Training A Puppy Is Fun For The Whole Family

Bringing a new puppy home is such an exciting event for everybody! The whole family gathers around and dotes on their cute and cuddly new companion. Then something happens. The new puppy goes and pees on the carpet. Suddenly you realize that training a puppy is the price you have to pay for having a puppy in your home.

Toilet training your puppy can be exasperating or it can be a fun part of raising your new dog. If you know just a little bit about puppies and dogs and how to train them, you can toilet train your puppy without traumatizing either yourself or your new family member.

All dogs have certain instincts that they are born with. One of these instincts is to not soil their sleeping den. In their natural environment they will know to immediately head outdoors if they feel an urge to urinate or defecate. But they may not have that option in the confines of your house. Your puppy will show signs of anxiety before it "does its duty" in your home.

On top of that, your new puppy can't "hold it in" for very long. It knows something is about to happen and will run around the room, whimpering and sniffing until finally it can't wait any longer. Punishing your puppy for this would not be appropriate, because it has done nothing wrong. Laughing it off would also be inappropriate, because it needs to be shown the right place to go or it may decide that it got it right the first time!

You absolutely should not press its nose into the poo, smack the dog and tell it that it has been naughty. You can, however, remove the waste matter and place it in where you do want the puppy to poopoo next time and show it where that is. Make sure that you clean the area where the puppy has made its "mistake" thoroughly, using the appropriate cleaner that will remove all traces of odor.

Constant vigilance may be required at first for quick success at toilet training. Look for the signs that the puppy needs to go and take it outside before it relieves itself. Then immediately offer it a reward. In this way, your puppy will learn two valuable lessons. It will learn positive reinforcement for good behavior and it will learn that you are the leader of the pack.

By nature, dogs are pack animals. While their charms may be hard to resist, the puppy must learn who is boss early in life or it may grow up thinking it is the boss and be very hard to train later in life. Dogs, like humans, learn best by reward. Harsh punishment results in neurotic behavior in dogs just as it does in humans.

Training a puppy from an early age is best for everyone. You will have a happy, well-adjusted pet and your life together will be satisfying for both of you.

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