#dog house training

[puppyexpressions]

Puppy Potty Training: Tips for Success

Potty training from a young age is very important. It helps your new puppy develop good habits and manners for life.

While it may take a little time and patience, potty training can be a rewarding experience for both of you.

Think of it as a way to bond with your new companion as they learn, and to provide mental stimulation for your puppy’s growing mind.

Here are some tips to help make the process easier for everyone…

The Basics:

Most dogs learn quickly, but there are bound to be some “messes” along the way. That’s just a part of learning and growing up.

So, keep your pup in a place that’s easy to clean, especially when you can’t supervise them directly.

A crate is a great place for this.

Puppy Crate Training

A crate can be a place where your pooch enjoys their naps—and a place they go if they ever want quiet time or privacy, even as adults. And during puppyhood, a crate helps them develop a normal sleep routine. It’s important to get your puppy used to the crate from a young age. Try these tips…

Be sure to choose a crate that's just large enough for your puppy to comfortably stand up, turn around and lie down.

Some crates even come with separators/dividers, which can be added, removed or adjusted as your puppy grows. This can help your pup learn not to go to the bathroom where they eat or sleep—a very important first step in potty training.

Use a potty pad or other material that’s appropriate for them to urinate or defecate on. Ideally, something you can easily remove to clean or throw away.

Start with small increments of time in the crate and work your way up to longer periods, if possible. Generally speaking, for every month old your puppy is, that’s how many hours they can comfortably be crated.

When leaving your puppy in the crate overnight or while you’re at work, be sure they have enough food and water.

Very small breeds need to eat often to avoid low blood sugar—ask your vet for a specific recommendation.

Teach Your Puppy Where to “go”

Decide where you’ll want your pup to go to the bathroom, whether that’s your backyard, or a potty pad inside the home.

Then encourage your pup to use this spot by bringing them there several times per day, especially right after they eat—a common time for puppies to go to the bathroom.

Then, when they pee or poo in the right spot, offer them plenty of praise and attention.

What to Do If You Catch a Puppy “in the Act”

If you catch your new puppy urinating or defecating inside the home, try to pick them up and bring them outside or to a potty pad right away.

It’s OK to wait until they’ve finished—otherwise they might go while you’re carrying them, resulting in a big mess.

But, right after they’re done, bring them to their potty spot. Remain calm and offer some positive reinforcement in the form of petting or praise while they’re on the spot.

Do this consistently, and it will help them make the mental connection between that spot and their bathroom habits.

Think Like A Puppy

When it comes to training, it may help to get inside the mind of your furry friend…

This means understanding that the way your pup learns may be different from the way us human beings learn. With that in mind, remember to…

Use Praise and Positive Reinforcement

New puppies are developing a bond with you and your family. So, yelling and other negative interactions will not only NOT work—they can also damage the growing bond between you and your adorable puppy.

Remember, your puppy might not understand WHY you’re unhappy.

That’s especially true if the accident happened hours ago, while you were at work. They may have already forgotten it was them who left the mess on the rug.

So, the best training method involves offering plenty of praise when they go to the bathroom in the right spot. Offer praise, praise, and more praise!

This positive interaction will be so exciting for the puppy, they will want to repeat the behavior that caused it.

And, this living interaction will help to develop your new bond and friendship—a win-win for both of you.

Use Treats

Praise and attention are important. But, you can also use treats in moderation, especially if your new pup is food-motivated.

Check with your vet on how many treats are too many—especially if your puppy is a small breed. Then, let your puppy enjoy their favorite snack as a reward.

Nutritionally speaking, treats should not make up more than 10% of the total diet.

Consistency is key

You want to offer praise EVERY TIME you see your puppy go to the bathroom in the right spot.

Of course, this won’t be possible when you’re at work. But, do your best to use the same positive reinforcement when you are home.

The reason is, inconsistency can cause confusion, while consistency helps your pup learn faster.

Get the Whole Family Involved and on the Same Page.

If you live by yourself, it should be easy to provide consistency. However, if you have a partner, roommate, or kids, you’ll want to be sure everyone is using the same training method.

And, during this training time, remember to enjoy all the special moments with your new puppy—playing and cuddling and really getting to know them. They’re only this age once, so be sure to enjoy their “puppyhood” to the fullest!

[chromojoy]

Just wanted to draw crossover art with some of my favorite shows y'know

[pincushionx]

Hunter with a service dog!

[pallanophblargh]

Wake up, new cryptid just dropped!

It’s true that I’ve had to reimagine my day to day life since we got her, but I can’t imagine how we got this lucky. We thought we would have to work to earn her love, but from the moment she entered our house it’s been a cuddlefest, one I couldn’t possibly deny. There are hurdles she will be facing to be sure (and she will still need to meet the cats face to face) but I’m so happy to see this happy lil cheese every day. Welcome home Raclette!

(The couches will always be hers, even if it means she does try to smush whatever I’m working on at the time!)

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Me: Why does no one crate train their dog anymore?

Me, scrolling the comments on a cute video of a puppy sleeping in a comfortable crate: I’m starting to understand why all the dogs at work act like they’ve never been crated in their life.

