Puppies are so adorable with their softness, big eyes and lovable ways! For sure, everyone loves puppies but these cuddly furry creatures require so much care especially in home and housetraining them. Here is some important information in home and housetraining your puppy:

 

Feeding

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Feed your puppy with a good quality dry puppy food. Do not give it table scraps and as much as possible, do not change brands. If you need to change, feed you pup gradually within a period from 4 to 7 days. Alternately, feed your pup with the old brand followed by the new one while slowly phasing out the old. Do not feed him tinned food as it loosens stool and makes housetraining more difficult.

About an hour after eating, most puppies will defecate so you can control his elimination time based on your feeding schedule.

 

Close Supervision

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In order to housetrain your puppy, you have to supervise him at all times especially when outside his crate or newspaper covered area. When he starts sniffing the floor, circling or running around, he is giving signs that he needs to “toilet” so bring him immediately to your properly designated area.

If your puppy defecates in the wrong place, stop him by saying NO in a loud assertive tone. Apply deodorizer on places where he eliminated so he will not go there again. Potty, place must be free of distractions; your pup must not consider play a part of potty.

 

Confinement

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When your puppy is left alone in your home; it is recommended that he must be placed in a crate or confined area. Confinement is a good way to keep your puppy safe and prevent housetraining accidents. However, it should not be used as a form of punishment, for isolating pets for a long time, can be very detrimental to your pet. Confinement can be the source of behavioural problems like excessive barking, self-mutilation, digging and hyperactivity. Puppies also need the essentials like exercise, daily companionship and playtime.

 

Safety Zone, Grey Zone & Danger Zone

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In a puppy’s daily life, there is a thing called temporary “Safety Zone”. It is the time that the owner can trust the puppy to hold his urine after he has defecated or was taken for a walk. To know your puppy’s safety zone, you should first record for several days your puppy’s urinating and defecating schedules. After that, deduct 15-30 minutes from the period of minimum interval between elimination. Do not let puppy drink a lot of water during that time to make the safety zone work. Grey zone and danger zone are those outside this safety zone. Also, closely supervise your puppy when he is not confined in his crate.

 

Be Patient, Wait

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Do not return from a walk until your puppy defecates. Before your puppy has the chance to soil on his crate or your floor, make sure to take him outside first thing in the morning. As a pet owner, patience must be exercised in waiting for your puppy to eliminate outdoors before going back inside. Do not forget to praise your puppy afterwards by giving him a nice treat. If your puppy is taking a very long time to eliminate and you still have some chores to finish, you can crate your puppy for the meantime. Then, every 15-30 minutes take him outside until he finally defecates.

 

Interactive Socialization

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They say that no man is an island. Even puppies also treasure company like humans do. It is vital that your puppy gets to interact with lots of friendly people. Family or friends can visit your home if your puppy is not immunized yet. However, if your puppy already has the necessary vaccines, it is a must to let him interact with the outside world. Whether it is new people or just the sights of the street, your puppy will enjoy a stroll outside.

 

Praise & Reward

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Every good deed must come with a reward especially for puppies. If your puppy feels that you are satisfied with his good behaviour, then he will feel happy too. In order to train your puppy, try to call out a trigger word like “potty” or “be clean”. Then if your puppy will obey, give him a treat right away. Make sure that you do not delay your praise as it will be ineffective if not done immediately.