PUPPY TRAINING

Vizsla puppies come pre-packaged ready to learn. They are naturally quick learners and easy to train in the right hands. They are known affectionately among breed lovers as a "Velcro" dog because of their love of attention and contact with their owners. Because of their sensitivity, Vizslas thrive with positive reinforcement, rather than a firm hand. We find that lots of "good jobs" and praise go a long way in teaching our girl what we want her to do. Because Vizslas also have a lot of energy, making sure they get enough play time and exercise will help your puppy be more focused and successful with training. Now on to the good stuff...potty training.

POTTY TRAINING
We've found that a good first step to potty training is crate training. Most dogs won't go to the bathroom where they sleep, so putting a puppy to bed in the crate can be a good way to help teach them to "hold it"...

That said, most puppies can't hold it for more than a couple hours, so we try and start taking a puppy outside at regular intervals every couple of hours (yes, this includes at night). We also take the puppy out for about 15-20 min. after each meal, since this is naturally when a puppy will have to go.

Remember...mistakes happen. We never punish a puppy for going in the house. They don't know any better and a dog's natural instinct is to go whenever and wherever. Instead of punishment, we followed a routine with our pups and gave lots and lots of praise when they went outside. Combined with the intelligent and people-pleasing aspects of the Vizslas nature, we found that training to go outside was pretty quick and easy with this method.

Another tip to avoid puppy poop in the house: pay attention to your puppy's behavior. We always knew when it was time for our puppy to go to the bathroom when she started sniffing and circling. Another clue was what our daughter called the "bulgey butt" - it's a surefire sign that the puppy has to poop. All of these were signs for us to spring into action and take our puppy outside lightning quick or else get out the cleaning supplies.

Most importantly though....be PATIENT with your pup. Potty training doesn't happen overnight, but a little patience helped the process be a lot less stressful for both us and our pups.