Don't Be Naughty...Just Go Potty

Hello my friends,

I regularly have people and puppies asking me for tips on getting potty trained. Let me assure you my puppy friends, with some work and consistency, you too will be going outside to go potty in no time!

First, for my puppy friends, don't be too hard on yourself if you have accidents in the home. It happens to everyone. Even famous dogs like Benji and Eddie and Toto had accidents inside. For my human friends, have patience. After all, did you know the proper place to go potty when you were only 4 months old?? That's what I thought!

Humans need to understand that a puppy can usually only hold their bladder for as many hours as months they are old. In other words, if puppy is 4 months old, he can usually hold it for up to 4 hours, 5 months = 5 hours, etc. A puppy's bladder is not fully developed until at least 8-9 months old. So with this in mind, make sure you give your buddy lots and lots of potty breaks. Everytime he goes potty outside, give him treats and lots of praise, as though he has just done the best trick you have ever seen.

If he does start to have an accident in the house, DO NOT yell at him. This will only cause him to fear you. And do not rub his nose in it. Again, this will cause him to fear you, and thus make him hide it if he has an accident in the house. Next thing you know, you will be wondering where that smell is coming from, and then find a surprise when you look behind the potted plant.

Instead, when you catch puppy beginning to go potty, slam your hand against a counter or a wall. This loud sound will startle puppy into stopping what he is doing. Next, take him outside, and when he does go potty, praise him excessively.

This could take anywhere from 1-2 weeks (it took me 10 days thank you very much!), but might take longer depending on the puppy.

Once puppy is getting used to going outside to go potty, you could hang a bell on the door for him to ring when he needs to do out. First, start by ringing the bell yourself everytime you open the door. This will help him associate a ringing bell with going outside. Do this several times. Next, put a little butter (or some other yummy treat like peanut butter) on the bell, then when puppy licks the butter off and makes the bell ring, open the door and praise him excessively. Again, do this for several days. Soon your puppy will learn to ring the bell to go outside and go potty.

On a side note, you can even train your puppy to go potty on command. Once he has been potty trained, try to catch him before he starts doing his business outside. Point to the grass and tell him "Go potty" and once he goes, give him a treat and lots of praise. Pretty soon you can just point to your yard at the end of the night, say "go potty" and your puppy will know what to do. What a great "potty" trick!

For those of you without a yard, believe it or not they even make doggie litter boxes! They have grass in them so your puppy can feel like he is going outside. I have not ever needed to use one, but they look fabulous!

Puppy kisses,

Riley