House Training Tools
Puppy Silky Hugo here is watching me, trying to figure out what to do.
Are there some simple house training tools that can really help with potty training?
My co-worker recently got a Chihuahua male, and while the dog was a sweetie, potty training wasn’t going so well.
The family lives in a condo, and the dog was having trouble going on leash.
Sometimes small dogs can have trouble with this. It can be scary for them, or they just want to be able to go in relative privacy on their own timetable.
I told my co-worker about an interesting alternative called an exercise pen. This is a highly portable open pen that can be set up just about anywhere outdoors or even indoors.
The puppy is put in the pen and is told — go potty! He can sniff to his heart’s content and go potty when ready. You might want to bring a chair and a book, but this beats endless turns around the block.
I have known many dogs that prefer to potty in an exercise pen rather than on leash, this is a simple but effective house training tool.
I asked my co-worker if the dog is crate trained and the answer was no.
So I told him about how to crate train his puppy(see Puppy Tips). Then I introduced him to the wonderful world of belly bands.
Belly bands are cloth bands that go around the boy’s middle, and cover his penis. You can either just use the band, or put a light days pad in it.
I make my belly bands from tube socks but I’ve seen some pretty fancy ones too; they can look like an exotic belt around the dog’s middle.
If a male is wearing a belly band then lifts his leg, he goes in the band instead of on the floor or against the furniture. One of the most difficult parts of potty training is when the dog potties in the house he thereafter creates a “good” smell that entices him back again and again. Using the band, this doesn’t happen, making potty training that much easier.
When the boy squats or starts to lift his leg say a sharp AHHH!! Take off the band, take him outside, either to his pen or on a walk. When he potties, tells him he is the most wonderful, awesome, amazing, incredible…. well, you get the idea.
These house training tools can really can make potty training just that much easier.