A pet is a big responsibility for its owner. In addition to the fact that the dog needs to be bathed, fully fed, taught commands, and also know how to toilet train a puppy .
This is a rather long and difficult process that requires a lot of patience and time from the owner. This often takes more than one month. If your pet needs to learn to go to the toilet outside, you will even have to take a vacation to devote all the time to this process.
Accustoming time
And although understanding comes to puppies quite quickly, the training period is individual. As a rule, understanding is formed in a couple of repetitions, but skill - in 2-3 weeks.
After this, the owner can only control and bring the acquired skill to perfection. This period is the longest. It may take several months.
But this is only connected with the dog’s young age, because small puppies, like little children, cannot endure for long. They play around, get distracted and forget to run to the tray.
Toilet training time is reduced if:
- the puppy's mother went to the toilet;
- the breeder has toilet trained the pet;
- the puppy was taken from its mother at the age of 1-1.5 months, and the first two points were not fulfilled;
- when the puppy is the only pet in the apartment;
- if the owner can stay at home all day for a month.
How to feed small breed puppies
The first year of life is very important for small breed puppies, as all physical growth occurs during the first 12 months of life (8-9 for toy breeds weighing less than 5 kg).
This is the time when the body is laying the foundation for a long and healthy adult life, so the puppy requires special nutrition - food that has everything it needs to support healthy growth and immunity.
Small breed puppies have an increased need for energy: they are very active and burn calories quickly, and they also grow very quickly. As a general rule, the smaller the breed, the faster the puppies grow and reach adult size sooner. Rapid growth and important changes in the puppy's body require optimal levels of the right nutrients to ensure proper development of muscles, bones and internal organs.
Small breed dogs oral disease at an early age and the disease progresses more quickly than in larger breeds. This is why it is so important from the very beginning to give small breed dogs food that helps maintain clean, strong teeth and healthy gums.
In the first days of life, the puppy receives antibodies that protect its body from infections from its mother's milk. When a puppy is weaned from its mother, the level of antibodies drops sharply and the formation of its own immune system begins. She also begins to produce antibodies, but in small quantities. Over time, their number increases, but since the puppy’s immunity is just developing, this protection is not effective enough.
During this period, called the immune gap, the puppy is vulnerable to infections and digestive disorders. In addition, as in babies, stressful situations in a puppy's life can cause digestive disorders due to an imbalance in the microflora (bacteria) in the intestines. Separating from his mother and siblings and moving to a new home can be stressful events and upset his sensitive digestive system.
Toilet arrangement
There are several options for arranging a toilet for your pet:
- regular newspaper;
- a tray filled with special filler;
- disposable diaper.
If you choose a newspaper and a diaper, then place it in the tray intended for this. You should choose a regular pallet without a mesh. Make sure that nothing leaks onto the floor or under the baseboard after the puppy does his business.
A litter tray is more of a cat option. The fact is, their natural reflexes allow them to bury their waste. Dogs are not endowed with such an instinct. When installing a litter box for a puppy, it should not be equipped with high sides. No swaying or wobbling.
When buying a puppy from breeders, as a rule, they sell pets that are already toilet trained. To do this, they mainly use newspaper. So after buying a pet, be sure to ask the seller what kind of toilet the dog is trained to.
Even a small puppy chooses a place based on its natural instincts; they relieve themselves near the doors, under the windows. To prevent this, the owner must initially choose the right place for the puppy to toilet.
For a while, you can remove the carpet, carpet, and paths from the apartment. If a dog goes to the toilet on the carpet at least once, he will understand how great it is. It is fluffy and soft, and also instantly absorbs liquid.
Rest assured that it will not be so easy to wean him off this. After installing the tray, you should not change the tray, but it should always be clean. You cannot move it from place to place. Dogs must get used to consistency.
Using newspaper as a bedding, be prepared for the fact that the little fidget will start playing with them and tearing pieces into small pieces. At first you will have to be patient, because you will have to clean the room often.
When and how long to take a 1-3 month old puppy outside?
toilet train a one-month-old puppy right away by taking him outside and not to the newspaper. Since an adult dog will always relieve itself on the street, it is worth teaching it to do so right away.
Until 3 months of age, take the puppy outside as often as possible. Do this after every feeding and active play. You can understand that your pet wants to go to the toilet if it starts to spin around, as if looking for a place.
When toilet training him, you need to be consistent. If you spend time at work during the day and you can’t take your dog outside, the training process will be noticeably delayed. A disrupted routine will negatively affect the pet’s understanding of what the owner wants from him.
As soon as the puppy goes to the toilet outside, it is important to praise him. Do this generously and boisterously, you can give him a treat. If a puppy defecates at home, then you must punish him, not beat him, but look him sternly in the eyes and say “ugh.” At the same time, do not shout or become aggressive.
It will immediately become clear to the pet that he heard the owner. While walking outside, the puppy does not always want to go to the toilet. All you have to do is either take a longer walk or actively play with him. Puppies under 3 months never tolerate it for long. Just wait until your baby starts to sit down.
When night falls, leave the dog in a separate room. If you are leaving for a long time, cover the floor in the room with newspapers. Do this until the baby learns to endure and wait to go outside. Then the dog can be left in any room of the apartment.
How to train a puppy older than 3 months
If the dog is already more than 3 months old, then you can take him outside after sleeping, eating, and playing. As soon as she goes to the toilet, praise her loudly. If your pet defecates at home, then you need to sternly say “ugh” to him and slap him with your hand in the croup area. After just a few physical punishments, the dog will learn to understand its owner.
to train a puppy to go to the toilet outside at that age. Already at 3 months the pet understands commands and can tolerate it. If you leave him at home for the whole day, he will wait for the owner to come and will not defecate on the carpet.
