How to toilet train your puppy is in art. There are so many misunderstandings when it comes to house training and dog training, we are often left with a confused puppy, a confused owner, and a smelly house.
With so many books and articles on ‘how to potty train dogs that are unhelpful or wrong, we thought we’d come in with Martin Olliver’s Ultimate House Training Guide to teach you how to toilet train any pooch-puppy or older.
So is your 16-week-old pet puppy still not house trained? Or is it 16 years old? Don’t worry if you have an older dog, you can still house train it (it just might take a little longer). Learning how to potty train a dog or a pup is hard enough as it is, we don’t need anything else making it harder. So let’s keep it simple.
The Ultimate House Training Guide
Learn about your dog’s behavior with this training method.
The only way to house train a puppy is to first understand them. You need to learn about their psychology, behavior, and how to apply that knowledge. This means looking for the cues your puppy gives when they need to go to the toilet. This will allow you to recognize and stop unwanted behavior.
What signs to look our for that your dog needs the toilet:
Circling
Pining
Sniffing the ground
Squatting
Being impatient or restless
Going places they have already done their business
Look for these signs and take your pet outside immediately and say “toilet”, if they go to the toilet remember to give verbal praise.
To learn even more about basic obedience, Martin Olliver’s book The Ultimate House Training Guide goes in-depth on how dogs behave.
Martin Olliver is a qualified veterinarian so his knowledge of dog behavior and health is impeccable, he loves helping dogs and their owners.
So reading this is a good start to learning about your dog or puppy (and getting qualified professional advice from a canine behaviorist.)
He outlines the process of toilet training any dog: patience, persistence, consistency, and common sense. So remember to stick to those when you’re going through the process of house training your own dog and you will be rewarded with good behavior.
What is the best process though? For house training a puppy at night (or a dog during the day), it’s all in the routine.
Have a set routine when toilet training your puppy.
This is the highest priority for toilet training your new puppy in your home. You need a proper schedule to regulate their behavior and bowel movements. So stick to a proper routine with these 10 simple steps.
New schedule for your puppy
1. Always let your dog out first thing in the morning.
2. Feed your dog at the same time each day.
3. Let them outside after meals or after waking up from a nap.
4. Remove its food bowl between meals.
5. If they’re a young puppy, let them out once every 30-60 minutes.
6. Let your dog out before you leave them alone and go to bed at night.
7. Don’t feed your pup 2 hours before bed.
8. Take your dog to the same place each time to do a poo.
9. Stay with your pup outside.
10. Reward your dog after they finish their business in the correct place.
Following this routine will, after months, get them to realize where they should (and shouldn’t) do their business. If you live in a flat, you can take them to some newspaper or a litter box instead of outside.
Crate training
One other part of your house training routine could also be crate training. The method of obedience training uses a dog’s den instinct to give them a happy positive place to feel safe and secure (inside their crate). Dogs won’t do business where their den is, so establishing this can be important for house training your dog.
How long does this method take? Well, it can take several months so be patient. For more info on how to crate train a dog for potty training, Martin gives an in-depth guide in The Ultimate House Training Guide.
Regardless, having a routine and sticking to it every day is important. Also, as you’ll notice, combining this with frequent opportunities to let your dog outside. With these two things together, your dog will learn where their business should be done. Another part of this is rewarding them.
When Accidents Happen
If you find a poo when you come home from work or find a funny smell coming from the carpet, the first feeling you may feel is frustration or even anger. Punishing your is never the answer as part of a good house training routine, this can be aggressive behavior and can lead to a fearful dog. Also please don’t rub your dog’s nose in it, this method does not work, it takes time for your puppy to learn impulse control.
It takes time for your puppy to learn impulse control. So that means that it becomes your responsibility to ensure that your pup doesn’t toilet inside the home. If an accident happens, then clean it up without a fuss and make sure that your puppy has every opportunity to relieve themselves in the correct place next time.
Don’t forget to give lots of praise when they get it right so that your dog quickly learns where they should be going. A professional trainer would want to encourage your dog towards the correct behavior by rewarding them too.
Look into any health/behavior issues
It’s possible that your dog could find it difficult to be house trained or control its bladder because of certain health problems.
Martin’s book has a section for any health problems that could be making it harder to potty train your dog. If you want a full run-down of how to fix these problems, check it out or think about seeing a Vet for help.
Get professional help
40% of puppies are given up in their first year of being brought home. Don’t let your dog be one of those it isn’t fair or good for a dog to be constantly re-homed.
So do everything you can to make your dog settle in your home and thrive. This starts with learning everything you can about dog house training, from books like The Ultimate House Training Guide but also from getting personalized help from a professional dog trainer.
After buying the Ultimate House Training Guide, you also get to exchange free consultation emails from professional pet experts on the Kingdom of Pets. You can ask them anything personalized to your particular problem or dog breed or house training needs. So with this, you can continue to adapt your strategy and find out more about your pooch’s house training needs.
Take-home Message
Housetraining doesn’t need to be difficult. Remember house training a puppy in 5 days isn’t possible, you need to do this over a number of months. Follow Martin’s advice of a proper routine and positive experience, along with possible crate training and your dog will be house trained and housebroken regardless of whether they’re a pup or a pensioner.
Read our detailed review of the Ultimate House Training Guide