All puppies are adorable: we can’t help but love them and cuddle them whenever we see them. While everything about them is great, they are also a big responsibility and they don’t come knowing everything they need to know. We often get frustrated whenever our puppies aren’t trained - and have “accidents” in our den or corridor. Our actions can train our adorable puppies to either learn what we want or to keep having these accidents.
So what are the common mistakes that we must avoid as new dog owners?
Punishing your Puppy
Always remember that a puppy is not an adult human being. He will not understand why you are punishing him and will become fearful. Instead, clean the mess and ensure that your puppy gets at least 30 minutes outside the house when he wakes up and before he goes to sleep.
Using a crate that is too large
We are often tempted to buy big crates for our puppies knowing that they will grow into it. Well, that might be a good economical thought but it does more harm than good. More often, dogs won’t toilet in their favourite sleeping spots, and with a big crate, it leaves lots of room for your puppy to mess on the side of the crate. Therefore, when buying a crate for your puppy, ensure that it’s just large enough for her to stand up and turn around in.
Inadequate nutrition
Feeding your puppy a nutritious, well-balanced diet also helps because pups that are fed naturally will defecate less (about 25% less). Look for ingredients on your dog food package that contain real meat, less meat meal and little or no by-products or grains.
Inconsistency
We all tend to slack a little bit at some point. We tend to soften up, ignore or simply not act when your puppy starts toileting irregularly. Involve all family members to help your puppy get outside often enough and to ensure she is not allowed to free roam the house. Puppies can hold their bladders roughly 1 hour for every month of age.
Impatience
Patience is a virtue, right? Another mistake we humans tend to make is not exercising patience. Remember, it takes a minimum of 3-4 months of consistency to successfully toilet train a puppy, and even at that point, it doesn’t guarantee that accidents will not occur in the future. Your puppy will make mistakes, but if you avoid the above pitfalls, the mistakes will be at a minimum.