog's Back inside this is why it's so Important to keep them on a leash the Minute that they've eliminated and They're finished you reward Pat praise Treats whatever you're using for rewards Just make sure you do that immediately This step is vital because rewarding Your dog for going Outdoors is the only Way that you can show them what you're Expecting of them this is how you Immediately associate what they're doing With the fact that that's what you want Them to do one other key here that kind Of goes with this tip is to make sure That your dog is completely finished Eliminating before you reward them this Can be especially important if you're Potty training a puppy because they get Easily distracted so they may be halfway Done urinating and when they stand up Um you know if you're rewarding and Freezing now they're completely Distracted forgot all about what they Were doing they just think you're happy With them and yay I peed a little bit so They're happy with me we're good you Move on and then they may finish in the House so just be sure that you've given Them enough time and that they're Completely done eliminating before you
Freeze My fifth tip is to put your new pet on a Feeding and bathroom schedule schedules Are really important this is something That a lot of people don't always think About as far as you know an all the time Thing you might have a pretty standard Schedule during the work week because You know you're getting up at the same Time you're going to bed at the same Time things are happening the same Throughout the day you'll get home at The same time Um so but this is something that needs To be happening every day all week long During the potty training process you Have to be on a really Um you know strict consistent schedule So that your dog's body physically can Get used to using the bathroom when they Need to be using the bathroom and um He's going to start realizing you know After he eats he needs to go to the Bathroom after he wakes up he needs to Go to the bathroom The easiest way to put this is that what Goes into your dog on a schedule is Going to come out of your dog on a Schedule so if you're feeding at the Same times he's going to be eliminating At the same time if you're you know Going to bed taking naps whatever it is Throughout the day when he wakes up Around the same time he's going to need
To eliminate so getting on that schedule Is important it makes house training Easier for both of you number six pick Up your dog's water dish and I know some People you know they frown on this they Think you can't take water away from Your pot if your dog's having trouble Holding it overnight or while you're out Of the house pick up the dish one hour Before bedtime or one hour before you're Going to be leaving the house your dog Is not going to go thirsty he's not Going to get dehydrated in that short Amount of time but if he's having Trouble you can do this this is Particularly important usually with Puppies and small breeds so you know Their bladders are smaller they can't Hold as much so you want to pick up the Water dish an hour before then take them Outside right before bed or right before You leave they've completely eliminated The bladder and then they are able to Hold it while you're gone and so as they Develop you know the ability to hold it For longer periods of time you know You'll be able to put the water back Down but you just want to make sure that During this potty training time you're Trying to you know set them up for Success you don't want to do something Like leaving the water dish down and They're drinking throughout the night And then they're getting in trouble for
Having these accidents or you know Disappointing you for having accidents You want to make sure that you're Helping to set them up for success and Picking up the water dish again it's not Dehydrating them it's not making them go Without water they will have access to Water for the large majority of the day It's just simply picking it up you know When you're going to be leaving or when You're going to be going to sleep Number seven look for signals all dogs Are different so you know when you bring In a new dog you may have had other dogs In the past you might have another dog Currently this new dog whether it's a Puppy or an adult dog are not going to Necessarily show that they need to go to The bathroom in the same way that your Current dog or dogs before them have so You need to really observe the dog and Figure out the behaviors that he Exhibits when he needs to go he might Wind paste make circles some dogs will Wander off to a hidden area of the house To go Um he sometimes go to the door kind of Instinctually once they learn that they Need to go outside that they Maybe Can't Hold it for as long as you expect them To they may go to the door so be paying Attention to that Um when you know the dog's new in your House so that you know those signs that
He needs to go out Number eight and this one's really Important too clean accidents Immediately dogs use their noses of Indicators on where to go to the Bathroom and when they smell residual Urine indoors they are going to think That naturally this is a place to go to The bathroom this is also tied in with My tip about picking a bathroom spot When your dog goes outside the bathroom Spot he's smelling the urine and the Feces and he's you know it's clicking Immediately that this is where we go to The bathroom but you don't want to have That happen inside the house so if there Are accidents you want to use something Called an enzymatic cleaner and that is A cleaner that breaks down the enzymes In the urine and helps to completely Break it down and get rid of the smell Entirely not just masking it with a Scented cleaner or something like Febreze so you want to make sure you use Those I have done a review on an Enzymatic cleaner that I use if you're Looking for a recommendation you can Check out that video or click link below And number nine my final tip and this is So important with any type of dog Training but specifically with potty Training stay consistent consistency is Key to successful training no matter What kind of training it is even the
Most stubborn dog will be successful With potty training if you're training In reward systems are consistent so Consistency is absolutely key good luck With your potty training efforts guys if You have any questions feel free to Reach out to us thanks for watching this Video guys Foreign [Music]
