With the right technique and a little patience, it is in most cases easily possible to house-train a puppy within a few weeks. As always, the basic rule is to reinforce and reward desired behaviour, while incorrect behaviour should usually not be corrected in the case of housetraining.
It is important to know that a puppy needs to clean itself approximately every 2-3 hours. It can be assumed that this is mostly the case after sleeping, playing and eating. It therefore makes sense to always take the precaution of going outside at these times right from the start and to be happy if your fosterling does its business outside as planned. If you are not quick enough, pick up your little one, take him outside and stay there for a while, even though he has already done everything inside.
It is not uncommon to get a "second helping" for which you can then praise him outside. If your puppy is a bit older, you can also say "no" and take him outside afterwards. However, this only makes sense if you catch him in the act (i.e. during defecation/urination). If you miss the moment, the dog will no longer be able to associate your "no" with his act and you will only scare him unnecessarily.
At night it can help to let the little one sleep in a dog box right next to your bed. So he has no choice at night except to make himself heard when he needs to go out. If a dog can choose, he never goes to sleep voluntarily. So you have the opportunity to wake up and go outside immediately. In the beginning, it is best to carry your fosterling, because then, as a rule, no misfortune will happen on the way. It is important that there is no playing outside. Stand somewhere and ignore all behaviour except the grooming itself. Otherwise, the puppy may learn that you can be woken up at any time, even to play at night.
Once housetraining is learned, most dogs are very reliable at it. A healthy adult dog can wait up to eight hours without any problems, and often longer at night. However, you should not expect him to wait longer than this, because if it becomes unbearable and your dog has to clean himself up indoors, this is a great stress for him. Pay attention to how long the intervals are. If your dog suddenly has to go out much more often or if he pees regularly, this can also be a sign of illness.
We are here for you. Animal health for life.
Your VetTrust
