Throw out the news papers and puppy pads; you are training them to pee in your house. Go out and get a good cage to crate train your puppy. Dogs are den animals they enjoy enclosed places they feel safe and secure.  If you have kids we all start them in a crib its safer and more secure. Think of it like a crib with a lid.

    Your puppy should be in their cage when you can’t watch them. Give them something to chew on that they won’t destroy like a Kong or Nyle Bone works well.  Spend time with them but when you are on the phone, on the computer, watching TV, cleaning house or making dinner keep them in the crate.  If you can’t watch them put them in the crate.  If they go just once in the house that is all they need to fail and to start going to the bathroom in your house.

     After puppies sleep, eat, or play they need to go outside and go to the bath room after they are done. Take them on a leash stand in one spot tell them to go potty then praise them when they are done. Don’t give them treats when they do a good job, they will want to go outside to eat rather than go to the bathroom.  Every time you feed your puppy they have to digest their food and relieve themselves, so if you keep feeding them every time they go out 6 to 8 hours later their going to have a bowel movement.

     When feeding your puppy give them time to eat 15-20 min.  If they graze all day by eating a little here and there they are going to poop a little here and there.  So that is why it is so important to put them on schedule.  When you give them water make sure to take them out a half hour after they drink.

    All puppies learn from consistancy and receptiveness’. Now that can be great or disastrous.  If you do it right and follow this simple schedule they will succeed but if you don’t watch them and leave them walk around the house unsupervised because you think that its cruel to keep dogs in a cage they will fail. When kids are little would you leave them in a room on the floor alone to crawl around to get into whatever they want? No we put them in a play pen or chair swing. When they still wet and poop there paints do we let them go all day without a diaper?

    The biggest thing that people do and fail in training their puppy is they get impatient because their puppy get big so fast they think they are ready. After the first year they are like 5- 6 yrs in human age. Humans are not even ready to be left alone yet at that age but they can’t be left alone in a crib while we are at work. Dogs are also still too young to be left alone but they can be left alone in a crate while we are at work. Puppies can be left alone in a crate but not all day. When their 8-10 weeks old their bladder is very small and they have to go out every two to four hours.  So if you can’t get home or have someone get home to let them out. Look into getting an older dog because puppies are a lot of work in order to potty train.

    When your puppy is 16 weeks old their organs are fully develop when their 4 mos old they should be 100 % house broken with no messes in the house if they have one every couple of days their not potty trained yet.

    The biggest secret in potty training your puppy is first thing in the morning when you hear them get up take them outside.  If they don’t go and you bring them back in the house, then they poop. What you have to do is put them back in the cage if they don’t go. When they start to whine take them back outside on a leash tell them to go potty repeat until you succeed.

    If they start going in their cage it is too big that is why you need a divider in the cage. All they need is enough room to stand up and turn around. Do not lock them in your laundry room it is not a play ground.  You need to make sure to walk your dog play with them do whatever you like to exert that energy.  They will find trouble being locked in a room.    If you’re lucky they will only poop and pee in there. Sometimes they chew their way through a wall or door or worse electrical cords.  They are teething and need to chew. No matter how may toys or bones you put in there they will always chew on what you don’t want them to.

    Dogs are meant to go to the bathroom outside not in a litter box.  Ask someone  that has their dog going on potty pads or a litter box if they ever come home and the dog has wet or pooped next to the pad or in a carpeted room you’ll find out that there dog is not house broke they just live with it.  Are you going to?

    We at K9 Kindergarten have worked with people confined to wheel chairs and have had success with training their dog to use go potty go outside. Anything can be done in a humane way when you are trained with a professional especially with an IACP pro trainer.  Give us a call if you need help with potty training your dog.   We will come right to your home and help you get set up with your dog to succeed the first time. Most of the time a dogs problems are manmade let us help train you to not make the manmade problems and show you the right thing the first time around.   We use K9 behavior to your advantage. We work with all breeds large or small. They are all canines they respond in the same matter of communication.  We will teach you how to speak K9 with just a little training. Give us a call 586-336-9447 or visit k9kindergarten.net

Student of the Week

  This weeks student is Oreo.  She is half Springer Spaniel and half German Short Hair.  She is a very sweet puppy.   She is about 8mo. old  and has the stubborness and intelligence of both breeds along with the energy of the springer.  This is what her mom had to say after we had a few visits.

Hi Dave!