New Puppy Tips


Your new puppy will not have the capacity to remember where to go to the bathroom until he is at least one year old. He is an infant until that age, so peeing comes naturally and the puppy is not able to remember potty training rules until he is older. Your puppy will do best during infancy to have a safe place to relieve himself without getting into trouble for going in a spot that is not appropriate.  Dogs relieve themselves where they feel most comfortable so give your puppy a puppy pen with enough room to play, eat and drink, and relieve himself.  You can set up an indoor or outdoor puppy pen. This is not crate training, it is a safe place for the puppy to be a mischievous puppy until he is of an age that he can be potty trained.   Until the puppy is one year old, you can carry him, hold him, and play with him, all while supervising him and taking him back to where he has learned to be most comfortable to relieve himself. I suggest providing a crate in your indoor/outdoor puppy pen for your puppy to sleep in.

Having a puppy pen is one of the most efficient and effective ways to train a puppy while keeping the puppy restricted to a safe area while he is a baby. Until your dog is housetrained, he should not be allowed free run of your house. Otherwise, he will develop a habit of leaving piles and puddles anywhere and everywhere.


As your puppy matures establish a routine that increases the chances that he will eliminate in the right place in your presence, so that he can be praised and rewarded. This decreases the chances that your puppy will eliminate in the wrong place so that he will not develop bad habits while he matures.


Mistakes and accidents during training- they WILL happen!


If you find an accident in the house, just clean it up. Do not punish your dog. Until he can be trusted, do not give him unsupervised free run of your house. If mistakes and accidents occur, it is best to go back to puppy pen training.


POTTY PATCH

Get you puppy a potty patch!

External link opens in new tab or windowwww.pottypatch.com

this is a patch of artificial grass with a tray underneath so that your puppy can learn to go where he should. This can be used indoors or on an apartment balcony or patio.


Puppy playpen: keeps the puppy enclosed. You can use a potty patch or newspaper for best results for a place for your puppy to relieve himself. Include food, water, toys, chews for teething, and a crate or house for your puppy to sleep/hide in so when you are unable to supervise your puppy, he is safe and is permitted to be an infant/puppy! (PetSmart has puppy pens for approx. $99.00) Wayfair has quite a selection of puppy pens that start at approx. $52.00.

This puppy crate makes a terrific bed for your puppy to sleep in while he is in his pen. It can also be used if needed to start car trips or to keep by your bed at night so that the puppy can be put into the kennel when you get tired after holding him!!! Get one! (They start at about $26.00 at PetSmart and Wayfair.)

(Wayfair.com has TONS of chews and elk horn chews for your new furry family member! You can get a bag of little chews from Walmart for approx. $8.00) You'll want to make sure that your puppy always has these so that he has something to tear up and chew on while he is teething and growing. They help to keep teeth clean also!

Tip proof food and water bowls are a great choice for an infant puppy who will spend some time getting into the dish! He will try to play in the water, so these bowls make a terrific first dish for puppies! (Wayfair.com has a ton of food and water bowls for dogs, or Petco or PetSmart will do!)


Toys are important for puppies! There are a lot of places to look for toys for your new puppy! Arizona Ground Hounds avoids toys that squeak for Dachshund puppies as it can sometimes cause them to become more aggressive toward animals by bringing out their hunting characteristics. Kong toys are a great choice! (PetSmart, Petco, Wayfair.com)


For the inside of your pen, you can use some cedar shavings that are available at Walmart so that if your puppy goes on the floor, it helps soak it up plus masks odors.


Newspaper should be placed in one area that stays consistent so that your puppy can start to learn to relieve himself in only one place while he is in his puppy pen. Arizona Ground Hounds does NOT recommend that you use "pee pads" for potty training as they often lead the puppy to pee on blankets and rugs as they grow because the pee pads feel soft like blankets to your learning puppy! Your Arizona Ground Hound has already been introduced to newspaper and if you use this you will have a head start with potty training! This should only be used inside the pen as you work to get your puppy to understand where to go outside! Your puppy WILL relieve himself when he needs to in places that you do not want him to until AFTER he is no longer an infant and AFTER you have trained him to go where you want him to!!! If you need some help with potty training, you can call Arizona Ground Hounds and you can also get puppy training classes through PetSmart or other resources and EARN A GIFT for your puppy if your puppy graduates!!