Learn how to teach your dog to do his business in the right place is one of the first things he should learn when he arrives at your home. Or even if you move and need to retrain your dog in a new place.
Dogs are very intelligent and learn easily by observing their owner’s actions.
But, calm down!
You’re not supposed to show him literally! lol
There are several ways to encourage your dog to go to the right place and this will save you a lot more work than teaching your dog to do his business in the right place.
Therefore, to solve this problem of yours, we wrote this post.
Detailed instructions for teaching your dog where and how to relieve himself
We created our step-by-step guide on how to teach a dog to do its business in the right place, following two paths/situations:
- Situation A: He has just arrived (or is yet to arrive) and you can prepare your strategy for him to do his business.
- Situation B: Your dog is already spreading his waste around your house and causing a lot of work.
A few important points before we start teaching your dog to pee and poop in the right place!
- Some times are more appropriate for your dog to do his business . This is usually first thing in the morning when they wake up and after meals.
- Rubbing your dog’s nose in its feces or urine, besides not helping with training at all , can also cause major problems in the future . There are many reports of dogs eating their own feces to prevent their owners from seeing them. That’s right! You wouldn’t want that for your little friend, would you?!
- Every dog is smart and all they need is your patience. So, like anyone who is learning something new, they also need patience from their owners.
- Have in mind the best place for your dog to do his business.
Situation A: The dog just arrived!
The first situation is the ideal one where you can prepare for the arrival of your new four-legged friend.
In this manner, you may start formulating some helpful strategies. In this scenario, the following would be the step-by-step instructions for teaching a dog to relieve itself in the proper location:
- Choose the best place for the dog to do his business: this place can be lined with newspaper, or even use disposable hygienic mats that you can find in specialized stores.
- Make a pen to restrict the dog to the chosen area: a puppy does not need a lot of space and can easily adapt to smaller spaces. Take advantage of this and only let him go out to eat. This is so that the food does not end up in the same place where he does his business. Just leave water inside the pen (as far away as possible from the places where you want him to do his business).
- Gradually increase the size of your enclosure: as he gets used to the place, you should increase his access area until he can be free.
- Use the positive reinforcement strategy: every time you see that he has gotten to the spot where you want him to do his business, reward him! Whether it’s with a treat or even a pat! This will encourage him to repeat the process and, after a few repetitions, that spot will be marked in his memory. To ensure the optimum outcome, it’s critical that you always give him praise as soon as he completes the task correctly.
These are the fundamentals of teaching your dog where to urinate and defecate.
Situation B: Chaos ensues!
Situation B is where you are already having problems with your dog and need to resolve the issue as soon as possible. How to teach your dog to do his business on the newspaper or on the toilet mat.
If your dog is already roaming freely around your house and doing his business where he shouldn’t, you will first need to disassociate these places.
Only then should you start the step-by-step process for Situation B.
To do this you will need the following steps:
- Use a product to remove feces and urine residue: in specialized pet stores you can find enzymatic remover products , which will remove the smell that makes your dogs return to the same places.
- Use your dog’s urine in the place where you want it: This is a strategy that can greatly help your dog to assimilate the place you want it to. Take a little (really a little) of his urine and lightly apply it to the places where you want him to relieve himself.
- Don’t let him see you cleaning up his mistake: when your dog makes a mistake, put him in a separate place where he can’t see you. Only then clean up his mess. Don’t show emotion at this point, because if he understands that it’s upsetting you, he may start using it to get attention.
From this step-by-step guide, you can now repeat what we talked about in Situation A. And to do so, you should already have in mind the best place for the dog to do its business.
Tips and techniques for teaching your dog to do his business in the right place bring other results, such as greater control over your pet, as well as your presence as its leader.