Crate Training, Housebreaking, Dog Tricks and more

When you are potty training a puppy, one of the first things that you are going to realize is that the puppy is going to have accidents in the home. If you were not aware of this before you brought the puppy home, you are sure to learn it right after. Puppies, just like human babies, are not able to control their bladder or bowls. When they need to go, they need to go whether you are there to instruct them to a location or not.

Because of this, puppies will end up going to the bathroom somewhere in the house. It may be right out in the open or he may try sneaking behind the table to do it so you cannot see. Of course, you will find it though and oh what a mess it can be. One thing to remember is that unless you caught your puppy in the act of going to the bathroom, you cannot scold him for it. He will not be able to associate you being upset with something he did ten minutes ago.

What you can do is address the odor that is left behind to make sure that he does not continue to go in that location. Once a puppy has “marked his potty spot” he is likely to return to that same spot out of instinct. Remember, this is out of instinct and not because he likes to make you unhappy and force you to scrub the carpet. He finds his spot because of the scent that is left behind. Sure, you might have cleaned up the mess and scrubbed the carpet, but did you really get rid of the odor? Maybe you cannot smell it anymore but your puppy might.

It is important that after you scrub the carpet, you are neutralizing the odor. This way, your puppy will not smell his previous potty location. This will help you tremendously when it comes to getting your puppy to the correct location to do his business. However, just how do you neutralize the location?

The best thing to use is a vinegar water solution. This would be fifty percent water and fifty percent white vinegar that is placed in a spray bottle. Spray some of this lightly on the area where the puppy went potty. This will neutralize the area. Then, you will want to spray the rest of the carpeted areas throughout the house where your puppy has access. This will act as a deterrent which means your puppy will be less likely to urinate or defecate on the carpet.

You will find that by being proactive and keeping an eye on your puppy that the training process will run smoothly. Just make sure that you are cleaning up any and all messes right away. When your puppy does go outside, make sure that you are following it up with a lot of good praise so that the puppy will want to repeat the behavior.

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