Potty Training Technique#1: Why Use a Small Confinement Area?

Advice on how to potty train a puppy focus often on small confined areas. It is easy and effective. You can make such an area within a room, kind of like an exercise pen with a gate. In any case, it makes for a closed off section that is the appropriate size. Within the confined space, you can place the dog’s bed, food and water bowls, and a paper-laden potty section. That’s it. Don’t let there be too much room for roaming as it will slow down the training.

It is a structured type of training to use a small space and it works by compelling the puppy to make good decisions where to eliminate. He will learn through correct repetition and your rewards. No pet wants a soiled bed or poop near food. It will make sense to the puppy to perform the right behavior.

Cleaning the potty region is mandatory so no poop sits for too long. You don’t want your pet to track anything around the pen or even the house later when he is released. It is not a signal that this is the place to go although the scent does come into play here. A bit of urine on some paper is quite enough to draw the dog over. Some puppies will actually shy away from overly dirty areas and choose other areas to soil, exacerbating the housebreaking problem.

When you must leave home for some time, this confined space is the best place to conduct potty training. Otherwise, you continue your strategy one on one later on. Direct supervision is best but is not always possible. When you take the puppy to his special spot, you have more control. You are around to do so after his nap, playtime, eating and drinking schedule, or chewing toys. You will soon know when he needs to go out.

Part of how to potty train a dog is heeding safety warnings. Collars, for example, can be dangerous in confined spaces. They can get caught if the animal wants to escape. You are responsible for securing the area to the best of your ability to avoid injuring your pet.


There are other issues to note about confined spaces. Very small dogs can be carried to the paper section to do their business. This cuts down on accidents in the early stages of potty training. He will soon get the idea by your example. Shortly he will walk to the right spot. This goes for outdoor training as well. Just watch that he doesn’t take a detour and have a mishap along the way. When the deed has been done, rewards and praise are always in order.

While small confinement areas are effective for potty training, they can grow larger in time. You can move the sides easily for expansion purposes. A puppy gate, however, is still required. Some people use several rooms of a house for free roaming, with only one pooping area designated. Eventually, the entire house might be allowed if accidents don’t happen.

Enlarged areas might encourage mishaps, but they should be infrequent. You may have to pull back a bit on the open space for a while and try again. Good behavior will be rewarded with more allowed areas for movement. It is the goal, of course, to let the puppy have the run of the house when fully housebroken. When this happens you can rejoice at your success.

If you know someone who might find this story helpful, don’t hesitate to share this post. And share your own stories or situations on how to potty train a dog topic in the comment section below.