This post is brought to you as a part of the Dog Days of
Summer Campaign, hosted by the folks at dog training collars. Our hope is that all our furry
friends have a safe summer full of fun!
You see that cute little puppy and you just have to have
it. I always wonder how many puppies get
returned or given away when the owner’s training methods fail, and the dog
seems to be the one to blame.
When we first got our puppy, Cybil, I believed dogs belonged
outside. I am sure many of you feel the same way. My husband had always had dogs in the house
and assured me I would grow to love her being inside. Well, if you are going to have a housedog,
one of the most important things about keeping your house clean is potty
training your puppy. Again, something I
knew nothing about. I learned a great
way to potty train my puppy and I tell people that they should do it this way
all of the time. Actually in general, it is a great training method for many
reasons. It makes life easier on both you and the learning puppy!!! So what is my training method, you ask? Kennel training. I can hear some people saying that that is
animal cruelty, but in my opinion it is the best way.
In the beginning it is important
to take your pet outside, play with your pet, and of course feed him. My husband and I found that in the first week
of potty training, it was best to do just that, and then put her in the
kennel. It wasn’t easy though, she
whimpered, and my husband wanted to get her out. He said that she wouldn’t go to the bathroom
in the place that she had to sleep or lay in.
Therefore, when we let her out of the kennel, we would take her directly
outside. She would then learn when she
wasn’t in the kennel; she was to go to the bathroom outside. Believe it or not, this did work. After about a week, we began to let her stay
out of the kennel and play awhile longer when we were home. We increased the time each day, but of course
always putting her back in the kennel when we left or when we went to bed. Over time, our training method was
successful, very little accidents. Our
little dog always felt like the kennel was her home, and even years later she
would go in there to sleep, or if the kids were noisy she went in there. We thought she went in there for a little
alone time!! Of course, after she was
potty trained, we never shut the door, but again, she found it to be her safe
place and went in the kennel every once in awhile. Now, earlier I want to mention that our dog
did not have any accidents in her kennel.
I have heard most people say the same thing. Of course, if your pet is sick, and has no
control, than that theory might go out the window!!! When we had our puppy spayed, we put her in
there because she was so unsteady by the anesthesia. First of all, she stood facing the back of
the kennel, and second of all I don’t think she knew she was in the
kennel. She did have some issues that
time, but that was after a procedure. We
hated to have to put her in the kennel when she wasn’t feeling well, but she
was disoriented and we didn’t want her to hurt herself. This again, is another benefit of kennel
training. We had a place to keep her
safe, and she wasn’t scared. It was a
pleasant and familiar environment for her to recover.
I hope when many of you get a new puppy or dog that you will
consider kennel training for your potty training method, or just for training
in general. It really did make things go
much easier for our pet and ourselves. By the way, I now believe that every dog belongs inside!
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