Best Way to House Train a Puppy

You take your puppy outside 75 times a day. Each time, he stands in the grass looking at you with a confused look on his face.  You give up and take him inside…and he pees on the rug.  UGH!  Is there anything more frustrating? Surely, puppy house training should not take this long or be this hard, right?  Yes, you’re right.

What is the Best Way to House Train a Puppy?

Here’s the thing. There’s no magic potion, but there are a ton of tricks that will make house training your puppy way easier and faster – and you probably aren’t using most of them. Most people don’t do these things because they don’t know about them – nobody ever explains how important these little things are when you’re learning how to house train a puppy. These house-training tips are all simple and logical.  Here’s an idea of what I’m talking about:

1. Stay calm.

The first thing that you have to realize is that you are responsible. You can’t blame the puppy for not being house trained and take your frustrations out on them.  Getting angry, shouting at your puppy, being annoyed, will not encourage them to relax and follow your commands. Imagine trying to go pee with an angry, frustrated person standing over you. It’s just not a good situation – for the puppy, or for you.

And please forget all that crap (no pun intended!) about rubbing a dog’s nose in it to show them not to do it again.  Not only is this old-school and out of date, it’s just plain dumb.  All this does is teach your dog to eat poop.  Gross?  Yes.  So cut it out!  People who do this sort of thing have completely missed the point.

Think about it…why do you think your puppy pooped in the house? Because they needed to go. They were holding on, probably bursting. And if the door was shut and there was no way for them to go outside, then what do you expect? When you rub your puppy’s nose in it, he’s still not sure where he’s supposed to go.  He poops again. You rub his nose in it.  And he’s still not sure where he’s supposed to go.  Get it?  You have to show them where to go.  You need to train him.  That’s why it’s called house training.

2. Stay focused on the goal.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when house training a puppy is they take their eye off the goal too soon and get mad at the puppy when he makes a mistake.  The secret is this – keep rewarding your puppy with amazing treats every time he goes in the right place.

That’s right – every single time.  With amazing treats.  For a long time!  Nothing will motivate him faster than rewarding him immediately after he has finished. Notice I said immediately.  Not 30 seconds later – it should be more like 2 seconds.

Otherwise, your puppy will not make the connection – if even 30 seconds pass, he won’t understand that receiving the treat has something to do with his peeing on that spot in the grass.  But if the two happen almost simultaneously – again and again and again – he’ll get it!  “Pee Pee Here and Get Treat!”

THAT’S PUPPY LOGIC! Unfortunately, most of us will reward for a week or two and then stop. We forget, get bored, or can’t be bothered.  Try leaving a jar with treats outside by the area where you want your puppy to pee so you’ll always have them on hand.

3. It takes time.

Remember that puppies are very young. They are still learning, and it will take time. Anyone with children will tell you that house training takes time and patience.  Sometimes it takes children up to three years to accomplish this.  Your puppy is what, 8 weeks old?  16 weeks? Children can’t even lift their own heads at that age, yet we get frustrated with our puppy that he hasn’t mastered house training by that age.

The fact is, your puppy is perfectly normal, just like you were when your mother was still changing your diaper and cleaning up after you 2+ years in.  Give the poor puppy a break!  Focus on the successes and learn to quickly forget the mistakes.  Keep going with the training techniques and you and your puppy will succeed…just like you and your mom did. 🙂

Knowledge is Everything.

When it comes to house training a puppy, there are so many things to think about that you can’t know on your own. You need to be told the secrets before house training becomes a problem. The best place that I have found to learn about puppy house training AND ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE HAVING TO DO WITH DOG TRAINING is a website called, The Online Dog Trainer.

It’s run by professional dog trainer “Doggy Dan,” and even offers a 3 Day $1 trial of the site.  Honestly – check it out.  If you have a puppy, it will make your life so much easier if you just get the training NOW so you can easily and quickly train the puppy and end up with a wonderful dog you can have a happy, calm life with.  Don’t make things hard on yourself.  Go to this website and get the help you need!  You can read my full review HERE.

Here are a few tips to give you an idea of what’s available on this website.

– What to do during the night, and when you’re at work to prevent accidents.

– Setting your puppy up to win so that he can’t make mistakes.

– Why some older puppies regress at four months old and how to get them back on track immediately.

– Older dogs. Why dogs who are several years old can suddenly start peeing in the house and how to stop it.

– Crate training. Everything you need to know about crate training your puppy if you choose to use that approach.

– Plus tips and advice on everything having to do with house training such as cleaning up the mess, feeding, watering and toileting schedules.

Get the Help You Need.

As you can see, learning how to house train a puppy is a big topic. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article, and I hope you’ll visit Doggy’s Dan’s website to get a handle on your puppy’s house training sooner rather than later. Remember, Dan gives you a $1 trial of the site for 3 days!

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