Tips for Housebreaking your Puppy

When it comes to pet odors, an untrained or poorly trained puppy (or even adult dog) can be the cause of many headaches and frustrations. Indeed, while bringing a new pet into your home is often a fun and exciting experience, it also can create big messes and lead to some unpleasant smells beginning to spread throughout your home. Though many companies (such as Steamer’s) offer solutions such as pet odor removal, the long-term solution is to housebreak your pet in the first place. Here are some tips to help that puppy become a beloved part of our home, and not the cause of accidents and unfortunate odors:

 

  • Pick a Dedicated Bathroom Spot for Your Dog — The first step of ensuring a successful housebreaking campaign is to pick a desired spot that you want to dedicate as a normal place for your dog to use for his or her bathroom needs. As most people know, dogs have a strong sense of smell, and when you a dedicate a single spot for their waste. They will begin to associate that spot with themselves and as a proper spot for them to relieve themselves.

  • Be Consistent — It certainly would be nice if dogs trained themselves, but you need to be consistent with your training schedule to ensure a puppy is properly trained. Set aside scheduled times of the day (usually after their meals) for dogs to go to their spots and relieve themselves. If you mix of the rhythm of this schedule or frequently skip or alter the schedule, a puppy is not going to learn “when” bathroom time is and isn’t.puppies-housebreaking-potty-training-steamers-carpet-care-pet-odor-removal

  • Reward Puppies — If your college Intro to Psychology class taught you anything, it’s that rewards are a good way of training people and animals. If you reward a pet every time they perform as you want them to, slowly they will learn to use their spot without being rewarded.

  • Consider Crate Training or a Dog Walker During the Day — Sometimes it’s difficult to train a dog during the day due to work schedules. In these cases, crate training or hiring a dog walker can be a step towards ensuring your dog has a place to “go” even when you aren’t there to let him or her out.

  • Be Patient — Training won’t happen overnight, but in the end it’s worth it. Dogs also are pretty good at sensing human emotions and will be frightened or ashamed of themselves if you scold them when they have an accident while still learning. This is why rewards are better than punishments. Likewise, be prepared to make a commitment, and don’t expect a puppy to be perfect right off the bat. Nevertheless, with a little dedication, you’ll have a housebroken puppy in no time.

 

Of course, even if you have a trained pet, accidents still happen, and your home can be at risk of other pet odors, allergens from pet dander or dirt tracked in by muddy puppy. As always, contact Steamer’s Carpet Care to help deal with your pet odor removal needs and carpet cleaning.