Puppy Potty Training - The Unconventional Way

It is so nice to have Dr. Barkenstein finally home. He has just flown in from the breeder 1000 miles away and it is time to get him acquainted to his new home. Dr. Barkenstein will most likely use any and all of the house as his own private bathroom. He does not know where to properly relieve himself. To take care of this a few things must be done to unsure he quickly learns where to go. A turkey baster is required for best results.

A puppy can generally hold his bladder for as many hours as he is months old. For example a 2 month old puppy should have no problems holding it for 2 hours. With that in mind, make sure you take the puppy out to his bathroom a little earlier than he should need to go. Always take the puppy to the same place so he will begin to understand that area is the proper place to go.

A puppy will probably not understand where the bathroom is at first and will go whenever he needs to. It is important to keep an eye on your puppy, but sometimes they slip out of eyesight. If, when you finish chopping your nightly carrots, you notice a pool of urine on the kitchen floor, do not panic. The dog has long since forgot what it had done. Beating the dog at this point will just lead to confusion. Smashing his nose into it will make the puppy not like you. The dog will not be able to associate his urine with it being in the wrong place. What you need to do is get the urine to the correct place. Grab the turkey baster and suck up the urine. Pick up Dr. Barkenstein and the baster filled with urine and head to the pee spot. Put the dog down and then squirt out the nasty tasting lemon juice right in front of the dog's nose. If the puppy goes number two inside, grab it with a paper towel (or your bare hands) and bring it out to the bathroom. Make sure you bring the dog with you. The puppy will very quickly get the hang of it and soon it will forget that your house was once a very large bathroom.

One issue that often comes up deals with carpet. It is very hard to suck urine out of carpet. The most important thing to consider is that a new dog will go everywhere. Urine is hard to get out of carpet, so until Dr. Barkenstein learns where the bathroom is keep him on the linoleum.

The last piece of the potty training pie is the most important. Do not attempt this method of training around Thanksgiving time. Even if you write in permanent marker on the side of the turkey baster, "Urine was in here", good old Aunt Maybell will do you a favor and use it to keep the turkey nice and juicy. To avoid this horrendous situation, do not use this method during the month of November, and always throw out the baster after training is complete.