Trying to potty train child and puppy! What's your advice?

twilight80 · Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Posts: 5

Ok so my daughter turned two years old and I'm trying to start potty training, but running her to the potty every 15-30 minutes trying to "catch her" is not working for me. At the same time we just got a 2 month old puppy that I'm also trying to train.

If you were at my house it would be hard not to laugh seeing me rushing the kid to the toilet and the dog outside! Luckily I have not mixed the two up.

So I'm looking for any advice that would make potty training easier on me, the child and the puppy!

PrfctBtrfly · Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 5

I feel your struggle, as a mother of five and an owner of a toy chihuahua. My youngest is 3 and my puppy is one, so I have been in your position. Maybe I'm kinda lazy but what worked for my son was putting the potty chair right in the room with us. I would give him a cup of water or juice with a lid and a straw and let him drink all day. Every 15-20 min, I would ask him to sit on the potty and try. Finally he would sit there himself, sometimes he would just sit on there with a book. Eventually he got the hang of what the chair was for, and I was able to move it to the bathroom. Oh yea, don't forget to yell, scream, sing, and maybe even give her a little treat. I don't give my kids candy very often so that was a great incentive.

As for the puppy, a strict, strict schedule. I walked her once an hour and made her stay out there until she did something. Eventually, I learned her schedule and didn't have to go so often, but she needed that in the beginning to get used to what was expected. Again with her, I yelled, cheered and gave her a treat.

Hope this helps a little. Good Luck!