Spring is officially here although the weather recently has not been that way.

Many of you may have recently gotten a puppy like I have. Some may or may not be having issues with potty training. Here are some helpful hints when potty training a puppy.

First is I always kennel train my puppies. Most puppies will not want to urinate or deficate where they have to sleep, I use this to my advantage. Therefore at night or during the day when I am not able to directly supervise my puppy I will place them in their kennel. Kennels should only be large enough for them to stand up and turn around. Too big of space allows for sleeping in one side and using the other side as a potty.

At night it is easier to tell when the puppy has to potty. Usually puppies will get up and start fussing if they have to go. So you are able to take them out and return back to bed. Not saying getting back to sleep might be easy but at least the puppy has told you when they had to go potty.

As a general rule as well most puppies will be able to hold their urine for the number of months they are old plus one. So for example you have a 2 month old puppy therefore should be able to hold the urine while sleeping for roughly 3 hours. Now of course their are exceptions to everything and the key here is during sleeping. Most puppies will urinate more frequently when they are up and active.

Which brings me to when puppies are awake and active. Many puppies will give clear signs when they are thinking about going potty but some do not. For me I usually watch the puppy for any sort of sniffing or circling. Many times they will be in the middle of play and decide to stop playing and sniff around. For me this is a sign that they may have to go to the bathroom.

If they do not show any specific signs I would take the puppy out initially every 30 minutes or so just to see. I the puppy is doing well with this schedule then I would start increasing the time between outside potty breaks. If accidents start happening then you know you need to decrease the time between potty breaks and increase the frequency you take them out.

The other rule of thumb for puppies is while potty training they should be watched at all times. There are a few things you can do if you are not able to watch them though. First is you could attach a leash and collar to the puppy and then to your belt. The allows the puppy some freedom but not enough freedom to run off and pee in the corner. The other is to just pup the puppy in a kennel until you are able to watch them. Give the puppy something fun to do while in the kennel like a Kong filled with peanut butter. When you are able to get the puppy take them outside immediately to potty even if they were only in the kennel for 5 minutes.

There are medical problems that puppies can have that can cause them to urinate more frequently. If you feel that your puppy is urinating to frequently you should check with your veterinarian.

Look for more information and video’s of my new puppy coming soon.