When you have a new puppy, a big problem that can occur in your home is comforting him. You can save time, effort, and stress by teaching your puppy to use the bell when he needs to go outside to pee. For best results, combine these bell drills with a regular schedule and cage training.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Setting a Schedule for Puppies
Step 1. Understand the importance of a schedule
Puppies need to follow a schedule that you control. By setting his schedule for eating, sleeping, playing, and urinating, you are helping him to adjust comfortably to the pattern of your life. These habits will provide him with comfort, and the puppy will be "wetting the bed" less during the learning process.
Step 2. Create a meal schedule
Most puppies need to eat four times a day until they reach 12 weeks of age (about 3 months). After that, they need to eat 2-3 times a day until they reach adulthood. Feed the puppy according to the amount written on the food package label. Many labels only write down the amount of food that must be eaten in 1 day. You need to divide the amount into several servings to eat several times a day.
- To make sure your puppy is growing well, don't take his food out all day, but feed him per serving. If he doesn't finish his portion of food in 15 minutes, remove it and throw away the rest.
- Small dog breeds often have low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). They should be fed smaller portions four times a day at regular intervals to ensure that their blood sugar levels remain stable throughout the day.
Step 3. Set a bowel schedule
Take your puppy outside to pee after every meal, after play, and after resting or after a night's sleep. Puppies will take a few weeks to get used to the schedule. So, definitely going to wet the bed a few times. But as the puppy grows, the time gap between each bowel session will get longer.
- Puppies aged 6-8 weeks (1-2 months) need to be taken to the toilet every hour of the day, until they are comfortable. At night, you need to take him to go to the bathroom every 2-4 hours.
- Puppies aged 8-16 weeks (2-4 months) should be able to hold their bowels for two hours throughout the day and four hours at night.
Step 4. Get used to the puppy always sleep on the same schedule
This includes his regular bedtime as soon as he finishes urinating. Some puppies will sleep a full eight hours at night, even when they are 8 weeks (2 months old). However, most puppies need to have a bowel movement at least once at night. Do this after he sleeps for 2-4 hours.
- Just in case, preferably for the first 1 or 2 nights, take your puppy to the bathroom every 2 hours.
- After a few days or weeks, start increasing the time your puppy wakes up to pee from every 2 hours to every 4 hours. This will depend on the breed of your puppy and how long he sleeps. So, use your own calculations.
- Daytime sleep is very important for puppies, but if you let him sleep all day, he won't be able to sleep at night!
Step 5. Create a play schedule for your puppy
Playtime is an important part of a puppy's development. During play, he will learn that he should not bite or scratch, while his stomach digests food, and he will grow strong and healthy. Playing will also tire him out so he won't be awake when he's resting or going to bed. Regular playtime will make his sleep schedule regular.
- Training sessions need to be fun for puppies to think of as playtime!
- Keep the puppy safe while he is playing. Help him to prevent bad things from happening, such as falling, getting stuck, or eating/chewing things he shouldn't be eating.
Part 2 of 3: Training Puppies to Use the Cage and Pee
Step 1. Purchase a kennel for your puppy
Cage training is the first step in bowel training. Choose a cage that is large enough for the puppy to spin around in it comfortably. However, do not let the cage be too big so that he can make one corner as a place to urinate and another corner as a place to sleep. If your puppy learns to connect the crate to the toilet, he will refuse to lie down or sleep in the crate.
- Bedwetting in the crate is perfectly normal in the first few weeks, even if the crate is the right size for a puppy. Even so, don't lose your temper! He is still in the learning process.
- If you have a large dog breed, consider buying a crate that has a screen that can be removed as your dog grows in size.
Step 2. Get the puppy used to the crate
Place the cage in the house in a crowded place, where many people often gather. The study or family room is a great place for cage training. Leave the crate door open so the puppy can explore at his own pace, and give him a treat every time he enters the crate.
- As he gets used to his cage, start closing the cage door and leaving him in it for a longer period of time. Put him in the cage at night and whenever you're not home or can't keep an eye on him.
- You can move the cage to another room, for example bringing it into your room at night. But always make sure the crate is located where the puppy feels safe.
Step 3. Decide where to urinate
Take the puppy to the same place every time you take him out of the crate. If he connects his bowels to a specific place, he won't pee anywhere else. This will also make it easier for you to clean up the waste water in the future, because you already know where he used to defecate.
Step 4. Limit time out of the house for the puppy
Shorten his playing time outdoors during the first 2-4 weeks of potty training. Asking him to play outside when the toilet training process has not been completed will make him confused about what to do when he is outside the house. Once your puppy has mastered potty training, you can start spending more time playing with him outdoors.
