Puppy Potty Training

I have clients ask me all the time... "can you PLEASE give me some puppy potty training tips?"

When I tell people I was able to have my puppy potty trained at 11 weeks they are blown away.  They think it's impossible to potty train a puppy at that age, and that I just have a very smart puppy.

Maybe my Puppies potty training lessons were easier.  I do realize he's a Golden Retriever, which is an easier dog to train... but then again I've seen a lot of Golden Retriever Puppies, much older than 11 weeks,  who still weren't potty trained.

So if potty training your puppy is important to you, here's a three step Puppy Potty Training formula for you to follow.

The first thing to teach your puppy when starting his potty training lessons, actually has nothing to do with potty training directly.  It's actually more important to teach your puppy some basic obedient commands so he can catch onto his training easier.

So the first puppy potty training secret is to sign up on my home page to have the shaping video delivered to you via e-mail that I performed on my Golden Retriever puppy.  It's the actual first training session I ever did with him. 

This puppy training exercise teaches him how to solve problems on his own, and seek out the solution to the training lessons you'll be trying to teach your dog.  It only takes about 15 minutes to do, and it will do wonders for step two in your puppies potty training.

Puppy Potty Training Step #2:

The second puppy potty training tip is to realize that rewarding your puppy for going potty in the desired place, usually the back yard, gets him a BIG reward.  I personally used a special treat that my puppy only got when he went potty in the backyard. 

This means that you'll need to watch your puppy very closely for warning signs that he has to go potty.  Usually they'll start sniffing around in circles, and it's often right after eating or drinking water... especially when the puppy is still young.

The instant you see this behavior, quickly and calmly take your puppy to the back door and give the cue "Go Potty!"

Wait for your puppy to finally go potty, and then give him his reward.  The one that you only reserve for successful puppy potty training sessions!

Pretty soon your dog will start looking forward to going potty in that one spot because he realizes he gets that yummy treat again.

Puppy Potty Training Step #3:

Puppy potty training sessions should be a pleasurable experience for your puppy.  If the puppy has an accident, which is unavoidable, don't take it out on yourself or your puppy. 

People who think the right way to potty train a puppy is to yell at it when it poops or pees in the house and stick their faces in it, are doing more harm than good.  And this type of puppy potty training technique actually trains your puppy to hide from you before going potty.  (that's why you hear about all those people who wonder why their dog pees behind the couch, or some other obscure place)  because their puppy potty training techniques are abrasive and not rewarding the dog for good behavior.