You are not alone in the process of House training or potty training. I went through this process with a lot of patience but I am completely relaxed and happy now. My dog is completely trained, and I can leave her at home when I am away.
There are only two main rules of House training :
Potty training Rule #1 :
When she does it right, always appreciate her, cuddle her or give her her favorite treat.
Potty training Rule #2 :
If you do not catch her making an “accident”, then do not punish her for it. Only positive reinforcement works.
How I did potty training wrongly?
My understanding of House and my puppy definition of the house were different. Let me explain what my mistakes were :
1 . Mutual understanding of “Den” definition
Puppies usually learn from their mother dog. What mother dog teaches is not to pee or poop in the den. Dogs den is where he eats and sleeps.
These rules will only be an application for puppies who stay with their mothers for a minimum of 6 weeks. If you are getting them from a puppy mill or un-reputable breeder, you will get the puppy quite early and they would have no idea about “keeping the den clean”.
Our understanding of “Keeping Den Clean” is different from puppies understanding. It means No Peeing or pooping in the Den but its ok to do outside of Den. For puppies, it’s the place where it sleeps and eats. But for us, it’s whole house. Our version of definition doesn’t match with an understanding of puppy. So your dog thinks he is ok to soil outside his Den. To fix this problem, you need to make your dog understand the whole house is his Den, and not to Poo or Pee inside.
2 . Punishing Accidents
Most of us knowingly or unknowingly we punish the dog. We are tempted to do that because we are so wired to the concept of punishment. By punishing the dog it will not commit the mistake, which is completely wrong. This goes back to my previous opinion, “Keeping Den Clean”. The dog thinks he has not pee or poo in its Den, still, he is being punished. He will be confused. To make things clear, Potty training to be communicated with the puppy during early stages with Consistency, positive reinforcement, and clear direction.
Read this article: How to Housebreak a Puppy Without a Crate
How I potty trained my puppy in 7 days
Training in 7days though it seems to be easy, which is not true. It requires a lot of patience, consistency and positive reinforcement. Let’s discuss what I did to get my pup housebreak so fast.
Step 1:
Consistent walking schedule: I was taking him(Dave) for a walk every day same time in the morning. I was Waiting till he finishes poop and pee outside. Used to praise him, cuddle him for his effort.
Step 2:
After 2 hours, I was feeding him with fresh food and water. Now again its time to take him out, he uses to finish his business of peeing. He was showing certain signs to go out – like sniffing and finding a place to pee. Initially, I was not getting this, but as I was spending more time with Dave, I figured out.
Step 3:
After this break, Dave was free to roam his room. Yes, I used to confine him to one room (any place but one place to familiarize that this is his Den – Keep it neat). Give him all the toys to play and entertain himself. I was not feeding during this interval, let this be for 3 hrs.
Step 4:
Again was feeding dave with food and water. Was playing with him for 3o min, and later use to take him out. If he felt he wanted to go out right after food, just take him out. Puppies bladders are tiny, they can’t hold pee for a long time.
Step 5:
Now confine him to one place or crate in some cases. He used to sleep for few hours, I used to feed him around 7 pm. Now again was taking him out for the bathroom. Was waiting for all his business to be over. Later used to take him for long walk or park for some exercise. After returning home, he used to relax.
Step 6:
Finally, before your sleep around 10 pm take him out for Pee. Now do not give him water after this break. Let him rest, sleep peacefully. Again I used to repeat same for 7 days. I finally cracked this puzzle by getting into Dave’s shows. Housebreaking is easy if we understand our dog. If not we need to spend a whole lot of time cleaning up the mess.
Always be patient and reward for the good things. Dogs will learn soon.