U litter puppies are 4 weeks old, and time to begin learning some manners. I am conditioning them to potty in a designated area, instead of wherever they happen to be when the urge occurs. You will all realize several benefits from this early effort. First, the pup is learning to ‘hold’ their potty needs, so it helps tremendously in housebreaking. Second, it helps them understand to ‘seek out’ the place they should eliminate. Third, they learn they don’t potty where they play or sleep. And fourth, they learn never to lay in or step in their waste. This is a particularly disgusting habit some dogs have, and it is caused by them being raised in pee and poop environments. They step in messes growing up, so they think it’s OK. It’s NOT OK as far as I’m concerned, and it’s practically impossible to correct once they develop the habit.
Puppies pee when they wake up from a nap – immediately. So I pick them up and put them in the saw dust. They pee and poop within 20 minutes after eating, so I watch them and when they get ready to poop, I pick them up and put them in the saw dust. While they are playing, I watch them and when I notice one looking for a ‘spot’, I pick it up and put it in the saw dust. It’s a lot of work, but it’s well worth it. Normally within a week or so, they will go to the saw dust because that is the only place in the kennel area that smells like pee and poop. But these little Einsteins are learning by the first day! I work hard to keep the rest of their areas clean and disinfected. It’s amazing how quickly they can learn at this age!
These pups are being raised in a clean environment, where they learn to sleep and play without waste matter in the mix. So you will see in these videos they are leaning to walk over to the area where they have been conditioned to empty out, and use the potty area on their own. Then they leave the area and play, or seek out their sleeping area.
When you get them home, you can get some saw dust, put it in an area around your yard where you want them to potty, take them there, say ‘Potty” or whatever word you choose, and stand there until they empty out. When they do, say “Good Puppy” and then go play, or back inside. It works like a charm.
Next we will work on enjoying the confinement of a kennel.
