Here are the top 10 things you shouldn’t do when you potty train a puppy:

#1

Don’t assume the puppy is more capable than it really is.  Puppies have limited abilities in the beginning, anatomically speaking.  If you find the puppy is having accidents, it is not being walked enough.  Very tiny toy breeds and young puppies must be walked a couple of times an hour for a while.

#2

Never, ever get upset with your puppy over an accident.  He will not know why you are upset, and instead he will assume the anger is something else, and it will be connected to just you coming home or into the room.  Simply clean the accident and leave it at that.

#3

Never, ever rub your puppy’s nose in it.  For many puppies this is traumatic, and just like yelling or getting upset, it will cause adverse reactions in many puppies that are unrelated to the accident.  In fact, some puppies that are harshly yelled at or have had their nose rubbed in it become very sensitive to using the restroom in front of the owner.  These dogs might hide to go and won’t necessarily stop having accidents.

#4

Don’t leave food and water in your puppy’s crate or area when it is bed time or you are away.  If the puppy eats or drinks, he is more likely to need the potty more quickly, and often is not available to him.  Set him up for success by limiting food and water and take it up within the hour prior to going into the crate or area.

#5
Be careful not to give your puppy too much freedom in the house.  Earned amounts of freedom that are age appropriate are fine, but too much freedom too soon leads to lots of accidents.  Close open doors and use baby-gates.

#6
Don’t forget to watch him! If you’re not paying attention to what he is doing or his body language, you are likely to miss any signals he is providing.  Many a puppy has gone the bathroom at an owner’s feet or nearby.

#7
Don’t assume that because you put the puppy outside he has gone the bathroom.  Many puppies, especially eight to twelve week old puppies, want someone to go outside with them.  That’s okay.  Even better, it allows you to see what exactly the puppy is doing and then you are certain he has fully gone.

#8
Don’t free-feed your puppy by leaving food down.  Instead, feed scheduled meals appropriate to your puppy’s size and age.  Food left down means you don’t know when your puppy might have to go to the bathroom.  Scheduled meal times create a very predictable pattern for potty time.

#9
Don’t allow accidents to set in fabrics and carpeting or other flooring.  The longer an accident is in place, the more of it that has seeped into the padding of carpets, grout in tile, or other similar surfaces.  This absorption makes it far more difficult to remove the odor so that he won’t return to the same location.

#10
Just because he has not had an accident in a while, don’t assume he is fully housetrained.  Just about no dog should be assumed to be housetrained until around 1 year of age and with a long history of no accidents.
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