How to Teach the dog to go to the toilet on the sleeper

How to Teach the dog to go to the toilet on the sleeper

The fight between dog and sleeper is often exhausting for the owner. You hear stories full of discouragement and resignation: " my puppy always kills her " or even " my dog ​​eats her sleeper! ". Let's try to find a definitive solution, revealing all the secrets to teach the dog to do the toilet on the sleeper !

Are dog sleepers the right choice?

Of course, the best thing when it comes to getting your dog to do his business is to take him for healthy walks . However, if you have just adopted a puppy that still cannot go out or you have an adult dog who has to stay at home for specific needs, you will probably need an effective solution to the "need" problem and sleepers are for you.

What is it about? They are simple absorbent cloths , available in different sizes, designed to be a perfect toilet for your furry friend. In fact, dog sleepers respond to his natural instinct, following the same logic as Cat Litter :

Your puppy, like many other mammals, is stimulated to deposit his needs if he feels a soft, saggy texture under his paws. This explains not only why sleepers work , but also why our furry friends often delight us with smelly surprises on carpets, sofas and mattresses!

Getting a dog used to using the sleeper can prove to be a difficult task, if you do not follow some very useful tricks that we will now list. But first let's see what you need:

• - Special snacks to reward your puppy;
• - Several sleepers, large enough to make the task easier;
• - A lot, a lot of patience.

Where to put the sleeper/ Teach the dog to go to the toilet

Choosing the right position for the sleeper is crucial if you want your dog to take it into consideration! Try to put 3 or 4 around the house, in places that are neither too hidden nor too crowded. In fact, puppies up to 6 months, and even some older dogs, do not have complete control of the urge to pee and poo, so it is better that he has one of his absorbent cloths always within reach of his paw. In too crowded places, your reserved furry friend may not feel comfortable letting go, while two hidden corners could be completely ignored.

At least at first, if you notice that the dog avoids the sleeper and does his business not far away, always in the same place, try to accommodate it and place it in the place you prefer: you can move it when it gets used to using it.
Finally, if you are about to adopt a puppy, it is best to let him find the sleepers already placed in the house so that he can familiarize us immediately.

Eliminate temptations!

As we mentioned, the texture of the sleeper is what makes it effective in convincing the dog to go to the toilet.
If you were a puppy, would you find it easy to distinguish a rug from your soft toilet? Probably not. So the best thing, at least initially, is to eliminate temptations from the house, especially carpets! 

Otherwise, don't think your dog wants to spite you: it's just instinct. For the same reason, it may be necessary, for the first period of cohabitation with the furry dog, to prevent him from getting on the sofa and bed. If you are a lover of a nap in the company, do not worry: this precaution is only useful until the dog gains full control of his physical needs, then you can make him climb where you prefer!

Teach the dog to use the sleeper

Once you've placed them strategically and eliminated possible temptations, all you have to do is give your dog a paw to teach him how to toilet on the sleepers!
You may not know, but there are times when your puppy is very likely to have to pee or poop: Teach the dog to go to the toilet

• - After eating or drinking: a dog usually begins to feel the urge to go to the toilet a few minutes after eating , especially in the morning;
• - After a nap: just like humans, our furry friends often need to "go to the bathroom" as soon as they wake up;
• - ....a busy play session: When the puppy has finished playing and having fun, it is very likely that the puppy will have to pee.

You can therefore take advantage of these opportunities to bring your dog on the sleeper , so as to make him understand that this is the right place to vent his needs!

Reward the dog

It may not seem special to you, but it is not obvious for a dog to learn how to use the sleeper: if he succeeds, he certainly deserves a prize! Therefore, those tasty snacks that we mentioned above and many caresses are useful. The treat must be something special, so don't give your puppy the treats he eats anything, find something that drives him crazy.

The most common mistake when it comes to rewarding a dog is to do it only the first few times the puppy goes to the toilet on the sleeper.: this is in fact a habit that must be consolidated, so always make him feel good when he hits the target. It will take a few weeks before you can feel completely confident that your dog is always using the sleeper.

Do not scold the dog if he misses

Accidents, you know, happen. So in all likelihood, at least sometimes, you will find little needles around the house. It is precisely in these moments that you will need the patience we talked about in the beginning: in fact, the worst thing you can do is yell at the dog when he pees in the wrong place. 

If you start screaming and, even worse, press your muzzle on the droppings or the sleeper, you get exactly the opposite effect to what you were hoping for. Your pup won't understand what he did wrong or why you push him towards the sleeper in a moment in which, having just freed himself, he does not escape and will therefore associate your anger with his needs. Result? He will start making them in hidden corners or eating them to eliminate evidence of damage done!

When your dog goes to the toilet outside the sleeper, the best thing to do is to simply clean it well, so as to eliminate any odors, avoiding bleach or ammonia-based products that entice the puppy to pee in that place again.
You will need the same patience if your furry friend plays with the sleeper or even tries to eat it! Again, screaming won't do any good - your dog is probably just bored, so the best thing to do is tire him out more with stimulating play sessions.

Clean the dog sleeper

Finally, as you can easily guess, if you want your dog to get used to using the sleeper you must always keep it clean: nobody likes to go to the toilet in the dirt!

For the perfect hygiene of the sleeper, you must immediately remove the poop and replace the absorbent cloth after 2 or 3 pees at the most. However, there is a small strategic exception to this rule: if your dog is not convinced to use the sleeper, it can be useful to dirty it a little with a few drops of his pee collected with a handkerchief. In fact, smelling it can stimulate him to do his business there.

With all these precautions you should have no problem teaching your dog to go to sleep on the sleeper, but remember: when and if possible, nothing beats a nice stroll!

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