Puppy Potty Training 101
By: Cyd Oldham, Dog Behaviorist

Before you bring a puppy home, plan to take one or two weeks off of work, so you have uninterrupted time to focus on the puppy — and, in particular puppy potty training. Otherwise, it will take much longer to housebreak your pup.

Puppies learn new skills at different rates. It will take time for your puppy to develop a firm understanding of where it’s acceptable to potty and where it is not. It will take time for your pup to consistently understand that all of the house is the den, an area not to be soiled.

There are basically two methods to choose from when potty training your puppy.  Once you have chosen a method – stick to it so you don’t confuse your puppy.

Potty Pad Method:
Prepare a “Safe Room” for your puppy (many people use a laundry room or bathroom for this purpose) by covering the entire floor with potty pads except for the place where puppy’s bed or crate is placed.  Puppies will not soil their bed, so any place else puppy chooses to potty will be on a pad.  After several days remove one pad from the room.  The puppy will continue to use the potty pads to do his business.  Every day or two remove another pad until there is only one left.  This is a good method for people who must be gone from home for several hours, as puppy can learn to use the potty pad and finally be allowed out of the safe room with continued access to the room and his potty pad.

Outside Only Method:
You must spend time with your puppy for this to work.  Remember that dogs “poop” after they eat – so if you free feed your puppy (leave food down all day long) you will never know when he needs to go.  Feeding puppy 3 times a day is best.  As soon as he is finished eating, take puppy outside to the place you would like him to go potty and tell him “Go Potty,”  then wait for him.  When he goes, praise him heavily then take him back inside.  Puppies “pee” much more often – sometimes as often as every 30 minutes to an hour.  You will need to take your puppy outside to that same spot and tell him “Go Potty” very often, giving him a couple of minutes to go.  If he does, praise him heavily before returning to the house.  If he does not, take him back inside, but don’t wait the full time before taking him back outside again.  You might try taking him out again after 10-15 minutes.  Also, some puppies sniff around to find a “spot” before they potty in the house, some don’t.  Keep a close eye on your pup – if he has lost interest in what he was playing with and seems to be wandering aimlessly – He Needs to Potty. 

A very important tip – dogs never understand punishment after the fact.  When an accident happens, just chalk it up to your not watching puppy closely enough, clean it up, and move on.  “Rubbing his nose in it” accomplishes nothing except to make puppy afraid of you.

There are many type of dog training and many objectives, from basic obedience training to specialized areas including police dog, search and rescue, assistance to people with disabilities and entertainment.

Basic Obedience
This is the fundamental type of training in dogs and all dogs must have some form of obedience training. Basic obedience training makes life simple to your dog and eliminates confusion. Your dog will know his place in the world and understand right from wrong. Dogs seem to really appreciate and thrive on this black and white view of the world.

Entertainment
This form of training capitalizes on tricks to please an audience. They are excellent in resisting distractions coming from various people and even the environment. Some of the tricks being taught are standing, heeling, and moving objects. Training dog for show is hard work, but a lot of fun.

Police Dog
Police dogs were first used in 1899 by the Belgian police force. They serve and protect our communities’ daily, performing skills like protection, narcotics locating, and tracking criminal or missing persons. It takes special dogs and very special trainers to create productive policing teams. This is achieved through intensive and careful training.

Assistance to People with Disabilities
Many people who are blind, handicapped, or those with medical conditions take on the task of training their own assistance dogs. For some, this is the best option, because the dog can be trained to mitigate a disability specific to that particular person. Assistance dog training is quite expensive especially if one prefers a professionally trained and certified pet. One may also opt to take on the task of training them though.

Search and Rescue
A search and rescue dog is trained to locate that scent and help their handlers find people who are lost or missing. With great senses of smell, these types of dog find missing people through air scenting. This simply means tracking down people through their smell by sniffing through the air. Ground smelling may also be used.

Please also check out our other guide on Dog Agility Courses and Dog Agility Jumps.

