David asks
How to stop my dog digging the groundFirst thing in the morning, before anything else, let your puppy outside and wait for them to go to the toilet.
Make this part of your routine to start the day so your puppy knows they should go to the toilet outside. Puppies are more likely to need to toilet after waking up, so do this after they wake from naps too.
Every time your dog toilets outside, say “yes!”, give them a treat, and lots of fuss and praise! This will teach them it’s worth waiting to go outside rather than inside.
Watch for signs your puppy needs to go and take them outside as soon as you see them. These might be sniffing, circling, going out of sight, or even barking or whining. If you’re still unsure, let them out every hour or so to make sure they don’t have an accident.
As your puppy grows and you get better at noticing the signs that they need to toilet, you can extend this time slowly. Try adding 20-30 minutes for each day without an accident.
For the first few nights, get up several times to let your puppy out to avoid waking up to an accident. Try 12 am and 3 am on the first night. If they’re clean, come down 30 minutes later each night until you can make it through with no accidents!
If your dog has an accident in the night, don’t panic! Just wake up 30 minutes earlier the next few nights to give them a toilet break, and restart from there.
You can teach your dog to toilet on cue by saying “go outside” when they start to toilet. Give them their treat when they’re done as normal. Once you can predict when your dog will toilet, say your cue just before they start. Eventually, you can say it when you let them out and they’ll toilet when you ask.
Next: Train your dog with short video lessons by Woodgreen's experts.
A crate can help you avoid accidents. Take your dog outside as soon as you let them out of their crate, and they’ll almost certainly toilet.
Avoid using puppy pads. These can teach your dog that it’s okay to toilet inside on soft surfaces, which can confuse them and make it harder to housetrain them.
When I need to go, I need to go! I don’t mean to upset you if I toilet inside. I just need your help to understand where it’s okay to toilet and to let me out regularly so I don’t get uncomfortable or have an accident.
Clean up your dog’s accidents with an enzymatic cleaner like biological laundry detergent to make them less likely to go in the same place again.
Learn from our experts on how to house-train your puppy with our easy-to-follow videos.
If you are not able to keep an eye on your puppy, use a crate or pen to keep any accidents in one area and nowhere else in the house.
David asks
How to stop my dog digging the ground
Ivan asks
How often should I feed my dog or puppy?
Tom asks
Why do dogs eat dog poop?I was struggling with my dog's anxiety, especially when we had to leave the house. Thanks to Woodgreen's advice, I've made some changes that have worked wonders. By sticking to a consistent routine, my dog knows what to expect each day, which has significantly reduced her anxiety.
This advice really helped me and my new pup! I tried teaching recall without your guidance and struggled. Woodgreen's step-by-step dog training videos break each action down for you and I'm happy to say we finally made progress!
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