According to the American Pet Products Association, 60.2 million families in the US have pet dogs. It’s no wonder why. Dogs are known to be good with children, loyal, and can even help prevent crime. While dogs are well worth the investment and can become your best friend, they also require a lot of time and attention as puppies. This is especially true when it comes to training your puppy to use training pads. Before going into the specifics of how to train a puppy to use training pads, we’re going to look at some general rules for training your puppy to do anything.
No matter what you’re trying to teach your dog to do, there are three principles that should be consistently applied to all areas of dog training.
In a lot of ways, puppies are like children. They need time to learn the tricks and skills you are trying to teach. Whenever you’re training your puppy it’s important to be patient and realize that at times they will fail to meet your expectations. Don’t get overly frustrated with your puppy when this happens; calmly correct the behavior and move forward. Remember that your puppy wants to please you, so don’t get angry when it takes a little longer than you expected for them to learn a new skill.
Puppies can easily get in trouble. From chewing chargers to trying to slip under fences, puppies can unknowingly endanger themselves. It’s your job and responsibility as a dog owner to make sure accidents don’t happen. On top of this need to protect your puppy, you also need to supervise your puppy in order to catch them when they are displaying good and bad behaviors. Puppies thrive on praise and attention and you can’t give your puppy this if you aren’t watching them. Find ways to keep your puppy near you such as limiting their roaming space when trying to teach them a new skill.
Consistency in rewards, routine, and correction are all important to training a puppy. When training your puppy, it’s important to show them that they will consistently be rewarded for good behavior. Every time you reward them with a treat or praise for this behavior it reinforces in them a desire to recreate that behavior. You can also create a consistent routine for your puppy that will allow them to get used to going potty at certain times. Creating consistency in how you correct bad behavior, is also needed to properly train your puppy.
Before we go into how to potty train with puppy training pads we need to discuss what training pads are. Training pads are a simple absorbent square or rectangle that absorbs your puppies’ excrement. These pads are especially helpful for people who have small dogs, live in cold weather, live in an apartment, have limited mobility, or have busy schedules.
Now that you know what dog training pads are, let’s look at how you can train your puppy to use them and examples of how to apply the principles mentioned above.
To minimize the number of accidents your puppy has started by potty training by using a crate. Puppies do not like to sleep where they pee and poop, so keeping them in their crate when you’re busy is a great way to teach them to hold in their excrement. When doing this, be sure to take your puppy to the potty pad often and on a regular consistent schedule to keep them from going to the bathroom in their crate. Also be sure to make the crate a comfortable, safe place that your dog will want to be in.
After your puppy has successfully and consistently used the training pads and held off going potty in their crate, you can begin expanding their area. Give them a small space in your home where they can have food, water, toys, and a training pad. Your puppy will not want to go potty on their toys and will be drawn to the training pad instead. Be sure to supervise and reward your puppy to keep them from eating their own poop and to reinforce good behavior.
Once your puppy has master the small space you’ve given them, you can gradually begin increasing their area and let them roam unattended. As always reward and praise your puppy when they exhibit good behavior. Once your puppy masters this he or she is potty trained to use training pads.
Now that you know how to train a puppy to use training pads, which training pads should you buy? Below are our five favorite training pads.
Dog training pads are a great way to potty train your puppy especially if you lead a busy life, have limited mobility, or live in cold weather. However, like all training endeavors, it requires patience, supervision, and consistency. If you apply these principles and follow the steps above your puppy will be potty trained in no time and you will have fewer accidents to clean up.
How to Choose the Best Litter Boxes for Your Cats?
The Right Way for Puppy or Adult Dog Potty Training
How to Groom your Dog at Home?
How to Dry Your Dog After A Bath?
How to Choose the Right Toys for Your Dog?
