Much like human babies, puppies have little control over their bowels and bladder and will need to relieve themselves frequently.The times when this is most likely to occur are, after feeding, when waking up from a nap, and after playing or when they have been active.This generally amounts to roughly every hour during the day and less frequently during the night.
Toilet training a puppy or dog is a full time job!
You will need to accompany him out to the garden every hour and be ready to reward him when he relieves himself, despite the weather.Rewarding him for going where you want will reinforce the desired behaviour.
Using newspaper by the back door is a method, which has been used for many decades but today is considered unsuitable.When he goes on the paper, what is he learning?That it’s okay to go on the floor by the back door.Although some dogs have learnt via this method, it can cause much confusion and is not very efficient.It can often take many months to toilet train a dog.The only time a newspaper should be used is when you dog has an accident in the house, you can then roll it up and hit yourself with it.
Any accidents indoors must be completely ignored.Punishing him for going indoors will only cause confusion and all he will learn is to not do it in front of you. Therefore, when you take him out he is unlikely to want to relieve himself in your presence and so when you bring him back indoors and you go off to complete some chore, you are likely to find a wet patch behind the chair.
By rewarding you puppy for going in the right place and ignoring him for going in the wrong place, he will soon learn to cash in his pees and poos for tasty food rewards.
Once he has learnt where to go, you can begin to add a command whilst he is in the act. After several repetitions he will soon learn to go on command.By using this method your puppy could be toilet trained in a very short time.Remember some puppies take longer to learn than others so be patient and consistent. Afterall he's just a dog not a higher being who is out to irritate you.
Be sure to clean any accidents with an ammonia free detergent.Many detergents contain ammonia, which to a puppy, smells like urine.This may cause your puppy to become confused. Automatic Washing detergent is the best product to use and is one of the few products which will actually break down the urinary enzymes left behind on the surface after washing.
Always carry a poo bag when out walking to clean up after your dog.