Potty training a puppy is an essential part of the routine when you bring a dog home. Potty training a puppy is simple, but it requires determination and patience. An 8-week old puppy is intelligent enough for you to start off with potty training. If you don't start with an 8-week old puppy potty training, your house will become a smelly junction. Hence, to avoid the mess, it is better to start with an 8-week old puppy potty training as it is the appropriate age for new pups to learn new things. We jotted down some pointers with our first-hand experience on puppy potty training, hoping that it would help all the pet parents.  

Potty Training a Puppy

1. Your puppy will need some time to settle in the new house when they arrive. Kindly give them time to adapt to the new environment. 
2. For the first few weeks, their schedule for excretion may vary. They are young and can't control their urine and hence the varying period of excretion. 
3. Select a place where your puppy can excrete so that it is easier to housetrain your puppy. 
4. If you have selected a place for their urination, kindly do not change the spot of excretion. Changing the spots can confuse your puppy, and it will become harder to train them. 
5. It is essential to fix a food schedule. When you follow a scheduled feeding cycle for your puppy, you will notice that your pups are excreting at a specific time. 
6. Kindly note the time of excretion. See if your puppies are excreting immediately after eating the food or sometime later. The time of excretion will help you in potty training a puppy accordingly. 
7. Take them to the spot of excretion when your puppy has to excrete. When you take them to the place, they will slowly learn that the spot is for excreting. 
8. The most crucial step while potty training a puppy is to give them treats when they are right. When you treat your puppy, they think that they have done something nice. The pups will slowly learn that they are getting the treats for excreting at the right place. 
9. During the first few weeks of potty training, your puppy will commit some mistakes. While doing so, kindly do not be harsh on your puppy. Puppies tend to get scared when their owners treat them harshly because they are too young to understand the difference between right and wrong. 
10. Develop a word that you can use to communicate with your puppy. You can use the general phrases like 'Good puppy' if they are doing it right or 'Bad' if they commit a mistake. 
11. Applaud for your puppy every time they excrete at the right place. Apart from the treats, you should also show that you are pleased with them for their behavior. 
12. Puppies love pleasing their owners. So when you act impressed and applaud, your puppy will do the right thing to impress you again. 
13. Kindly never encourage any bad behavior of your puppy. Encouragement for wrong behavior can lead your puppy to think that it is okay to excrete somewhere else. 
14. The key to potty training a puppy is to keep repeating the schedule. Keep treating when your puppy is right, do not react when your puppy is wrong. After few weeks, you will notice your furbabies learning the trick. 
15. Last but not least, you have to be patient with your puppy. It can take more than a month, sometimes a year. But keeping your patience will help your puppy learn quickly and develop trust in you. 

Potty training a puppy is not only about discipline. The regular act of potty training your puppy helps your puppy develop a bond with you and learn more about you as an owner. So how you act during their housetraining period can affect your long term relationship with your puppy. We understand that sometimes your puppies might act like brats and refuse to listen to you, and you might also get angry at them. But, as a pet parent, it is your responsibility to be gentle and calm because that will be worth it.