Potty Training Your Puppy 101
Hi Ya!
Having bred Malteses, I can tell you the easiest way to potty train
since those puppies that left me at 12 weeks were sent to their new homes
already potty trained! Feel free to print out this page.
The puppy should have 3 places to be in the house.
1) When you can't supervise completely but in the house, place them in
the kitchen. (Try to get a puppy who has been bred in the house, mine
were paper trained at birth in the whelping (birth) box in the
kitchen. One side is blankets and one side is newspaper. They were
trained to go potty on newspapers on one side, and the other side to
sleep on the blankets.) Simply put up baby gates in your kitchen so
they can't get out. Plastic gates are better than the wood ones. Place
down some newspaper, along with toys, a blanket/towel or bed, water
and food, etc. When the dog pees - soak up with newspaper and place
on top a pile of newspaper. If you happen to see him pee take him to
the newspaper and say "go potty". Then take him outside to go potty.
Stay away from too much newspaper training. The more time you can spend
doing #3, the faster they will be potty trained to go outside!
2) When you are gone or at bedtime, place them in their crate, but no
longer than 4 hours. (get a neighbor or relative to let them out if
longer). A plastic kennel by Petmate from Petsmart is recommended.
Get a 25 lb size one for a Maltese or Shih Tzu. They need room to
move around. Don't get a 15 lb one, too small! Ok for travel, but not
for in the house. Use cotton towels for bedding in the kennel. Don't
have any spare cotton towels? Go to your laundry closet and use
those, go buy yourself some new ones! Also, beach towels are great,
fold them up and place in kennel. Lots of cushion for the doggie. The
towels should be washed weekly or immediately when soiled or wet. On
rainy days, change daily. Also, after a bath, change kennel towel.
Where to place a kennel? Closest to the door you use to let them out
for potty if you have more than one dog. In your bedroom where you
sleep if you only have one dog. Or buy 2 kennels one for the bedroom
(bedtime) and one next to the potty door (when you are out of the
house). These kennels can easily be taken outside and sprayed out
with a garden hose, then hand washed with bathroom cleaner.
3) When you are able to completely supervise, let them out and about with
you. If on your lap or on sofa, place a towel down for accidents. Let
the puppy out every 1/2 hour, then reducing to hourly, then to every
other hour, and so on till there are no more accidents. When the
puppy is about to pee, pick him up and take him outside. Do NOT place
your dog's nose in his pee, or yell at him. Simply say "do you need
to go potty?" and take him out. When outside say "go potty". When
they go potty outside, say "good boy" or "good girl!" with excitement
and hugs and kisses afterwards. This should only take 2 weeks if you
make the time to teach. If you have another dog, this will be even
easier, since they learn by example. Let all dogs out everytime if
you have more than one dog. As the puppy gets older you will have
time to say "do you want to go potty" when they start to and get them
outside before they do pee. Then when you ask they will bark yes and
you let them out. If they walk in circles - that is - I need to poop,
if they sit they need to pee. Get a small bissell hand held clean
machine for cleaning up accidents. Accidents are going to happen,
don't stress over it. White vinegar will get rid of the pee smell.
Dogs need to pee after eating, after playtime, after a nap, and after
a bath. After they are potty trained, steam clean all carpets.
Remember, don't stress over potty training, your puppy will feel your
anxiety! Just give yourself the time to do it and know it will take 2
weeks and know there will be accidents. You can clean the accidents,
it's not a big deal. It will be worth your time and effort. The more
time you put into those 2 weeks the sooner it will be over. If you
don't take the time to teach, it will take longer.
If their poop sticks to their butt, you need to trim the hair around
there, this can be dangerous to his health if you do not.
Please feed a quality food, this is very important, cheap food is just
that cheap and will cost you in health bills instead. 25% protein is
a must, check label - no bi-products, no soy, no preservatives. Wellness Puppy food
as a puppy, Wellness Adult Formula as adult, Wellness Senior
from age 5 on. Dog treats/cookies once or twice daily. Refrain from
giving people food, causes diarrhea and can make them a fussy eater.
Canned food is low quality and will cause diarrhea. As a puppy, add
some boiled water to the dry food and let cool before giving to the
puppy. This will make it easier to chew while their teeth are coming
in. Add less water everyday till they don't need it moist. Dry food
is better for the teeth, less plaque. Be sure to get dog Chew-Eez &
rawhide bones for your puppy while teething. They have pain and need to
chew. This also reduces tarter for an adult dog. No chicken bones,
etc. They can choke on real bones.
Love & Hugs to your Puppy,
Wendy in NC
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