[geothebio]

Skippy is fully healed from his neuter and has settled in very well! he’s a super fast learner (we’re still working on potty training) and he loves to fight with Ginger lmao

also, we’re waiting on results for Skippy’s Embark dna test! i’m hoping to find some siblings/relatives that came from the same place

[whatlurksbean]

Hello Aru, I have a non-WLB question Is Yoshi a Belgian Malinois? *You don't have to answer right away, I understand your inbox must be flooding rn

yeah he is! my little baby man

(him and our other dog koda, koda is a husky/shepherd mutt)

[ghl-osty]

animated movies i think everyone should watch at least once in their life

1) into/ across the spiderverse

so beautiful. amazing story, full of emotion and color. very cool mixed animation style, combining 2D and 3D. insane use of color theory, and full of detail and depth. 11/10.

(netflix)

2) isle of dogs

another beautiful movie, obvs because it’s wes anderson. stop-motion. very emotional and funny at the same time. i legit cried.

(disney plus)

3) coraline

amazing movie. absolutely chilling. the mix of analog horror and horrific implications are amazing. another stopmotion.

(amazon prime, but i think you have to rent it)

4) puss in boots: the last wish

listen. you don’t have to watch any other puss in boots movies to like this one. you don’t even need to like puss in boots. another 2D and 3D animation mix, and it’s gorgeous. hilarious, and very, very good depictions of a lot of things (no spoilers). plenty of adult jokes packed in, too.

(netflix)

5) the house

honestly horrifying. three different storylines. very unclear ending and uncomfy all the way through. absolutely recommend, especially if you like don’t hug me, i’m scared. implications and deeper meaning in everything.

(netflix)

6) the how to train your dragon franchise

some of my favorite movies of all time, and my intro to fandom culture lol. gorgeous, hilarious, emotionally charged. look at that background art.

(peacock)

feel free to add on!

[switchkick]

idk if anyone did this already but i was just thinking about it so yeah whatever reblog for greater sample size as they say

[impossiblekittydelusion]

I think Robert Chase sees House the way Devin Grayson claims Dick sees Bruce

I'm not suuper familiar with Devin Grayson, but I'd agree if you're talking about what I think you are.

(From a polygon interveiw: 'the tension between Dick and Bruce, particularly, and what it meant to want to be loyal and devoted to somebody who kind of didn’t want you there. I mean — absolutely needed you and depended on you and cared about you, but was also really a loner. And not someone who was ever going to be effusive about your presence in their life.')

Its like. Chase is his favouritest surgeon, to the point that even after he was fired he was still the only one House wanted to consult. House can't stop calling him pretty. House needs him and his skills on the team. But House also fired him, and picks on him, even singling him out amongst the other ducklings (someone pointed out hes the only one that doesn't get to write on the whiteboard of the original ducklings). House is never gonna give chase the praise and attention he is looking for (consciously or not but thats for another time) and chase is never gonna stop looking. Chase looks up to House in a way the none of the other fellows (except maybe masters, and thats mostly in the beginning then she gets used to working with him) really do, and as much as he tries not to show it that never really goes away. He tries to emulate house, even though house is hardest on him. Idk i think im obsessed with them now.

[satans-knitwear]

She stole my blankie and made herself extra cosy. I'm so proud, she's just like me fr.

[kangals]

i think the main difference in personality so far between puppy-stellina and puppy-kepler is that kep has a lot more patience.

that brings a lot of positive qualities: he has better emotional control and is less prone to tantrums and outbursts than stellina was (i.e. if i have to stop for 10 seconds on a walk to pick up poo, stellina would yelp and pull and cry at being asked to stop). it also means he has better focus and is more forgiving of repetition in training - he doesn't give up nearly as easily when frustrated. and things that may startle or scare him he's more willing to try again or overcome (e.g. he slipped on my stairs and hurt his foot and didn't want to go back up the stairs for a few days, but eventually started trying again. and when butters slaps him he yelps and backs off, but still thinks she's Super Fun and tries to make friends). so he's a bit more methodical in his thinking.

but it does also bring some negatives too: because he has patience, he does not give up once he's decided something. if stellina was overtired and i put her in a crate, she'd fuss for a minute then pretty quickly go "hm alright then" and go to sleep. if i do the same to kep, he fights it and fights it because he doesn't want to be asleep and that's that. he's much more difficult to redirect or distract, and i have to be a lot more mindful of managing him because once he's decided something is fun or tasty or whatever it takes a lot to dissuade him, and he'll go back to it at the first chance. he's very slow to learn boundaries as a result - i have to do a lot more convincing than i'm used to.

they are still overall very similar personalities, especially as they're the same breed and from very similar lines, but i think so far this has been the biggest quality that i've needed to adjust to. puppy-stellina i had to do a lot of mental adjustments learning how to manage her short emotional threshold and sensitivity, so it's interesting to see what does and doesn't translate over to kep.

[childhoodcreativity]

(c) The Score

[rednblacksalamander]

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Teaching Mandana to clean up the sweetgum balls so she can play without stepping on them.

[tea-time-terrier]

Bless this tiny creature and her adaptability.