If you are struggling with potty training a puppy then this post may shed some light on one of the reasons why.

I was not surprised when a couple I know rehomed their year and a half old Labrador Retriever puppy.  They had trained her to respond to many obedience commands.  Very impressive.  She was both smart and a real love.

So why did they give her up?

For one of the main reasons most pet owners do.  They were not able to break her of peeing in the house even after exercise and going potty outdoors.  The owners became frustrated and tired of cleaning up after their dog.

They now wish they had followed my puppy potty training instructions a little closer right from the start.

Their puppy was SO smart that they felt she should have the freedom to go anywhere in the house unsupervised after only a few short weeks.  By doing this the owners were making one of the MOST common puppy housebreaking mistakes.

They left their puppy for long periods of time to play and entertain itself throughout their house and did not take her outside to potty on a regular basis.

They were setting their puppy up to fail!

The puppy would of course have to pee more often due to her physical activity.  She would quickly go pee while out of sight in another room.  Even though the owners cleaned up the mess the controls on their puppy did not change.

Their Labrador puppy learned she could get away with using the indoors as a potty area when just a baby.  Hard habit to now break.

Simply restrict your puppy to whatever area in the house you happen to be in.  This way you can keep an eye on the puppy, controlling and directing their behaviour while they are learning the house rules.  After a short period of activity take your puppy outdoors to their potty area before an accident happens.

Keeping the puppy with you and observing it you can quickly learn the behaviour that indicates the puppy is looking to pee.  Yet still take charge by taking your puppy and heading out regularly when you feel the puppy has played long enough and may now have to go potty.

For the “How To’s” and more quick, yet important tips on potty training click here.

PS:  I did receive an update on this Labrador puppy.  The new owners restrict her as advised in their laundry room when no one is home.  A dog door was installed which gives her access to their secured back year.

With a little retraining, new house rules and controls there are no more accidents in the house!