Potty Training
Potty training is likely to be the biggest challenge for every dog owner and it is a natural step in bringing up a pet.
There are a few things every dog owner needs to know before start potty training a puppy or adult Dachshund:
- You just need to understand your dog’s body language. Being an individuality, every dog has its own signs that will signal you about its needs: some just looks at the door, some are running, jumping and fussing about. So you need to know what your dog is “telling” you.
- If you have a Dachshund puppy, remember that it needs to go “to the toilet” at fairly frequent time intervals – as soon as it wakes up, after short naps, after play-time, after meals and before going “to bed”.
- Take your Dachshund for walks at the time that the dog usually does his “potty”. For example, 2-3 times a day: immediately it wakes up (in the morning) and in the evening (about 5-6 p.m.)
- Praise your Dachshund after it eliminates at the right place.
Outside
The most common way to potty train your Dachshund is to take it to the designated area after every meal, nap, play, in the morning and before a bedtime. When your puppy has eliminated, praise it and use some positive reinforcement. Day-by-day, your puppy will develop a habit to release itself outdoors at the designated place.
Another way to potty train your Dachshund puppy is to use a crate. The thing is that a puppy will regard the crate as its own house and won’t eliminate inside it. If you are going to choose this method, you should know how to introduce a crate to a dog in the right manner:
- Put a blanket or a pillow in a crate that your dog can sleep comfortably.
- Add a toy that your Dachshund likes to encourage it to go inside.
- For the first time, take off the door of the crate if the puppy is scared to be locked.
- Feed your puppy in a crate.
- Slowly increase the time you let her stay in the crate.
When your Dachshund got used to a crate start to take it for a walk every 1-2 hours to the same spot (this spot will be associated with a toilet). Use some verbal cue for your dog as a signal (command) to urinate or defecate, for example “Potty time!” or “Toilet!”, etc. Each time your Dachshund eliminates outside, provide it with a tangible reward and praise.
How to Potty Train an Adult Dachshund?
It will be more difficult to potty train an adult dog than a puppy, since older dogs have their deeply-rooted habits (in the worst cases you will need to seek help of a dog trainer). Observe your adult Dachshund very closely and try to understand its body signs.
Remember, that only commitment, consistency and intelligent use of positive reinforcement will make your Dachshund perfectly potty trained.
