Hello guys, good night everyone. I write this text for you, because, I always see in Shitzu communities someone asking about how to teach your beautiful puppy to pee and poop in the right place. They are usually first-time "dads" or "moms". So, here we go:
The first thing we need to keep in mind, that few trainers talk about, is that, the right place for pee and poop, is just right for us, because we are rational beings and we know that it is not legal to poop and pee in the whole house. However, our beautiful puppies do not differentiate what is right or wrong. For them, our bed, sofa, furniture, toilet rug, newspaper or anywhere else in the house are considered the same thing. They will pee anywhere if they are not taught. So don't be mad at them, because, we know the difference, they don't.
Beginning the teaching:
1- One very important thing is that our puppy or puppy is trained from the first day it arrives at the house, because the younger it is, the easier it will be to acquire the habit and maintain it. So, do not leave to prepare things at the last minute. Get the house ready beforehand.
2- Another very important thing is that our puppies are small and are still forming all their organs, including the bladder. They can't hold the pee for long, and they can't, because they don't understand that there is a place to pee, so they'll get up and pee wherever they are. Therefore, you need, at this stage, to be close to the doguitos at all times to take care of and check on the situation.
3- As they are brand new and do not hold the pee much, delimit the area they can stay. Do not let them be loose throughout the house, otherwise it will be very difficult for the teaching to take place !!!! Take a look at how I did it:
4-As you can see, I separated 2 places in the house for her to attend. The first was a small room in the room that had a playpen and the second was my bedroom. As I always stay in the living room or bedroom more often, I put them in these 2 places.
5- I used a newspaper at that time, then I switched to a toilet mat. The most important thing here is that I didn't just use a newspaper. I used several placed next to each other, precisely because of the issue I explained in item 2, in which our babies are still learning the place and cannot hold the pee, so it is easier for them to learn if the place has many newspapers instead of one. It will be easier for them to assimilate that the pee and poop is on the newspaper.
6- Here is another very important thing. The space they will have to learn needs to be small. As I explained in item 2, soon after they eat or drink water, they will already want to pee and poop, especially the pee. So, when you see that they drank water, take your puppy (a) on top of the newspaper and stay close. Don't let him out of there until he pees or poops. This usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, so it is very important that in their learning phase, there is always someone at home to teach them. If they are alone at home, they will not be able to learn.
Also, because they are puppies, when you notice that they are getting up to pee or poop, you can pick them up and take them to the newspaper. Wait for them to do their thing there.
7- As soon as they finish the pee and poop in the right place, which will be where you delimit (in my case, on top of the newspaper, initially), make positive elicitation in them, that is, create the will in them to always do there. Positive elicitation is a reinforcer that never involves any kind of aggression. Aggression traumatizes our beautiful and beloved puppies and can make them sad with us for life.
So, when they hit the spot, you need to treat them well. What I did say cute words to my dog (Miya), like for example: "Very well Miya, how beautiful you are, hit the pee" ---- "Very good girl, hit the pee right". --- "Very well Miya, she pooped right" Note that I always put the word pee or poop in the middle of the cute phrase for her. This makes her assimilate the poop and pee to the name of what she is doing, and this will help them to understand that we are happy to see them doing it on the spot.
8-Another thing to be done is affection. In addition to the cute words, pet your puppies. This will help a lot in learning and increase the affection between you.
9-In addition, which I think is less important, but which is also significant, is to give a small piece of tidbit. In my case, I would give a small piece of feed. In order not to give her too much feed, I broke the feed into 4 smaller pieces. When I gave it, it was another elicitor of her behavior. You can use the kibble or another snack, but, it is not so cool that the puppy associates good deeds only with food .... The affection and the cute words will make him have a greater association and the AFFECT between you will grow immensely . You will see that they will want to get it right to receive a pat from the owner.
10-See how my beloved Miya was purposefully always playing near the newspaper. There, when she wanted to pee or poop, she would be close to him:
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11-After she learned how to do it in the newspaper, I put an artificial grass and the hygienic mat in the newspaper's location. Intintively she started to poop on the artificial grass and the pee on the toilet mat, which looks a lot like the newspaper. But, if you also want to change and your puppy does not recognize the change, start training with him again and you will see that he will learn much faster this time ....
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12- Here, one of the most IMPORTANT items. When the puppy misses both the pee and the poop, DO NOT REBUKE IT. Please don't hit them, they are beautiful and tiny beings that came to brighten our lives. There will be days when they will miss most or all. It is not their fault, they are still learning. When you make a mistake, ignore the puppy, don't look angry, don't curse and get him out of the room, leaving him alone for a few minutes. Leave it in a closed room, like a bathroom stall, for example. In the meantime, clean up the poop or pee he made to keep it from smelling. If the smell is in the wrong place, they will tend to do it again ..... After you have cleaned the place that they missed, remove it from the "isolation". Remembering that this isolation is only for 1 or 2 minutes, just for you to clean the place.
If the place is clean with them looking, you can associate with pooping or the wrong pee with your presence, understand ??? They will purposely do it in the wrong place for you to go there to clean and stay close to them. So, when they leave home, the tendency for them to do that will be very high !!!!
13-Another thing that I need to make very clear. Each breed of dog has its own temperament and learning time. Mine took around 6 to 8 months to learn and not make mistakes anymore. At first she got it right a few times and missed most. Then, she got it right and missed around 50 to 50%. Over time, the average always went up until he never made a mistake. Today, she always hits all the poo and pee in the right place. So, have PATIENCE !!!!
14- Another important thing is that if the toilet mat or newspaper is "flooded", full of pee or poop, they will do it outside, close, but outside. So it is very important that you always change the sanitary rugs or newspapers when you notice that you are "loaded with pee". The poop needs to be removed on the spot. But, when they are going to remove the poop, don't let your puppy see them do it. Get him out of the room, as they can associate pooping and peeing with your presence, as I said before!
15-When they have learned how to do it in the "right place", you can travel with them, change houses, apartments, etc ... which they will always do on the rug or newspaper. In the first days, they will be stressed and the tendency is to do it for the whole house, because they are still getting to know the new place. After a few days, they look for the sanitary pad or newspaper to do. Then, changing the mesh, place the rug in more than one place in the house.
16- I remembered something that I should have put in the beginning, but I quote now. This pee and poop spot needs to be far from where they eat and, especially, away from everything that is stressful for them, in this case, noise and people walking. They need a very quiet corner to get used to that place.
That's it folks, with these 16 steps mentioned, I think I was able to help dads and first-time moms to teach their doguitos to do their needs in the right place. That's how I taught mine and it worked really well. Any questions you have, feel free to ask.
Now, I show you my beautiful puppy Miya the day she arrived for me and today, as she is, almost 3 years old. Look how beautiful:
How it arrived:
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For me, it is the most beautiful in the world. Now, look at her:
Time for the little angel's nap !!! Good night everyone and I hope this article helps you !!!!