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Many people will train their dog for various sporting events such as Frisbee catching or obstacle races, then there are some that get into the show dog training aspect of it all. This is where your dog will be showcased as a class breed according to the AKC or CKC, and they will be judged for their appearance and demeanor. This is something that is extremely popular, and you will find some of the best dogs in the world are being trained to partake in such events around the world. This is a wonderful way for your dog to show their stuff, and you never know you could actually see your dog with the ribbon one day.

Composure

One of the most important aspects of the show dog training is composure. This is the demeanor that the dog is going to carry in the ring, when they are being viewed by the judge and the audience alike. When they are being checked over, they are expected to stay calm and collected. They will have their eyes and ears looked over, and the judge will look over the dog’s teeth. This is when the dog must behave the most, as it would be an immediate fail if the dog reacted poorly to the judge handling them in this manner. If the dog cannot be trained to keep their composure, they will not be permitted to enter any one the contests that they are training for.

Following Commands

Show dog training means that the dog is going to have to pay close attention to the commands that are given when they are given. If the dog should fail to follow a command by either the handler or the judge, they will not be able to proceed in the event. The commands will be simple and direct, and if the dog is to go anywhere within the show circuit they are going to need to excel at this aspect. There is no room for error in this field, and your dog should be trained to understand this idea. The judge in this type of event has no patience for a dog that is unruly, so this is something that trainers pay particularly close attention too. This will ensure that the dog will not fall behind the pack, due to a misunderstanding. The dog will be trained to succeed, so they must now prove what they have learned.

Walking, Trotting, And Standing Tall

Show dog training will incorporate a few very basic yet critical practices when they are in their program. This means that sitting, standing, and any form of walking or trotting, will be done so with great pride and integrity. All of these actions will be used quite frequently when in a show, so it is vital for these to be worked on diligently with the trainers. There are very few trainers that will forego this type of training for something else early on, so you can expect that the dog will get a full schedule of it.

Have you simply gotten your first puppy and want to make sure that you start your new pet on its way to a long healthy life with your family? If you answered yes to any of these questions then Alpha Paws dog training school may be right for you.

Puppy Preschool

Puppy preschool is a one hour program that is conducted by a professional dog trainer right in your home. It is designed to help you and puppy get off to a good start and covers such things as

1. Potty training your puppy

2. positive puppy games you can play with your new pet

3. Controlling your puppies chewing and biting

4. Giving your new best friend the proper nutrition

5. Helping you to ensure that your child and puppy interact well together

6. This program touches on many other issues as well.

Basic Obedience Training

Alpha paws basic training program is a ten day program that teaches your dog all the basic obedience commands and signals and that these commands must be obeyed. In addition, there are 5 follow up lessons with family members to help them integrate the use of the commands in the home with all family members.

Off The Leash Program

Alpha Paws also offers a 10 day off the leash program that will have your dog working in your home and enclosed yard without a leash despite any distractions that come along. He will increase his knowledge of both verbal commands and hand signals as well.

Behavior Problems

Alpha paws dog training also offers you help with a wide range of behavior problems your dog may be having including:

1. Destructive behaviors such as digging biting during play and various kinds of aggression

2. Chasing cars, animals, birds and other moving objects

3. excessive barking

4. housebreaking issues

There is even a free assessment that you can fill out online to help Alpha Paws determine what type of behavior training your pet needs.

Alpha Paws is a great program that provides training both for you and your pet and helps to strengthen the bond between you and your beloved pet. However, unless you live in Newmarket, Ontario or the surrounding area you won’t be easily able to enroll in training programs. However, there is no need to despair as the founder of Alpha Paws, Peter Brown offers a DVD of his training program to those who live too far away to take advantage of the live program.

Whether you enroll in the program or purchase the training DVD you can rest assured that the tips you receive will help you to have more confidence in your relationship with your dog and make you a better, more confident owner and your pet a better behaved dog.

At Alpha Paws we have a training solution that’s right for you! All of our programs consist of private individual sessions with a professional dog trainer. We believe that the best results are achieved through focused, one-on-one sessions with you and your dog.