Paper Training Your Puppy – Pros and Cons
You are so excited, as you have finally brought the new puppy home. Already thoughts of proper training are racing through your head, as well as all of the great things you and she will do together in the years to come. Sit, stay, roll over… games of fetch; they’re all in the plans. But the first thing on the list though is paper training, right?
Not necessarily.
Paper training your pup has long been considered the very first lesson in doggie education, but you shouldn’t take it for granted that it’s the best track to take with your pooch. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you need to take two ideas into consideration before you decide paper training is the way to go: your schedule and way of life, and the personalities of yourself and your pet.
If your pup will have to spend long days alone in your home while you work, that may be an argument for paper training. It isn’t the ideal situation to put your puppy in. It would be better to hire someone to take her out once or twice a day, or to enroll her in a doggie daycare, but those may not be options for you. They may be beyond your budget or simply not available where you live. In that case, you and your pooch will have to go it alone.
Your tiny pup may be destined to grow into a much larger dog, however, and you will have to decide whether you want a 50-pound pooch to use paper in your home or if you will eventually be forced to deal with the work-day bathroom question in a different way at that time.
Many people decide to paper train their pup simply because they assume it will be the easiest thing for the pup to learn. That may not be the case, however. If you would like for her to be able to go during regular walks, then go ahead and try training her for it as soon as she moves in. You may be surprised how easy it is for her to get the idea.
Simply make regular bathroom walks a part of your day from the beginning. Put her on a leash and take her outside. If nothing happens after five or 10 minutes, bring her back in. If she uses the bathroom, treat it as though she has just done the most amazing thing in the world. Tell her what a good girl and a genius dog she is. Pet her for it and give her plenty of affection over it. There is nothing like lavish praise to get a dog’s attention.
Not everything goes as planned one hundred percent of the time. Certainly there will be days when the oriental rug in the living room is a lot closer than the back yard. If you can catch your precious canine bundle of joy in the act, scoop her up and take her out into the yard. If she does what she’s supposed to out there, give her lots of praise. Do this enough times and your pup will begin to make the connection.
By Dog Training Editor