Tray training
There are many ways to train pets to use a litter box or diaper. This may take several days or several months. If you decide to buy a 2-month-old pet, then for some time you will have to wipe up puddles and spend time and effort on training.
Each dog breed requires an individual approach. The rate of learning depends on how the rules of taming were determined. But, be that as it may, nothing will work out without conditions and quickly.
A puppy is a small child, and newborns are not able to go to the toilet on their own. Some people learn to do this earlier, and some later. Puppies begin to consistently do their business in the tray by 5-7 months. It is necessary to punish a pet according to the strength of guilt. And praise is 2 times greater than the power of perfection.
So, quickly accustom your puppy to the toilet in the form of a tray:
1. Place the diaper in the tray. She needs to blot the puddle for the smell to be present. As soon as the puppy begins to spin around and look for a place to go to the toilet, take him to the tray and keep him there for 5 minutes.
At the same time, make sure that the dog does not sleep or catch flies. As soon as the job was done, I praise him and give him a treat. If all else fails, take the baby into the tray again after 5 minutes.
Do this until the result is achieved. After a while, the puppy will learn to go to the litter box on its own so that he can be given a treat. The owner must monitor the dog so as not to miss the right moment.
2. Take a newspaper or diaper and cover the tray. Remember which newspapers the puppy defecated on most often. After 3-5 days, remove 2-3 newspapers that remain clean. After another 5 days, reduce the number of newspapers again.
Do this until one diaper remains. In this matter, haste is not welcome. It is necessary that the dog goes to the toilet only on the left newspaper, even if it is in the center of the room.
As soon as there is only one diaper left in the center, then move it a couple of centimeters every day in the right direction (in the place that you prepared for the toilet). If it is necessary for the baby to defecate in the tray, then leave the diaper next to him for a while, gradually reducing the area of the diaper.
3. Place a tray in the center of the room and place newspapers or diapers on the bottom. They have to be soaked in a puddle first. Limit the available space for the puppy by allocating one room.
During playtime he will go into the litter box and the scent coming out will remind him of what he needs to do. As soon as the tray becomes a permanent place for bowel movements, move it 2-3 cm to the required location. At the same time, do not forget to praise your pet when he does everything right.
Whichever of the above methods of litter box training you choose, the main thing is to achieve results. If it is missing, it means you have to reconsider your tactics and find an approach specifically to your pet.
Once the skill has been mastered, the dog can be weaned off the treat. At first, praise him for toileting every other time, every other time, and so on. The main thing is that he does not get used to it, otherwise he will have to prepare a tasty treat after each bowel movement.
What do you need to buy?
Before you start the training process itself, you need to buy a tray and diapers, as well as something very tasty for the dog. for your puppy, so that later, when the dog is home, you can begin the training process. So, you brought a new friend into your home - a puppy, what to do next? Initially, he needs to be given his place in the apartment. It’s good if there is a room that can be closed, the smaller it is in area, the better. Neither a bathroom with a toilet nor a storage room will be suitable for these purposes.
A good solution is the kitchen, where you often go and can keep an eye on the puppy, and he won’t be sad and lonely. Just take care of the puppy’s safety, remove all electrical wires (they need to be hidden) and the carpet. If you cannot remove the wiring anywhere, then it must be thoroughly and generously treated with a special Anti-Gryzin product.
Now you need to put a tray and put a diaper in it, also put a diaper next to it - this is necessary to create a large toilet space. You need to place them not very far from the place where your dog rests. Remember, puppies urinate very often, but unlike cats, they will not alert anyone. But there is also a positive aspect to this, since unlike cats, they do not look for places that are difficult to get to.
Possible problems
There are situations when to train a puppy to go to the toilet outside, even with all the methods used. He still does his business on the floor. To do this, you need to change the diaper to a different material.
You can take a newspaper or a regular rag and place it in the place your pet has chosen. Before this, the material used must be treated with special compounds. You can easily find them at any pharmacy or pet store.
If in the future you are going to accustom the animal to the street, then you need to walk with it more often, and it is best to do this after sleep or food. In this matter, a lot depends on the owner. You can toilet train your pet if:
- have positive motivation;
- have strong nerves and great patience;
- do not lose trust from your pet.
You must admit that caring for pets is very difficult. This should be done by a person who really loves to tinker with pets and has not only the time, but also the desire. If you create all the conditions for your dog to go to the toilet and treat him with love, then after a while you will definitely receive a reward.
Useful tips
- As you begin the process of toilet training your puppy, you need to understand that it is usually a lengthy process. Therefore, you definitely need to be patient and calmly react to your pet’s failures.
- If at first it seems to you that all your efforts are in vain, and the puppy, ignoring your efforts, still relieves itself in the wrong place, don’t even think about yelling at him, much less hitting him. This will only make it worse, because the puppy will not understand your aggression correctly and will begin to be afraid to go to the toilet in the house.
- Given the fact that dogs love to pee on soft surfaces, all carpets in the apartment should be removed. If the puppy manages to do something to him once, then it will not be very easy to wean him off the carpet. And it’s almost impossible to completely remove the smell from it.
- If the room in a house or apartment is very large or you are away from work for a long time, then it is advisable to install not one tray, but several.
- To quickly train a puppy to use the toilet, there are special sprays that need to be used to periodically treat the tray or diaper. You can buy them at any pet store.
Choose the most suitable food for your dog: Pedigree, Grandorf, FortiFlora.
