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Most people train their dogs to relieve themselves outside the house but sometimes it might make sense to train your dog to do it inside, especially if you live in an apartment or don’t have an outdoor area where you can leave your puppy while you’re at work. Living with animals can be a joy but you do need to be organized in all aspects of your life.
Puppy potty training tips
1-Be consistent when teaching indoor potty training
You need to send very clear messages to your puppy and be very consistent to prevent confusion. Your puppy needs to understand what area of the house is his or her bathroom. Dogs can more easily distinguish the difference between being indoors and being outdoors, but it’s harder for your four-legged family member to understand the difference between the kitchen and bathroom.
2-Choose an area and stick to it
Decide on a puppy potty area and try not to change it. Lay out sheets of newspaper on the floor, absorbent potty pads, dog litter box or tray lined with artificial turf. Changing your puppy’s potty area can be confusing for your pet.
3-Don’t set up in the kitchen
Cooking next to dog poo is the fastest way to discourage the humans in your household from persisting with puppy training. So take a tip and don’t set up your puppy poo area in the kitchen!
4-Keep away from carpet
Choosing a room with hard flooring is way better than trying to set up your puppy potty on carpet as there will most probably be some overflow and your puppy is likely to have a few misses. Better still, try to avoid having carpet in your home, especially if you have allergies, as dog hair tends to stick to carpet and can be hard to clean.
5-Don’t expect your puppy to be a genius
Your puppy is not likely to know instinctively where to relieve itself so be patient and don’t expect it to know what to do. You need to spend the time to potty train your puppy and teach it how to live with you.
6-Don’t let your dog choose its potty area
Dogs seem to have a talent for picking places that are hard to clean. If you let your puppy choose its poo area, be prepared for your expensive Persian rug in the living room to be ruined. Or your puppy might decide on several areas throughout the house.
7-Set up a puppy detention area
Create an area where your dog can be confined. Set up a bed, toys, food and water bowls, and potty pads in the area. As your puppy gets used to using the pads, you can then increase its confinement area gradually until your puppy has the run of the house.
8-Get a crate
If you don’t have the space to create a confinement area, try crate training. Confining your puppy in a crate is one way to teach it to learn to wait to pee and poo. This method is effective but extremely time-consuming. You’ll need to be on hand to take your puppy out of the crate frequently.