Dogs make our life so much more beautiful and happy. Whether it is the playful tail wagging or the cute head tilt, not many people can resist the charm of a new puppy or dog. But along with the cuteness and joy comes the responsibility to look after them, feed them, bathe them, and most importantly, train them.
Most new pet owners end up feeling exhausted in some time and give up their pets because they are not able to train their dogs properly. In the end, the pets suffer greatly without it being their fault. If you are planning to get a puppy for the first time, it is important that you start training together from the initial days. Today, we list down some tips to help you get started on house training for your new puppy.
Introduce the concept of home space
Dogs instinctively are not used to living indoors. Apart from the spot where they sleep, they do not consider much when carrying out their business anywhere. But it does not mean that they cannot be trained. When you get a new puppy, start by familiarizing it to the idea of home being bigger than just the spot they sleep in. Decide where it will be sleeping, and let it get used to the space in the beginning. Instead of letting your puppy roam around in the entire house from the beginning, keep it restricted to a small area with the help of portable fence or crates. This will help the dog get used to the surroundings, which would mean it won’t defecate in that area.
Start with a small portion of one room, moving to the entire room and then other parts of the house similarly. If you are going to allow your dog’s entry into the kitchen, spend some extra time training it at the kitchen door. Make it wait at the kitchen door as you prepare its meal. Also, do not let it stay in the kitchen for too long at once. It will soon realize that kitchen is not a place to hang out, and will not go inside unless it is hungry.
Remember that this is a very gradual process, and you would probably have to deal with a lot of indoor defecation before your puppy learns where it can and cannot do its business.
Establish a bowel routine
Depending upon how old your new dog is, this can take somewhere between a couple of days to 2-3 months. Puppies have a hard time controlling their bladder or bowel movements, so you will have to be very patient if your puppy is still very young. A 2-3 months old puppy will probably want to release its bowel somewhere around 4-5 times a day. As they get older, this number drops down to 2-3 times which can be easily scheduled.
But this does not mean that you cannot schedule your puppy’s bowel movement. First thing to do is to check the time difference between your dog’s meal and successive defecation. You will have an idea about when to take it out for a walk after it has eaten. Next, try to schedule the time for meals. Do not change the meal timings drastically, as it would mean your puppy overeats or stays starving for most part of the day. Instead, try adjusting meal timings by half an hour or so every day till you clock the schedule that is best suited for you and the dog.
Get training pads
Training pads are a great solution for cleaning up after your puppy has released his bowels or bladder. It also helps them train indoors. These are cloth pads which can be kept anywhere in the room, and can be easily disposed. But training your dog to use these pads will require some patience and dedication.
Start by familiarizing your puppy with the training pads. Let them sniff it and walk on it, but discourage chewing, sitting or lying down on the pad. Once the puppy is not scared to walk over the pad, keep the pad closer to the place where it releases its bowels most frequently. If it defecates on the pad, reward it with a treat or pat on the head to promote the same behaviour again. Soon, your puppy will start looking for the pad every time it wants to do its business.
Before you start the training, make sure that you get the puppy vaccinated and treated for complete security of your dog and your family. You will also need other items like poop scooper, leash, collar, meal bowls, bed and so much more to make your puppy feel at home. It is important to invest in items for the puppy in order to develop a sense of belongingness, which goes a long way in efficient training. If you don’t have enough funds at the moment to buy all these items, you can look for a small private loan. Private lenders like personalloansnow.co.uk offer hassle free loans online with easy repayment options.
