Can you really house train your puppy in one day?
Furry, wriggly, playful puppies are adorable additions to any household. But after days or weeks of unsuccessful house-training efforts, they may not seem as cute as they did at first.
Speeding up the house-training process can make raising your puppy more enjoyable. If you’re fortunate enough to have a friend with a well-behaved older dog, you may be able to train your puppy in as little as one day.
Start preparing to house train your puppy in one day before you bring it home. Make sure you have a properly sized collar, a six-foot lead, and a crate if you will be crate training. Decide where the puppy will eat and sleep. Also arrange for your friend’s dog to visit your home at least one time. Walk the dog where you will walk your puppy, or let the dog into your backyard to relieve himself. If you want the puppy to use a particular part of the yard, direct the older dog to use that area.
After you bring the puppy home, establish a consistent schedule that involves taking the pup outside after every period of activity or rest. Go outside a few minutes after each meal and immediately after each nap. After the puppy plays, go directly outside. This means you’ll be going in and out with the pup very frequently, every two hours at least. Stay outside until the puppy relives herself, and praise her when she does.
Praise will help you house train your puppy in one day
Praise is an important element of house training. Dogs are social creatures that naturally want to please people, so praise motivates them to continue good behavior. Another key element of this accelerated house training is to minimize accidents in the house. All puppies will have their moments. But when your puppy does go inside the house, take her outside immediately and thoroughly clean the area.
Also teach your puppy how to clearly signal that she needs to go outside. Hang a small bell from the door knob where you go into the backyard or go outside for a walk. Ring the bell each time you take the puppy out. If you repeat this action consistently, she will eventually learn to ring the bell as a signal that she needs to go outside.
Crate training can also make house training easier. A common time for puppies to have accidents in the house is after periods of sleep. If your puppy naps and sleeps in an appropriately sized crate, she is unlikely to have an accident immediately after waking. A crate of the correct size has only enough room for the dog that uses it. The puppy should not be able to sleep in one end and relieve herself in the other end of the crate. Many crates come with divider panels that can be moved as your dog grows, allowing you to buy the crate size your puppy will need when she is an adult.
During all of this house training, allow the older dog to model good behavior. Every time the puppy goes outside, the older dog needs to go as well. The adult dog will do what he is already trained to do. He’ll go to the bathroom outside. The puppy will see what he does and will quickly learn where to go too by observing.
Watching the older dog dramatically speeds up house training, but some puppies will learn more quickly than others. Breed characteristics and the individual dog’s personality can affect how long the training period will take. However, with a handy role model, many puppies will have good habits established within a day. Most others will have achieved basic house training within a weekend.
After you return your friend’s dog, it’s important that you stay consistent with your puppy’s schedule. Continue to take the puppy out after she eats, naps, or plays. She will gradually be able to go longer between bathroom trips. Puppies can generally go one hour for every month of age up to a maximum of about seven hours. Try to stay well within these limits until training is firmly established.
It is significantly more challenging to house train your puppy in one day when there are no other dogs in the household. So if your new pup will be the only dog living in your house, consider doing some dog sitting for a friend. You’ll get a free canine role model to speed along the house-training process.