20 Jun Housetraining Your Puppy

When you own a puppy, your carpets inevitably suffer. There are a number of theories out there about how to housetrain a puppy. We’ve heard everything from attaching bells to the door in some sort of Pavlovian exercise, to sticking your puppy’s nose next to his or her indoor accident (aka playing “the bad cop”).

According to the American Humane Society, however, the best practices for housetraining are consistency and diligence. Here are a few tips from the Humane Society that you may find helpful:

Establish a Routine –The Humane Society recommends establishing a routine with your puppy immediately. There should be a time for playing, a time for eating and time for going to the bathroom.  Since puppies can’t hold their bladders for very long, going outside frequently is important. You should try and take your puppy outside right when she wakes up, during and after playing and after eating or drinking.

Give Lots of Praise – Once outside, you may have to wait for a while for your puppy to take care of business. Establishing a command such as “Go potty” may be a good idea during this time. Eventually your puppy will understand what the command means and what is expected of her.

When she does finally go to the bathroom, make sure you immediately reward her with lots of praise and encouragement. This last part is essential. Negative reinforcement after a puppy makes a mistake is not nearly as effective as lavish praise for doing the right thing.

Keep a Constant Watch or Confine – When inside the house, keep an eye on your puppy and watch for signs of potential accidents. If you’re unable to watch for accidents confine your puppy to an area just big enough for her to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around. In such a small space your puppy won’t want to go to the bathroom.

Be Forgiving – Puppies make mistakes. It’s just part of owning a puppy. If you catch a puppy going to the bathroom in the house, make a startling noise, say “Outside” and then take her out to her bathroom spot.

If you find evidence of an accident after the puppy has already left the area, just clean it up and move on. According to the Humane Society, sticking your puppy’s nose in the accident is more likely to confuse than teach.

Owning a puppy can be a great and rewarding experience. At times, however, it can also be frustrating. If you’ve got a puppy that you adore but still can’t stand the smell of urine around the house, you need the help of Steamer’s Carpet Care.

We offer professional pet odor removal as well as full carpet cleaning. Whereas store-bought odor removal products only cover up puppy smells, Steamer’s uses an enzyme which gets into the carpet and eats away at odor-causing bacteria.

If you need thorough and complete pet odor removal, contact Steamer’s Carpet Care today.