How to Potty Train a Puppy with Positive Reinforcement and Other Dog Behavior Tips

For this Omaha dog training session we helped 4 year-old Cavapoo Ellie. Her guardians called us in for help on how to potty train a puppy and to get over her fear of the stairs.

Ellie was quite excited to meet me. She jumped up and ran around so I ignored her to communicate that I didn’t like those actions or energy. Anything a dog is doing when you pet it is what you are rewarding. So petting or even correcting a dog for jumping rewards the exact behavior you want to stop.

Once Ellie settled down a bit, I asked for a “sit” and when she did, I rewarded her. As soon as she started getting excited again or jumping up, I immediately stopped. This went on for a few minutes, but then Ellie started to understand and began asking for attention by sitting down. We call this “Manding.”

Dog Behavior Tips

Manding is a dog training technique that uses cues or commands to teach dogs specific behaviors. The term comes from the word “mand,” which means “to request or demand” in psychology. This method helps dogs learn good behavior, understand expectations, follow commands, receive rewards, build confidence, and feel understood.

In addition to verbal commands, manding can also refer to nonverbal ways puppies ask for things or signal their needs. This could involve actions such as putting their paws on you, jumping, biting clothes or hands, or showing excitement for attention.

Some people believe that manding has many benefits. These include making dogs more sociable and less likely to do harmful things. It can also make them calmer and better at making eye contact. Additionally, manding can increase the production of oxytocin, which helps with bonding and generally feeling good.

Tips to Help a Dog with a Fear of Using the Stairs

One of Ellie’s dog behavior problems was a fear of using the stairs. I’ve worked with many dogs scared of using the stairs and have come up with a few ways to help a dog get over a fear of the stairs. Ellie’s guardians had tried a few of these, verbal encouragement and leaving a treat on each step. But Ellie wasn’t having either of those.

You can learn how to help a dog get over a fear of using steps in the free dog behavior training video below.

Helping a fearful dog stop feeling anxious about stairs is all about putting the dog in a position to succeed. By lowering the criteria, ie less steps, Ellie was able to succeed. First with one step, then two, then three. With a little practice, Ellie’s days of being scared to go down the stairs will be a distant memory.

I shared a number of other tips to help Ellie, keeping things nice and easy so you don’t have to be a professional Cavapoo trainer to teach puppies this smart.

How to Potty Train a Puppy or Adult Dog

One of the other puppy training tips I shared was on potty training as Ellie has had some accidents in the house. You can learn how to potty train any puppy or adult dog by watching the free dog training video below on potty training.

As you can see in the video above, it’s important to approach potty training with patience and care. The biggest mistakes guardians make when potty training a dog are rubbing their nose in accidents or yelling at them for having one.

Making these mistakes will teach your puppy or adult dog that you don’t want them to go to the bathroom, causing them to go to another part of the home to hide and relieve themselves. Positive reinforcement is key when it comes to potty training a dog.

We made a roadmap to success video to help the guardians remember what we covered during this in-home dog training session. You can check it out below.