Step 5. Encourage the puppy by using the command to defecate
Choose a specific word or phrase as a command for him to urinate. "Place pee" or "Let's pee" are some examples of words that can be used. When you take him out for a walk, use the phrase in the same tone of voice every time he goes to the bathroom. If your puppy poops after hearing your command, give him lots of praise and treats as a treat.
You may also need to choose another command to encourage the puppy to have a bowel movement. Young puppies need to defecate more often, so teaching them to associate a specific command word with a bowel movement can be useful
Step 6. Put the puppy in the crate if he doesn't urinate when the command is spoken
This is not a punishment, but part of the training. If he doesn't poop within a few minutes of giving the command, put him in the cage for 5-10 minutes. He may whine or cry when put in the cage, but don't let him out. Removing him from the cage will derail his training process.
- After 5-10 minutes have elapsed, bring him back out of the house to relieve himself and give the order again.
- Repeat this process until he pees after you give him the command.
- When he finally pees, repeat the order and give him lots of compliments and treats as a treat, then take him back into the house to play.
Part 3 of 3: Training Puppies to Use the Bell
Step 1. Include the use of the bell in the bowel training process
Hang a doorbell that you always use when taking your puppy out of the house to go to the bathroom. The bell should hang low enough for your puppy to touch the bell with its front paw or nose. Only use the bell on one door for the first time training. You can move the bell or add another one once your puppy understands how the bell works.
- Very small breeds and very young puppies may not be able to hold their bowels long enough until they make their way to the exit. In that case, hang the bell where the puppy spends most of his time - such as the living room. You can move the bell to the exit when he begins to hold his bowels longer.
- It can be very helpful to have a small area where the puppy will live until the toilet training process is complete. You might be able to use a puppy fence and hang the bell there.
Step 2. Teach the puppy to associate the bell with positive things
If he seems afraid of the sound of the bell, you need to get him used to it before using it in the toilet training process. Hang a small treat near the bell, and ring the bell when the puppy comes to get the treat. You might be able to smear some cheese or other treats on the bell, and, when he hits the bell, give him an extra treat as a treat. Repeat this process until the puppy understands the relationship between the bell and the reward.
Step 3. Teach the puppy to ring the bell himself
When you're about to go out when it's time to go to the bathroom, make him sit next to the bell. Always open the door every time you hear the bell ring, and give him lots of compliments. There are several different ways to train your puppy to ring the bell:
- Without you ringing the bell, tap your finger on the wall or door next door, and say "Let's go out." Puppies should learn to jump at your finger, and make the buzzer sound by accident.
- Hold a small snack directly behind the bell, and say "Let's go out." The puppy's nose will ring its bell when it aims for the treat behind the bell.
- Take the puppy's front paw, hit the bell with the front paw, and say "Let's go out."
- Skip this training section of the bell if you're in a hurry to take a puppy with an emergency need to poop. Only use the buzzer when you are taking the puppy outside to defecate as scheduled.
Step 4. Be consistent
Your puppy is very intelligent, and has a strong sense of the law of cause and effect. Anything he notices before opening the door/praising/giving treats will be seen as the cause of the outcome he wants. If you make too many variations on what the puppy has to do before the door opens, he can become confused. Make it easy for him to learn what to do to get out of the house. Keep things simple. For example, only use one of the methods outlined in the previous step - don't mix them up.
Step 5. Expand the use of the bell once the puppy has learned its use
You can move the bell to a different door or hang a different one on each door in the house. When you travel, bring a bell with you so he can use it when he's on the road. The same thing you can do when your dog will stay in another house while you are away, leave the bell with the dog. If you need to find him a new home, tell the new owner that he is trained in using the bell, and get them to install the bell in his new home.
Warning
- Make sure the bell hangs securely enough that your dog can't pull it out.
- Make sure the leash holding the bell isn't long enough to wrap around your dog (cat)'s neck.
Tips
- Use snacks wisely. Snacks can fill a puppy quickly and keep him from finishing his main meal. And because a puppy's main diet is full of essential vitamins and minerals, it's more useful for him than a snack. So give your pup a sizeable amount of treats, and consider buying smaller treats or cutting them into smaller pieces.
- If your puppy is very smart, or very bored, he may start ringing the bell as a play to get him out to do something else instead of going to the bathroom. Before opening the door automatically, you need to assess whether his bowel habits are well-established to see that the ringing of the bell is not a fake sign created by a puppy.
- Training your pup to use a bell can be more challenging if you live in an apartment, as it requires longer distances to get to where it usually goes outside. You can still use bell training as long as you can anticipate when the puppy needs to come out to pee.
