Puppy Pad Training – The Good, the bad and the ugly!
When you first bring a puppy home your heart is filled with their furry warmth and beautiful friendly eyes. Within a short time that love and adoration can quickly turn to frustration, especially when bare feet find the latest “accident” on the hall carpet.
This is where puppy pad training often begins. For many people house training a dog means teaching them to go outside to do their business, however some would prefer to train their pet to use a puppy pad permanently or as a transitional device.
When you cannot be at home for long periods of time it is important that your new puppy has some alternatives, this is the most popular reason for puppy pad training.
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Once you have completed the training you can then choose whether to move it to the next level and work on completely house training your dog.
Odor
The first thing you should do is check your house for previous pet odors. Dogs know their environment by smell and if your new puppy can smell where another animal has eliminated it is a safe bet this will become the puppy “bathroom”. In some cases this works well, especially if it is an out of the way area. Most of the time though you will want to move the bathroom to a more suitable location. This will require a thorough cleaning of the spot and perhaps a strong pet odor eliminator.
Pad Training
Puppy pad training is all about finding a place where it is okay for your puppy to eliminate and then communicating this information to your dog. This is where the problems usually come in, over time dogs will understand what you are saying based on associated actions, but in the beginning you are going to have to establish your “language”.
Consistency and repetition are the best ways to communicate with your new puppy. As this relates to puppy pad training it means you should keep the pads consistently in the same location and use the same words for potty every time. The word choice matters little, but the repetition of the phrase is vitally important.
Crate
Some people find to puppy pad training is easier when couple with a crate. This is where you will keep your dog in an approved dog crate, leaving a small area for sleeping and covering the rest with puppy pads. Basically you are giving them little choice but to use the puppy pads and once this has been accomplished it is simply a matter moving them out of the crate with the pads nearby. Puppy pad training in this manner generally goes very quickly, however if your puppy is very young you could find baths are a regular occurrence as they will step in their mess and transfer it to their sleeping area.
General Tips
Perhaps the best thing you can do while puppy pad training is to be very observant and catch Fido before he needs to go. First thing of a morning, a few minutes after eating and late in the evening are prime time for a potty break. Place your dog on the puppy pads and use the word or phrase you have chosen, such as potty, bathroom or simply go.
Conclusion
Puppy pad training can be trying to your patience; some dogs will take longer to become adjusted than others. The important thing to remember is to praise your dog when he does it right. Well-placed praise and consistency is the key to puppy pad training.
