Sarah-Jane White Housetraining will be one of the first things you’ll want to sort after bringing your puppy home. The less time you have to spend cleaning up damp smelly newspapers in the morning, the better!
The easiest way to toilet train your dog is to make sure you’re with them in the garden while they’re doing their business until they get the hang of it.
Some puppies will learn quicker than others. While they’re urinating or defecating, make a point of saying “wee wees” or whatever word you’d like to use to remind your dog to toilet, and praise them when they are finished.
The Kennel Club advise that at first you’ll need to work around what your puppy needs to do. But luckily your pup has quite predictable times when it’ll need to relieve itself.
Puppies normally need to go to the toilet:
- As soon as they’ve woken up (which means you’ll need to be up with them to put them outside)
- They will usually want to urinate about a quarter of an hour after eating, and :
- do a poop another fifteen minutes after that.
- They’ll need to pee after playing too.
Young dogs have small bladders and not much control over them, so they will need to be put outside every 20 minutes to start with. This period of time can be increased slowly by 5 minutes each day as you help them learn how to hold their bladder for a little longer.
Don’t assume they will tell you when they need to go – take them out anyway. Set a timer on your phone. You will be surprised how quickly they can progress.
If any accidents do happen and your puppy makes a mess indoors, it’s important not to punish them, or they may end up being scared to relieve themselves in front of you, whether they’re outside or not. Just clear it up and make sure you use a cleaner specifically for pet stain and smell removal as it can remain long after you think it is gone and the puppy will go to the same spot.
