If you already have your new puppy home you’ve realized that as soon as the puppy awakens from a nap it’ll be peeing within a few seconds. We most likely told you this but maybe you thought we were exaggerating.
As soon as your puppy wakes up from sleeping through the night or if it was just an hour long nap, you’ll want to take him/her to the potty designated area right away.
Here are some tips that may help you stay on track of potty time:
- Has your puppy just woken up? Take him out to potty.
- Has your puppy just finished eating? Take him out to potty within 15 minutes.
- If your puppy has had an accident CLEAN the area very well. Dogs will go potty wherever they smell the scent of another pee/poop.
- Consistency is the key. In order for your puppy to understand that outside is the place to potty you need to let him out like clockwork. When he/she has relieved itself then you make a huge deal and praise the puppy. Even offer a kibble of food as a treat (or an actual treat).
- Take the puppy out to potty every 30 minutes to an hour. As the puppy grows older they’ll be able to hold longer periods of time.
- Most dogs will potty in the same place as the time before so you may want to go to the same spot.
- Have a confined area for your puppy as you’ll be able to control the area in case of an accident
- Accidents DO HAPPEN. It’s a puppy and accidents are bound to happen. IF you catch your puppy going potty where it’s not supposed to do so, just startle him/her and say “NO!”. It’s best not to scare the puppy as they may just do it in secret because they are scared of you and not because they realize it’s wrong.
- Remove the water bowl from your puppy at around 7:30-8 p.m (depending at what time you’ll be crating him/her to sleep). Make sure the puppy goes out to potty and empties its bladder before you crate him/her. If you don’t take the water away then you’ll need to get up a few times during the night to take the puppy out.
- Lastly, have lots of patience!
