Got a furry buddy at home? If yes, how do you impose discipline? While it is fun to take care of pets, doing so can really be challenging especially in the aspect of training them.
On this page, we will discuss about some common mistakes that pet parents do when potty training their four-legged babies. Feel free to educate yourself about some blunders that you might have been unintentionally doing as well.
Mistakes when Potty Training a Pet
Here is a list of pet potty training mistakes that you should avoid:
Yelling after an accident
Never raise your voice or hit your dog after an accident. Practice positive reinforcement training to encourage your pet to obey you. If you catch it about to potty inside, clap or call out its name to distract it then take it outside to do its thing.
Carrying your pet outside after an accident
Taking your puppy outside after pooping or peeing makes no difference since the act was already done. This can give your pet the wrong notion that it can potty inside. Anyway, it will be taken outside.
Urging the puppy to do its thing
A puppy tends to scout for a perfect place to go potty. Let it find its spot. Never push it to hurry or it will end up with unfinished business.
Showing your pet all the exits in the house
Leading your pet outside through different doors will confuse it. What you should do is train it to get inside and outside the house using a particular door until it gets used to it. Later, as the puppy gets older, you can show it the other doors leading outside.
Failure to notice hints
Since pets cannot talk, pet parents should take note of their behaviors which signal that they have to go potty. Dogs’ non-verbal ways of communication include pawing, barking, or giving a plaintive look. Pay attention to what your pet does when it is trying to communicate with you. Doing so will help you understand its actions, and you can respond accordingly.
Failure to use pet diapers
Apparently, using diapers or belly bands is among the easiest and most convenient ways to potty train a pet. Doing so gives more freedom for your pooch to roam around the house. However, take note that is important for pet owners to distinguish the right time to use a diaper and the right time to stop.
Among the best times to use a diaper is when a female dog is in heat. During such time, the dog urinates more often.
Giving too much freedom to your pet
As you know, everything too much is not good. Letting your dog roam around your house without you supervising it will definitely lead to various problems. Apparently, dogs don’t know anything about house rules until their parents teach them.
It is best to set up a space for your pet with a gate or get it a kennel.
Thinking your pet knows the right and wrong things to do
For instance, most pet parents send their dogs outside and expect it to do its business out there. But as earlier mentioned, your dog doesn’t know about house rules until you teach it. It doesn’t know that you’re sending it out to pee or poop. Your pet is not human, so you better be patient enough to do some training tasks.
How to Succeed in Potty Training Your Pet
For sure, you want what’s best for your furry buddy. For this, you should first equip your mind with enough knowledge about the proper ways to potty train pets in order to succeed. Soon after, you should be willing to apply everything you learn no matter how challenging your tasks could be. Lastly, you should be kind, patient, and determined enough to teach your pet.
You may also want to take your pet to dog training centers where it can learn how to follow commands. Just make sure to choose a reputable one; for instance, the Sit Means Sit dog training center. There, you can likewise ask for helpful pieces of advice from pet training experts.
Summary
Training your pet will never be easy. It will always come with some challenges that you should overcome. But as a loving pet parent, you should do whatever it takes to make your pet understand your rules particularly when it comes to doing its business.
Needless to say, succeeding in potty training is beneficial to both of you. You maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of your home while making your furry baby feel comfortable as it understands what you want and don’t want it to do.
