Toilet Training your Puppy

Toilet training should not be too difficult if it is tackled in the right fashion. The secret is not in punishing the accidents but preventing them from occurring. Puppies need to go out after eating and playing and immediately upon waking. They should be taken out immediately after these events; 5 minutes later can be too late. Puppies do not have the bladder or bowel control that adult dogs have. They need to ‘go’ almost every hour when they are. Allowing them out should ensure that the pup is given plenty of opportunities to ‘perform’ in the required area and reduce the chances of accidents occurring in the house.

When the pup is in the desired area encourage it to ‘perform by speaking in a gentle tone. Do not play with the pup at this time, to avoid distracting it from its ‘job’. When it performs praise the puppy lavishly and you may reward it with a treat. If you live in a house with a garden, don't just lob the puppy outside and hope for the best, it will most probably hang around near the door and wait to be let back in.

Should an accident occur in the house, do NOT "rub the dogs nose in it", hit the dog (with a newspaper or anything else), or reprimand the pup harshly. There is absolutely no point screaming at the puppy 2 hours after it has made a mess. It will just not associate your screaming with its past mistake. Dogs are oriented to the present.

Remember that if the dog had an accident in the house it means that you didn't take it out often enough.

Be more diligent and the training will take care of itself, pups will naturally prefer to go to the toilet outside.

Keeping your puppy on a consistent schedule will also go a long way to help in its toilet training. Food, water (what goes in on schedule, comes out on schedule) and exercise at the same times daily. Use a high quality food formulated for puppies and don't change it. Sudden dietary changes can cause intestinal upset and ruin training efforts.

Lastly, remember, your puppy needs your love, encouragement and above all tons of PATIENCE to get the whole business of toilet training right!