HOUSTON – Those who have a new puppy living at home know one of the hardest parts of cohabitation is teaching the dog the right place and time to potty. Accidents are part of the process, but after a few weeks, these accidents should be happening less and less. That’s why Stephanie Bennett, owner and director of Believe in Dog Training, stopped by our studio with potty training tips to make your life easier and save your floors from all kind of sticky accidents.
“I need to make sure that with my patience and understanding, I teach my puppy exactly where I do want her to go, not concentrating on where I don’t want her to go, but where I do want her to do, and that’s the most important thing. So immediately after, every time, immediately after she eats and drinks, we go outside, and she may or may not go right then. After every nap, we go outside, after every play session, we go outside. After getting out of the crate of a long-term confinement, we go outside,” said Bennett, who suggests giving your puppy five to 10 minutes to empty their stomach, but if they don’t go, bring them back inside and don’t allow them to roam freely.
“I’ll put them back into the crate for five to 15 minutes, and then I’ll go again because the crate helps me anticipate when they are going to potty. They hold it in there. They don’t like to go where they eat or sleep.”
Bennett also recommends putting your puppy on a feeding schedule to figure out their body clock.
“If I write down, if I keep a log on, ‘Here’s when you ate breakfast, and here’s where you pooped,’ so now I know, OK, it usually takes about 30 minutes for this puppy after they finished their meal, I can anticipate this”
For more tips, watch the video above.