Puppies are cute little balls of snuggle filled sweetness sent by God himself to lick and kiss and love everyone. They're playfulness makes you smile, especially when they do something weird in the midst of their activity. When you think they can't get any cuter, they don't and pee on your floor.
Potty training is one of the most difficult part of having a puppy. Just as they start to get the hang of relieving themselves outside, you find a little chocolate doggy surprise behind the sofa. If you're like me, then you researched for hours during the night, while your new puppy yowled in their kennel, trying desperately to find ways to potty train your puppy. Fear not, for your carpet because their is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Kennel training is one of the easiest ways to potty train your puppy. Descendants of wolves, dogs share many of their ancestors traits today. One of them that will help you, is the den mentality. From a young age, puppies know not to potty where they sleep. So if you kennel your dog when it's time to sleep, they aren't likely to have an accident. That kennel works as their den. As they get older, the den expands to the whole room where you keep their kennel, then to the side of the house where their kennel is located, and one day it'll be the entire house. If you watch where your puppy has accidents, it'll help you understand when your puppy has to go, and where puppy goes when the urge comes over them.
Something I learned (the hard way) is that like human babies, puppies respond to routine. When you wake up in the morning, take puppy out to the bathroom. If you haven't already, put your puppy on a set feeding schedule. Doing so allows you to monitor when puppy might have to go, limiting the number of accidents inside. I feed Copper at 8:00am every morning, and I know ten minutes after he eats, he needs to use the potty. That's one designated potty break that puppy can look forward to every day.
After his morning and post-breakfast potty break, I let Copper run around and play. Up until he was four months old, he took a mid-morning nap from 10:00am-12:00pm. It's important to remember that puppies are growing at a fast rate, and they need 18-19 hours of sleep a day. Forcing your puppy to be awake from sun up to sundown can result in extreme crankiness, stress, and discomfort for you and your new puppy. Before Copper went to sleep for his first nap, I took him outside. In the beginning, he protested taking naps until he was actually in his kennel, where he passed out immediately.
When he woke up, he went outside right away. So in the four hours since puppy woke up in the morning, he went outside four times.
At noon he got fed lunch, then went outside ten minutes after eating. Another 1.5-2 hours of playing, and he went down for another nap at 2:00pm. Right before I put him in the kennel, he went potty. The second nap of the day I let him sleep only until 4:00pm, even if he's tired and wants to sleep longer. He goes outside to do his business, then gets to play with my husband when he gets home from work. From 4:00pm-8:00pm, Copper was able to choose when he wanted to play and when he wanted to nap. Usually, he chose play. In the middle of his fun, he got dinner at 6:00pm. And then, you guessed it, he went outside to potty.
Dinner time is when he had the most energy, so it's important to take puppy on a walk or take them outside to play. It's not always possible to go outside, and a great way to give puppy a way to release their energy is having a special after dinner toy with treats/food in it. Having that type of toy allows puppy to teethe, use critical thinking and problem solving skills, and keeps their focus on the toy (meaning there's less of a chance puppy will piddle inside!).
At 7:00pm, take puppy out again. By now, puppy is tired and ready for bed. Allow puppy a few toys that they can play with by themselves. Chew toys are great for an activity at this time. Then, 8:00pm is when puppy goes out for the last time before going into the kennel for the night. Remember to not let puppy out just because they whine. Letting them out tells them that if they cry, they can come out of the kennel. You'll never get a good night's sleep because puppy will yowl all night long wanting to be let out. Now, if puppy wakes up in the middle of the night and starts to whine, that usually means they need to go potty. TAKE THEM OUTSIDE.
This method isn't for everyone, and doesn't mean your puppy will stop having accidents altogether. This is a way to help your puppy learn how to control their bladder and bowel movements. This schedule might not work for you and your puppy, so change it as needed.
7:00am-7:45am: Wake up, take puppy outside to potty
8:00am: Feed puppy
8:10am: Potty outside
8:15am-10:00am: Puppy playtime
10:00am: Potty outside
10:00am-12:00pm: Kenneled nap time
12:00pm: Potty & lunch
12:10pm: Potty outside
12:15pm-2:00pm: Puppy playtime
2:00pm: Potty outside
2:00pm-4:00pm: Kenneled naptime
4:00pm: Potty outside
4:00pm-6:00pm: Puppy playtime
6:00pm: Dinner
6:10pm: Potty outside
6:15pm-7:00pm: Puppy playtime
7:00pm: Potty outside
7:00pm-8:00pm: Puppy relax time *chew toy*
8:00pm: Potty outside last time
8:00pm: Kenneled for the night
Remember, your puppy is a baby that is growing. There still will be accidents. Don't freak out if you make progress and then get blindsided with an indoor accident. It will get better! Copper was on this schedule from the time we got him until December of last year. Now, he sticks to the same type of schedule, but the times fluctuate with when we wake up in the morning. Believe it or not, I'm up before him every day because he hates mornings. He naps wherever he drops, and whines at the door whenever he needs to go outside. He's almost completely potty trained! Dogs aren't fully trained until their at least a year old, so don't be too hard on them when accidents happen. Enjoy this time when your puppy can be molded easily, when all they want to do is cuddle all night long, and when they haven't learned how to bark. The day will come when there will be no more pee to clean. Until next time!
Live long and prosper.
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