Potty training is a habit that you secretly build in your puppy without them knowing slowly over time. Let me explain…
Potty training has nothing to do with making sure your puppy knows it’s bad to go in the house or that they’re going to get in trouble if they do.
That’s because it’s incredibly hard for them to generalize that concept. If you’re a heavy handed owner who rules your home with a death grip and punishes your puppy severly every time they have an accident inside (please don’t so this btw), they’re going to learn one fo 2 possible things:
1: They’ll get the message that going in that particular spot in your house is dangerous because they have expereinced unwanted consequences afterwards when they went there in the past and they’ll avoid that spot, but they’ll try out other places.
2: They’ll realized that the danger in going potty in the house is doing it when you’re around. They’ll learn to hold it until your gone and then relieve themselves to avoid the punishment you inflict. (oh and when you get home, find the mess and punish them, they’re incapable of knowing that the punishment they’re getting is for having an accident becuase they can only associate consequences with what they were just doing in the last 2 seconds and that most likely was not going potty inside).
So punishment isn’t the answer to potty training. Sticking your puppy’s nose in it will NOT teach them not to go in your house.
It is however, entirely comprised of patterning in where you want them to go over and over until that becomes an ingrained habit.
Dogs that pee and poop in the house do so because that was the main pattern they experienced when growing up that then turned into a habit.
Becuacse they’re animals and when they feel the urge they’re going to go. So it’s YOUR JOB to make sure they experience going where YOU want them to go over and over again.
Are there going to be accidents along the way? For sure! Should you be worried about them? Not as much as you think.
So long as 80% of the time, your puppy goes potty in the place you’re happy with, they’ll be potty trained in a few months time.
Make sure the dominant pattern is the one you like because that’s what will become a habit in the long run.
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