Housetraining tips for your puppies

THEY need a lot of care, especially at home

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

Feeding 

Feed your puppy with a superior brand of dry puppy food. Do not give him table scraps and as much as possible, do not change brands. If you need to change, introduce gradually over a period of four to seven days.  Do not feed him with tinned food as it loosens stools and makes housetraining more difficult. An hour after eating, most puppies will defecate so you can control his elimination time based on your feeding schedule.

Close Supervision

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 eliminate 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 and assertive tone. Apply deodoriser on places where he eliminated so he will not go there again. The potty place must be free of distractions, your pup must not consider play a part of potty.

Confinement

When your puppy is left alone in your home it is recommended that he 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 them. 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 and danger zone

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 your puppy drink a lot of water during that time to make sure the safety zone works. Grey zones and danger zones are those outside this safety zone. Also, closely supervise your puppy when he is not confined in his crate.