4 tips for toilet training your puppy

You’ve read all the home training guides for your puppy and you can see that he’s making progress. However, incidents still happen and you would like to speed up the progress. In this case, along with the standard toilet training recommendations that you already put into practice, you should use life hacks for accustoming a puppy to cleanliness. Check out the following four tips to help your puppy get the hang of going to the toilet in the right place.

1. Hang bells on the door.

You should teach your puppy not only to relieve himself outside, but also to signal you when he needs to go to the toilet. By hanging bells on your doorknob, you provide your pet with a tool that he can use to nudge with his nose or paw if he wants to go outside to use the toilet.

2. Choose a special place.

Incidents often occur when the puppy does not understand where he should go to urinate. Puppies or dogs that have just entered a new home from a familiar environment may not understand that they now have to “play” by the new rules. To speed up progress in toilet training, set aside a designated area for these purposes. For example, don’t just take your baby out into the yard, take him to the dog playground or to a specific spot in the yard. If you want to accustom him to a diaper or to a special mat for puppies in the apartment, then put this mat in the same place every time.

3. Choose code words for the call to go to the toilet.

Verbal cues help alert your puppy when it’s time to go to the bathroom, so pick a specific code word or phrase and use it every time you take your puppy to his potty. Such phrases may include “come on” or “do your thing”. Using a bell in addition to the code words will be helpful because the bell will help the puppy alert you if he needs to go somewhere. Code words are a reminder to your dog that it’s important to do things where you ask them to.

4. Move closer to the door.

As a rule, during a common family meal, it is especially difficult to teach a puppy obedience. You are the leader of the pack for him, devouring delicious food, and he looks at you with his huge puppy eyes that you can’t resist. At these moments, you need to control yourself and not feed him scraps from the table. This will help the puppy avoid excess weight and teach him that he will not achieve anything by begging. It is important that the whole family abide by this rule. Indulging in bad habits with even one family member can put all your efforts in raising a puppy down the drain.

If your puppy is doing well in training but the occasional incidents persist, or you still have to use the dog mat, move him (or your pet) closer to the door. Training using a rug is much easier. Each time after the pet has used the mat, move it a meter or two closer to the exit so that in the end it is next to the door, where you can secure the practice with a bell. If incidents occur in unexpected places, keep bringing the puppy closer to the exit. To do this, you may have to close the doors to some rooms or put up a child barrier to prevent him from accessing certain areas.

Sure, your furry friend will be giving you signs when he needs to pee, but using these home raising pet hacks will greatly increase your chances of success.