How to Potty Train a Miniature Schnauzer (10 Great Tips)
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Miniature Schnauzers are smart dogs that take well to training and can live happily with a household full of human family members. However, they don’t instinctively understand the idea of using the bathroom outside and avoiding accidents in the house. Therefore, it’s our job as caring owners to potty train them when they are still puppies.
The idea of potty training a Miniature Schnauzer can seem overwhelming, but with the right techniques, the process should be fairly easy and stress free. Here is a list of the top 10 tips for potty training your Miniature Schnauzer:
The 10 Tips to Potty Train a Miniature Schnauzer
1. Create a Bathroom Schedule
While a bathroom schedule won’t dictate when your pup does and doesn’t have to use the bathroom, it will help set a precedence for everyone involved and ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for your dog to go potty outdoors. Once your dog understands the schedule, they will know when it’s time to potty and will be able to “hold it” until that time comes.
A bathroom schedule will also help you get used to taking your puppy outdoors for regular potty breaks throughout the day. While potty training your dog, schedule potty breaks every 3 to 4 hours and once during the night. After they get the hang of it, you can schedule breaks every 4 to 6 hours and they should let you know if they have to go between those times.
2. Stick to a Feeding Schedule
The more control over eating time you have, the better you can manage your dog’s potty needs as time goes on. If your dog eats whenever they want throughout the day, they may have to go potty when you least expect it. Feeding them two or three times a day at the same time will help keep your dog regular so you will have an idea of when they need to go outside for potty breaks, and you can plan accordingly.
3. Keep an Eye on the Signs
Whatever stage of potty training your dog is in, keep an eye on the signs that they need to use the bathroom if you want to avoid accidents in the house. No matter how badly a dog wants to go potty outside, they can’t do so unless they have an opportunity to. So, if you notice the signs as they happen, you can be proactive and get your dog outside before an accident happens.
Signs of your dog having to go potty include pacing, walking in a circle, whining, and looking for a place to do their business. Whenever your dog shows any of these signs, take them outside. If they go potty, praise them so they are likely to make even more of an effort to let you know of their need to potty in the future.
4. Make Repetition a Positive Experience
Dogs thrive on repetition because it’s how they know what is happening in their lives. If they go for a walk outside a couple of mornings in a row, they will expect that walk daily thereafter and will probably wake you up around the same time each day for it.
If you take your dog out to potty each morning when you wake up and each afternoon when you get home from work, the repetitive action will give them a good sense of when they will have an opportunity to potty outdoors. They will then wait to potty during those times.
5. Set Up a Kennel Habitat
Having your Miniature Schnauzer sleep in a kennel environment at night will help cut down on their accidents while you sleep. By nature, dogs do not want to use the bathroom anywhere near where they lie down and rest. Your dog’s kennel should be too small to establish separate potty and living areas, so they should hold their bathroom needs until they get out.
Outfit your dog’s kennel with comfy bedding and maybe an old t-shirt that smells like you or another family member. Make sure water is available. As soon as you wake up, take your dog out of the kennel, and lead them outdoors where they can take care of their business. The result will be an accident-free home when you wake up and throughout the morning.
6. Utilize “Puppy Pads” Sparingly
The more you rely on puppy pads, the more often your Miniature Schnauzer will go potty inside the house. The idea of potty training is to ensure that your dog goes potty outside so it’s easier to clean up and your home doesn’t smell like a poop yard. Puppy pads simply encourage your dog to go potty inside.
7. Never Use Negative Punishment
Yelling at or hitting your dog will not get them to use the bathroom outdoors like you want them to. Negative reinforcement should be avoided whenever possible. Instead of yelling at your dog that has already made a potty mistake inside the house, walk them directly outside.
Doing this repeatedly will teach your pup what you are trying to get across to them: to go potty outside, never indoors. Scolding your pup and/or using physical force can have the opposite effect that you’re going for and cause more accidents to happen in the house. Going outdoors to use the bathroom should always be a positive experience.
8. Utilize Specialty Spray
Using special sprays that deter your dog from peeing and spraying inside can be a good idea. This may not keep them from going potty in the home all the time, but it should cut down the risk immensely. Nature’s Miracle House-Breaking Potty Training Spray is designed to keep your pet from wanting to pee on your carpet and furniture and doesn’t expose them to harmful chemicals.
9. Confine Your Pup When You’re Away From Home
When you are not home to keep an eye on your Miniature Schnauzer, it’s a good idea to confine them to a specific room or area of the home where they can’t ruin your furniture or other items in the house by peeing on them. Place a potty pad on the ground so there is a safe place to pee, and take them outside for a bathroom break as soon as you return home. When your dog demonstrates that they can “hold it” while you are gone, you may be able to start letting them be in the house without confinement.
10. Establish an Indoor Potty Area
No matter how much effort you put into potty training, expect accidents to happen. As your dog is still young, it can be tough for them to hold their potty while you sleep or when you’re doing chores and not paying close attention to them.
To minimize the risk of accidents, establish a place in the house that is acceptable for emergency potty breaks. It should be a place that is near a door to the outside, preferably free of carpeting. Lay a potty pad on the ground in the area that you have chosen, and bring your dog to the pad anytime it seems like they need to use the bathroom until they understand to go to the pad themselves.
Conclusion
Miniature Schnauzers are smart dogs that tend to take well to potty training. With these tips and tricks, potty training should be a straightforward process that helps you and your dog bond and create a loving, trusting relationship with one another.
Featured Image Credit: Bailey0ne, Shutterstock
