What Age Should a Puppy Be Toilet Trained?
What age should a puppy be toilet trained?
At eight weeks, puppies are still a bit too young to realistically be potty training. While they may be able to hold their bladder for a few hours, their bladders are small and are not fully developed yet.
This means that they need to be taken out frequently, and you need to keep an eye on them between these times to see if they have to go. Puppies are easily distracted, so you need to be patient when training them.
The key to successful toilet training is to use positive reinforcement. This means that whenever they go to the toilet in the right place, you should reward them with a tasty treat. You need to repeat this process as often as possible and keep your dog rewarded for doing the right thing.
You can teach them to recognise the signs they need to go outside by watching them closely and using a verbal command such as “toilet” before and during their trip outside. This will help them to know what they need to do, and will also help you to avoid accidents when your puppy is in the house.
If you do find a soiled spot on the floor, clean it up immediately. Getting angry or punishing your pup for an accident will only make things worse.
It is a good idea to confine your pup to a safe place when they are sleeping (such as a crate or play pen). This will help to ensure that they do not poo in their sleep, and will also prevent them from having access to the rest of your home.
When you first start toilet training, it is important to set a specific time for each trip to the toilet, and to take your puppy out to the same spot every time. It is a good idea to use pet pee pads or newspapers to cover the area as well.
Once your puppy is used to going to the toilet at the designated times, you can then change the times to suit them. The most common times are when they wake up from a nap, when they have eaten, or when they have played.
If your puppy has an accident, try not to get angry, as this will only frighten them and stop you from trying to toilet train them. It is a good idea to give them a treat, or praise them for their successful trips, instead.
Taking your puppy to the toilet at the same time every day is a great way to build their confidence and reinforce their good behaviour. The more they do this, the easier it will be for them to recognise when they need to go.
You can then use your dog’s favourite treats to reward them for their successes, so they will be looking forward to going to the toilet and want to do it more and more often. This will be the ideal time to start training them with a verbal command such as “toilet” or ‘potty’.