Pet Camp, like many pet boarding and doggie day care facilities, offers training. In fact, we offer two very different types of training: our Camper Cadets, which focuses on 5 specific items and our Ranger Program which is more customizable. One of the things that we don’t focus on is housetraining new puppies – not because we can’t do that but rather, for the obvious reason that as cool as Pet Camp is, it’s not your home. That said, we wanted to pass on some advice from the folks at DMV360 on housetraining your new puppy.
Your Dog is Pre-Disposed to Being Housetrained
Evolutionarily, a young puppy can rely on the mother to clean up the den. As a young puppy grows, keeping the den clean gets harder and a puppy’s brain instinctively resists the idea of soiling the den.
Create a Den for Your Puppy
Since a puppy instinctively resists soiling his or her den, you can use this to help housetrain your puppy by recreating the den in your house. You want to create a space that is small enough to trigger this instinct but of course not too small that it’s uncomfortable. Make this space special and don’t use it as for banishment or punishment.
Frequent Outings
Your puppy can only hold it for so long, and you don’t want your puppy to fail in housetraining. Take your puppy outside often, and maybe to the exact same place so your puppy associates that location with peeing and pooping. Reward your puppy every time he or she pees or poops outside.
Create a Schedule
You can get your puppy’s peeing and pooping on a schedule pretty quickly if you too are on one. Don’t leave food out for snacking whenever your puppy gets the urge, schedule meal times and take your puppy outside about 10 or 15 minutes after a meal, and if you are crate training your puppy, make sure you schedule outings frequently enough so that your puppy can hold it and doesn’t soil the crate/den.
Don’t Punish Your Puppy
Don’t strike a puppy or rub his or her nose because of an accident. Your puppy won’t understand what you’re upset about and will be both confused and scared.
Accidents Happen
Be prepared for cleanups, but also be persistent and consistent. Your puppy should get the hang of it pretty quickly. If you’re doing all of this and things just aren’t getting better it might be time to check with your veterinarian to ensure there is no medical issue holding your puppy back.
We hope this helps and we can’t wait to see your puppy at Pet Camp!
Source: DVM360 Full Circle.