Dogs by nature are clean animals, and so it is easy to toilet train them. Yet, many pet parents struggle with this activity. Your efforts to toilet train your puppy could be failing due to any one of the following reasons:
1. Not realising that young puppies have very little bladder control: Puppies relieve themselves as soon as they eat or drink, after their sleep, and every time they are excited by play or interactions. That means, a puppy who is 2-3 months old, would relieve herself at least 11-12 times! These are called the danger timings. You must ensure you take the puppy to the designated spot a few seconds before these danger timings, and stay with her till she relieves herself. You have to set up your puppy for success. The more opportunity you give the puppy to make an error, the more time she will take to learn.
2. Not finalising the spot for toilet training: Toilet training begins the day you get the puppy home. This means that you must think of a spot for the puppy to do her business, even before you get her home. In the absence of a designated spot, the puppy will keep soiling different places in the house. The day you get the puppy home, every experience is new for her, and will stress her. So, as soon as you get the puppy home, you must take her to the designated toilet training spot. Remember, whether the designated spot is a mat, newspaper or a training pad, puppies do not have an innate instinct to identify the spot. You as the pet parent have to take your puppy to the spot, first time, and every time, till the habit is formed.
3. Scolding the puppy – It can be very frustrating to find your puppy’s pee all over the house. But shouting at the puppy does not help. Dogs have to be caught in the act - there is no way they will form an association with their act 15 minutes later, and your shouting does not help. Using physical threats, or rubbing the puppy’s nose in the mess, only intimidates the puppy, and could impact your puppy’s trust. When there is a mess in the house, take the puppy out of the room and clean up the room quietly.
Toilet training is among the easiest habits to teach your puppy, provided you do it consistently, patiently and using positive reinforcements.
(The author is a canine behaviour consultant who can be reached at rajeshwari.09@gmail.com)
