How to Pad Train a Puppy
Bringing home a cute adorable puppy makes everyone excited to teach the puppy different tricks. Before teaching your puppy some cool tricks, don’t forget to potty train him first. Housebreaking a puppy may be a bit hard for you if you don’t know the proper way of doing it. Here are some tips to pad train a puppy.
Advantages of Pad Training
Puppy pads are very convenient. If you can’t watch your puppy all the time, having a pad will help train him even when you’re not around. These pads have chemicals in them that attract the puppy to go on the pad whenever he needs to urinate or defecate.
No mess. Most of these pads are leak-proof, so you don’t have to worry about your floor or carpet getting soiled. You just pick an area inside your home where you want your puppy to do his business and place the pad there.
Cheap. There are numerous brands of puppy pads on the market. Choose a product that fits your budget.
Housebreaking your Puppy
Have Several Pads Inside the House.
Watch out for patterns. Dogs usually sniff the floor or walk in circles when they want to urinate or defecate.
When you see your puppy doing this, guide him to the puppy pad and let him do his business.
Don’t forget to praise your puppy for a job well done. Pet him or give him a treat after peeing or pooping on the pad.
Place One Puppy Pad by the Door
Your puppy will eventually look for the pads when he needs to do his business.
Place one near the door and remove the other pads. This a way of preparing him to pee and poop outside.
Again, don’t forget positive reinforcements. Praise your puppy and give him treats whenever he does something good. Never punish your puppy by hitting him. You can use verbal cues to let your puppy know that you liked or disliked how he acted.
Put a Puppy Pad Right Outside your Door
When your puppy starts going to the door when he needs to pee or poop, this is your cue to take the pad outside.
Put the pad not too far away from the door. Keep in mind that your puppy needs to be trained slowly so that he’ll have enough time to adjust with his potty habits.
Place a Puppy Pad on the Grass
After a week or 2 of potty training your puppy just outside your door, place the pad on an area where you want your puppy to urinate or defecate.
Always be aware of your puppy’s cues to go outside. By this time, he has learned the habit of going to the door when he needs to pee or poop.
Remove the pad when your puppy has learned to go to his pee/ poop spot when he needs to.
Tips:
If you don’t like to buy puppy pads, you may use old newspapers and spray them with a solution that has the same effect as the ones on puppy pads. You can buy these in pet stores.
You have to be consistent and patient when potty training your puppy. Dogs learn through routine. If you give him treats for doing a good job, don’t forget to do this all the time.
Be your puppy’s boss. Don’t let him urinate anywhere he wants. Find a way to make him follow your directions without punishing him. Positive reinforcements works well on puppies the way it works with kids.
Know your puppy’s bowel habits. Dogs usually need to urinate a few minutes after waking up and half an hour to 40 minutes after having a meal. Knowing your puppy’s bowel habits will make it easier for you to determine what time you can feed him and when you have to let him go outside.
Potty training your puppy needs time and an awful lot of patience. Don’t expect your dog to be potty trained over night. Give your puppy the chance to learn his routine. Keep in mind what Aristotle once said, excellence is an art won by training and habituation.