Toilet Training

Newborn puppies cannot take care of elimination, their mothers do it for them. After three weeks of age the puppies will begin to move away from the nesting area to eliminate. By instinct, dogs want to avoid soiling their sleeping and nesting areas. As puppies grow older, they will move further and further away from their nesting areas to eliminate.

The puppy in your house

The rooms where your puppy eats and sleeps are their nesting areas. From the puppy’s point of view, the rest of the rooms in the house are perfectly good places for eliminating. For example, your puppy eats in the kitchen and sleeps in your room therefore any other room of the house is a good place

to toilet in. It is your job to teach that there are better places to toilet. Here are some tips for toilet training.

Never scold or punish!

Scolding a puppy for toileting in the house will create anxiety and the puppy will become reluctant to toilet around you for fear of being punished. It will then hide and toilet in inappropriate places like in a cupboard or behind the TV.

Steps of toilet training

Crate training your puppy is the single most helpful thing you can
Supervise your new puppy at all times when it is inside the
Take the puppy to the toileting area after every sleep, meal, drink, play session or
Restrict access to rooms when you are not using them, Baby gates are helpful for
When outside, pay the puppy minimal attention so it can get on with
Spend more time outside with her, praising her after she has toileted
Clean any accidents with a cleaner that contains no ammonia, white vinegar works
Place a puppy pad near the door to outside in case you miss the puppy’s
Put the puppy’s own faeces on the spot where you want the puppy to

Take responsibility

If the puppy has an accident inside, it is your fault that you missed their cues and missed the opportunity to take it to the appropriate place. Clean it up and be more attentive. Do not punish the puppy for doing what comes naturally.