Some Tips for Toilet Training your Stubborn Puppy

Trying to potty train a stubborn pup can be one of the most exhausting experiences of your life. House training a puppy is a rather tricky business, especially when you do it with an obstinate individual. It does not help at all.

If you are trying to potty-train a stubborn puppy, you need a proper routine to be successful. Young puppies are not always in tune with their needs. Hence, they can always end up making mistakes. However, as long as you make the rules and the rewards for following them predictable, you can be sure your pup acclimatizes to the routine quickly.

Developing a routine that can be relied on

Undoubtedly it is necessary to potty-train your pup frequently. It is especially true for young puppies. If your puppy cannot reliably predict when they would be taken outside, they would have less incentive to adhere to a definite routine. You have to offer your pup the chance to go out and potty once every couple of hours. This way, your puppy would develop a routine they can predict and stick to.

Even as they grow older and their bodies change need to take potty breaks would be less frequent, and significantly so.

Not ruling out potential health or anxiety issues

If your pup has not responded to potty training, you must never rule out the possibility they are doing so because they are experiencing a health issue or anxiety. Medical problems can arise at a young age and lead to potty issues.

Some of them are below:

• kidney or bladder stones
• urinary tract infection
• liver disease
• parasites

Teaching your puppy the cue — go potty

Pet parents with stubborn pups find that the cue — go potty — or teaching them the same makes things simpler. Fortunately, enough, this is easy to execute as well. On each occasion that your pup pees at the correct spot, you should utter this cue. The best thing to do would be to say it in a calm and neutral voice to ensure it does not disrupt them. You can also utter the cue repeatedly so that you can reinforce it.

Once your pup goes to the potty, you should offer them treats and praise to help solidify their training.

Using positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is best for a dog parent to establish potty training in puppies. You should offer them a treat and praise them straightaway once your pup finishes going potty. It would make sure that they have the strongest association with the practice. It is significant to ensure that the treats remain discreet so that your pup associates going to the potty with relief rather than treats.

Crate training your pup

An essential part of the process of potty training your pup is to limit the access they have to the entire home. You need to ensure that they have access to solid floors rather than ones with rugs and carpets — make sure you put their crate in such an area. Also, ensure that their crate is big enough for them to perform the following actions comfortably:

• sitting
• standing
• lying down
• stretching out

Leave your pup in its crates for an hour each month till they are four months old.

Since they would not want to soil their area of comfort, they would learn to control their potty needs.

Neutering or spaying your pup

If you see that your pup has a bad habit of urinating in your home, it might be time that you got them neutered or spayed. If a dog has not gone through these procedures, they would have uncontrolled hormones that would make them experience issues such as getting anxious and having a compulsive urge to mark their homes as their territory. Thankfully, if this is the cause of such behavior, it can be resolved with a visit to the vet.

Using pet-friendly cleaners

One of the common mistakes that ultimately lead to the failure of potty training programs is using ammonia-based cleaners. While human noses cannot detect the smell of ammonia, pups can, and this odor makes them think that the entire house is a toilet. Thankfully, you have enzymatic cleaners created for all kinds of purposes that you can think of, and using them would make the entire potty training of your pup much simple. You can be sure that would be beneficial for you too.

Not using a puppy pad

Puppy pads can be quite a tool when in a bad situation, but experts recommend not to use them for potty training your pup. Pee pads can help ensure your puppy concentrates the accidents in just one area of the house. However, they would not help a young puppy learn the exercise of going outside to potty. So, even if you use them, do so for emergencies. Also, stick to a dependable routine for your pup to know that peeing is recommended only outdoors.

Devising a napping and feeding schedule

Potty training a dog can be rather complicated if they do not have a routine they can follow at all times. If your dog is stubborn, it would be used to napping and eating at its convenience only. This, in turn, would lead them to assume that they can do whatever they like and do so wherever they want to. If you maintain a schedule, it will help you establish control over the bathroom times of your dog. Pups need to eat three times a day, while for older dogs, a couple of times are okay.

Give them a potty break immediately after their mealtime and nap

Take your dog outside immediately after getting up from a nap or after finishing eating. The younger your dog is, the more significant it is for you to move fast to the elimination spot following these two activities. This is where virtues such as consistency and patience are so important. You can stay with your dog either with them on a leash or in the yard and give them the potty cue. Let them sniff the ground and walk around till they do their work.

Conclusion

It does not matter how stubborn your pup is — if you have the right amount of consistency and patience, it would be possible for you to get them potty trained. Since your puppy is young, you would have to give top priority to giving them a routine that they can predict time and again. Also, throughout the time you are training your pup, positive reinforcement is an absolute must. In the initial stages, it may feel a bit challenging to maintain the routine. However, once your stubborn pup becomes a well-behaved dog, you would be thanking yourself.

FAQs

How to stop your 8-month-old pup from pooping and peeing in the house?

The moment you see them doing any such thing, interrupt them immediately by saying something and clapping. Get them outside as soon as you can, and get them on a leash if you must.

What can you do if your puppy’s potty training fails?

Every time you must teach your pup to use the same area. Put your puppy in a particular spot and encourage them to go for it.

How long can it take for a pup to be potty trained?

It usually takes anywhere between 4 and 6 months for you to fully house-train a pup. However, some puppies might take a year too. A lot in this case also depends on their size.

What is the fastest way to toilet-train a pup?

You must give them opportunities to pee and poop in the right place. Establish a proper routine for that.

What smell do dogs hate to pee on?

Vinegar and other acidic smells are something that dogs cannot stand because of their heightened sense of smell. It is much the same with citric smells though not to the same extent.