Many people say having a new puppy is like having a newborn baby. But, unlike a newborn baby, dogs can be taught to go to the toilet on cue, which can be very handy. Use a consistent command like “toilet”, “peetime”, “gotime” (select a word that is easy to say and remember), as soon as puppy starts to squat. Puppies soon learn the association between the cue word and toileting. It takes times and patience to teach a new puppy but persistence will pay off.
Cues to watch for includes sniffing, whining, circling and looking for a spot to go toilet.
By taking your puppy to go toilet every 30 – 60 minutes helps to reduce accidents. Repetition helps them learn the correct behaviour and treat based rewards will encourage them to do the right thing. Your puppy will need to wee as quickly as 5-10 minutes after drinking and don’t forget after any activity such as playing or sleeping it is highly likely that your puppy will need to go to the toilet.
When cleaning up accidents try to use an enzymatic cleaner to neutralise the smell so your pup doesn’t continually get drawn back to the same spot by smelling past efforts.
Our puppy training classes teach you not only how to perfect toilet training but are full of many other helpful advice and tactics to ensure you both get through the early days unscathed!
