How to Paper Train a Small Dog

Many people compare dogs, especially puppies, to small children. To teach them to do anything, you must be patient and expect regular mistakes until they get the hang of it. Paper training a dog is no different and is likely the habit you will want to teach your dog first.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Newspaper
• Dog treats

1. Designate a small area of your house that you can close off with a baby gate to train your dog. A laundry room or bathroom would be a good choice. Either way, the area should have no carpet.

2. Cover the entire floor area with a few layers of newspaper. Since you will obviously need large amounts of newspaper, ask your friends and family if they will give theirs to you when they finish reading it.

3. Add toys, food, water and a bed to the room as well. Place these items as far away from the location you want the dog to eliminate as possible. Your dog will naturally not want to potty near her bed and food.

4. Keep a close eye on your dog and any time you see him eliminating on the paper give him a reward and praise. However, don’t interrupt him during the act. Wait until he has finished, and then pet, hug and play with him for a minute or two. Give him a dog treat also.

5. Return your dog to the room every 30 minutes or so if you take her out of it to play or roam around the house. While she is exploring the rest of the house, leave the gate open so she can return to the paper if she wishes.

6. Be consistent with praise. Pay attention to the places on the paper where your dog is eliminating. After some time, you will probably notice that he is going in the same area. Once this happens, you can begin removing about one to two inches of paper from the edge of the room farthest from where your dog typically eliminates. Only do this once or twice per week. If you make the changes too quickly, your dog might become confused.

7. Continue to praise your dog whenever he used the paper. Eventually, you should only have an area approximately the area of a puppy pad left that your dog will use.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that if you have a puppy, he might chew and tear up the paper. Don’t scold him for this, as it is a completely natural puppy instinct. He will grow out of it.
• Replace paper after your dog has soiled it. A person wouldn't want to use a dirty toilet, and neither does a dog.
• To help protect your floor, you can lay down plastic beneath the newspaper.
• Don’t yell at or hit your dog when she eliminates in the wrong place. She will get confused, and think you punished her for eliminating. She won’t make the connection to the location she used.
• Don’t leave newspaper lying about on the floor in your home after you have paper trained your dog. He will use it, thinking he’s done the right thing.