Article by Richard Cussons
How old does a puppy have to be before housetraining starts? Experts advice starting as early as you can (read: the moment the puppy gets inside the house). But did you know that not much result can be expected from the puppy not until it is 14 weeks old, which is when it can physically hold its pee or poo? But despite this, early training will need to start just the same so that the dog will at least know what is expected of it. Thus when the dog’s physical abilities catch up with what it has been taught all along, the dog will have an easier time putting your lessons into practice.1. Establish regular eating routine. You can actually make predictable and even controllable the time in the day your dog poos and pees. How? It only needs to be fed on a designated time and punctually everyday. Your dog will also appreciate it if it is fed at the same spot daily, which they can relate to as their own eating space. Take advantage also of the fact that there is a narrow time between a puppy’s eating and eliminating. To end, this rule can be eased later on, of course, but at this point in portuguese water dog puppy training a routine in the puppy’s life helps a lot.
2. Make sure all past accident spots in the house are completely clean. Have you tried removing pet odors from your home, but for some unknown reason the stubborn smell persists? The odor is not only embarrassing, but if you do not completely remove it, your dog will want to keep eliminating at that exact spot which contains its odor.
Sometimes, the real problem is that it is hard to see the pet stains. And if you cannot see them, it is hard to clean the exact spot. Do you know how to use a blacklight to spot the hidden stain? Here is how:
Simply focus the blacklight’s glow on the spot which you think contains the odor. The special device’s light will show up the stains as colored greenish/ yellow. For ideal results, use the device in the evening, with all the house lights completely turn off. The blacklight needs to be held a one to two feet away from the surface being inspected.
3. If the problem is submisive urination, then housetraining is not a solution. When you arrive at home and the dog responds in great agitation by urinating, you are faced by an entirely new set of concerns and need different solutions. So it is good not to get confused.
When it comes to portuguese water dog puppy training, remember to be generous with your praise and use lots of positive reinforcement. It’s all about putting your dog in a position to do the right thing and then observing them in the act of doing the RIGHT thing and praising them wildly. Because remember: dogs don’t learn from double-intentions. They want nothing more than to please you. You just have to show them the way!
Richard Cussons enjoys helping many owners of portuguese water dogs. Check out portuguesewaterdogsavvy.com to learn more about this breed and perfect the portuguese water dog puppy training.
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