Housetraining means: A dog only loosens up outdoors and announces when it needs to go outside. But even adult four-legged friends can become unclean under certain circumstances. Learn below how to get dogs and puppies housebroken and what the reasons for uncleanliness can be.
What to look for to get puppies housetrained.
Getting puppies housetrained is time-consuming and can test your patience. With puppies, cleanliness training works best if you take your young four-legged friend outside regularly and wait for him to get loose.
How often should I take my puppy outside?
Especially in the first months, it is important to go outside with your dog as much as possible. This is the only way to succeed in getting your puppy housetrained.
That means: In the first time, go outside with the puppy after every sleep, feed or play and give him the opportunity to get loose there. Carry the puppy quietly in your arms until outside.
Up to three months of age, this may well be every one to two hours. Older puppies, on the other hand, should be given the opportunity to go outside every three to four hours.
Be attentive in between, too. You will soon develop a sense for the signs. Then you can immediately – but without rushing – take your puppy outside, where you praise him extensively and in a friendly voice after he has done his business. The more wryly you are looked at on the street while doing this, the better off you’ve been!
How can I tell that my dog needs to disengage?
Puppies by nature do not like to defecate or urinate near their camp. In this respect, it is also in line with their tendency to detach only at some distance from their own home.
Still, it can sometimes take weeks, even months, to get your puppy housetrained – even when everything is going smoothly. So, in any case, you must remain patient.
However, you can tell if your puppy may “need” to be housetrained again by looking at these signs:
- restlessness
- increased sniffing
- walking to the door
- puppy turns in circles
Other obstacles to housetrained
It can also be difficult if the puppy has urinated only on a certain surface at the breeder. Then he must first learn to relieve himself on grass or forest paths.
Also keep in mind: puppies are just discovering the world. They are interested in everything and are quickly distracted, especially in nature. Some puppies forget their needs. Then a mishap is quickly happened at home.
Ideally, there should be a fixed place where the puppy does its business. Find this place before and after each walk, so that the puppy can relieve itself in peace.
Getting puppies housetrained: What can I do at night?
Problems can arise when you don’t take your puppy out at night. He will probably look for a distant corner in your home and relieve his bladder there by necessity.
To prevent this from happening, you can set your alarm clock during the night and go outside briefly at your usual pace. Another option is to let your puppy sleep in a dog crate next to your bed. When the dog wants to get loose at night, he will now make himself known to you and you can take him outside.
He should be able to stand comfortably in the crate. Keep in mind how fast a puppy grows and therefore buy it in an appropriate size. But be careful: a box that is too big can lead to one corner being used as a sleeping place and another corner as a toilet place.
So, to get a puppy housetrained, it is important to take it outside regularly at night as well. A puppy that is housetrained at all times of the day will learn to do his business exclusively outside much faster.
Three tips on how to get your puppy housetrained
You follow the measures mentioned so far and still you don’t manage to get your puppy housetrained? Then we have three more tricks for you that can be helpful for difficult cases.
Dog toilet as an aid
A dog toilet can hep you to get your dog or puppy housetrained. However, keep in mind the following point: your puppy will quickly get used to relieving himself on the surface of the toilet. However, if he only gets to know this, it will be difficult to accustom him to the grass outside later on.
Use special cleaning products
If your puppy does have a mishap, it is best to clean the contaminated area immediately with a special cleaner. Otherwise, your dog will quickly consider the toilet spot as a suitable solution place again.
A special cleaning agent is necessary, by the way, because the sniffer noses of dogs still perceive odors even when we humans have long since stopped smelling anything.
Important: Never scold the puppy
Speaking of mishaps: ignore any mishaps and do not scold. A puppy is still no more in control of its bladder than a toddler in a diaper. Often, the puppy doesn’t realize he has to until it’s already happened.
If you scold him at that point, he can’t associate that with getting loose. In the worst case, you will destroy the trust relationship you have just built. Instead, the puppy will learn to secretly relieve himself in unused corners of your home in the future.
If your puppy repeatedly relieves himself in the house, you should stay outside with him in the future until he has to do his business there. Afterwards, praise him extensively.