I've personally never had to toilet train a dog as all of my dogs have been and are still outside dogs. So for the first 6 months or so my dogs don't come inside.
This way they never get to go to the toilet inside, never get into any habits of going to the toilet inside, which means when I bring them inside for the rest of their lives they have no association of going to the toilet inside.
I understand most people prefer to have indoor dogs these days which is absolutely no issue with me. I love having my dogs indoors, but I love not having a stinky pee and poop stained home even more haha!
Enough rambling, this is a straight to the point Crazydog Blog.
Here are a few simple dot points to help you with often the most frustrating part of getting a puppy!
Establish a routine feeding schedule to help create consistent and predictible toilet times. Routine feeding can help you anticipate when to take your puppy out. Do leave food out for them to have free access to all day long.
Avoid letting your puppy go to the toilet indoors, but if accidents happen, clean the area thoroughly using a pet odor-specific cleaner. Take note of the time they went and the routine leading up to it. Also the time since the last toilet time.
Avoid allowing unrestricted access to the entire house, as this period is crucial for boundary establishment and maintaining close supervision.
Puppies often associate certain surfaces with going to the toilet (e.g., carpet, tiles, grass, concrete). Try to have your puppy on the desired surface when it's likely to do its business.
Avoid disciplining or getting angry with your puppy for going where you don't want it to. This can make the puppy fear going to the toilet around you, leading to hiding or sneaking away to go to the toilet. They don't know they are doing wrong! They are going to the toilet. Simple. It's up to you to train them kindly on the desired behaviours and routines you want of them.
Regularly take your puppy outside to a designated area where you want it to go. Spending time on the grass or preferred spot can help reinforce the association. Encourage and praise your puppy after it goes to the toilet in the appropriate spot.
Watch out for changes in your puppy's behavior such as sudden restlessness, sniffing around, circling, or abruptly stopping its' engagement with you. These signs often indicate that your puppy needs to go to the toilet, so be prepared to take them outside promptly.
Consistency is key to successful toilet training. Stick to the routine and guidelines consistently to reinforce the desired behavior.
If you're a few weeks, maybe even months into toilet training with not a lot of success I'd recommend you leaving you puppy outside in the designated toilet area for much much longer periods of time and less in the area they keep going to the toilet.
Make sure there is sufficient shelter and water for the conditions... but unfortunately this probably won't work as your puppy probably suffers from a fair bit of separation anxiety and barks and whines uncontrollably or gets destructive.
*We'll go over this stuff in following blogs!*
Just be consistent and try and follow a few thing from above. Or check out my Puppy Training Options or consider an Online Session if you're too far from Geelong.
Give your dog a pat for me!
Cheers, Scott
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