Potty Training your Italian Greyhound
The Iggy Parents’ Tips for Successful Potty Training
Potty training an Italian greyhound can be a daunting task but we are here to help it go as smoothly as possible. One of the number one questions we get from prospective iggy parents is whether or not Italian greyhounds can be potty trained successfully. In our opinion, potty training means that you have chosen a method that allows your Italian greyhound to do their business without any unexpected accidents. For some, potty training for outdoors only is their full consideration of the term. We are here to normalize indoor options for your pet to go to the bathroom, especially for this breed and those of you who experience cold climates. We are not saying that outdoor training cannot be a part of your routine or even the ultimate goal. In our experience, we’ve found the most success with a combination of using indoor and outdoor potty training but let’s talk about how to get there first.
You will hear a lot of advice about potty training your puppy, but we’re here to make it simple. Whether you are training for ultimately outside potty only, or you want an indoor option always, these are our top tips for potty training.
Top 5 Tips for Potty Training an Italian Greyhound
Notice the signs and watch like a hawk
Use enzymatic cleaner
Stick to your strategy - consistency is key
Reward instead of punish
Forgiveness - poop happens!
1. Notice the signs and watch like a hawk
Noticing signs of having to go to the bathroom can be tricky at first if you are not familiar with your puppy’s body language or puppies in general. Observe your puppy and look for certain behaviours. When we first brought Adelaide home we did not know the signs that she needed to go potty. This meant we were sometimes too late to catch her in time before making an accident.
SIGNS YOUR IGGY HAS TO GO POTTY
After lots of observation and a few accidents, we noticed these behaviours. Ask yourself:
Is your iggy sniffing the ground?
Is your iggy hiding behind furniture or in corners?
Does your iggy need to pee immediately after a nap?
Does your iggy poop soon after food?
WHEN THEY GOTTA GO, WHAT DO YOU DO?
Once you pick up on the signs that your Italian greyhound puppy has to go, what do you do next?
The next step is to watch them closely. As soon as you notice they are about to go, try your best to direct them towards a pee pad. If they are about to squat, you can pick them up and then quickly place your puppy on the pee pad*. Keep in mind that humans look huge to your tiny animal, so when directing or picking up your pet, try to do it calmly and swiftly so you don’t scare them. Watching your pet closely is the best thing to do to ensure accuracy of potty breaks.
*Carrying them to the correct spot might mean there’s a trail of pee drips to clean, but getting your pup to the right spot can help them understand where they should be going
2. Enzymatic cleaner for accidents
Mistakes are going to happen. What you do to help clean them up can actually help your iggy too. When your iggy smells an old accident, they might be motivated to go in the same spot. To help prevent this behaviour, use an enzymatic cleaner. The cleaner is designed to eliminate the enzymes from bio-based messes like urine, diarrhea or vomit. The spray works until the enzymes are gone which takes away the temptation for your dog to go in the exact same spot.
We’ve experienced accidents in pet stores and noticed it was from previous messes. Once Adelaide was fully trained, we brought her into pet stores and to our surprise she would sniff and then pee on the floor. Using the cleaner helps to prevent marking or peeing on the same spot whether it’s from another animal or their own previous mess. We used this type of cleaner for accidents, vomit or when there was mess from the edge of the pee pad.
3. Stick to your strategy - consistency is key.
There are many methods to potty training and we are not here to prescribe which one is best for you and your situation. Everyone has a different lifestyle but here are some options that may appeal to you.
Methods for Potty Training:
Pee pads: disposable or reusable used indoors.
Grass patch/mulch: can be used indoors or on a balcony for an outdoor option
Litterbox: a tub-like structure where you can place pee pads, mulch or grass patches
Belly bands: for males, they can help prevent accidents and marking
In the beginning, it’s important to choose a strategy and stick to it. You want to teach your puppy where it is acceptable to go to the bathroom, whether that’s only outdoors, indoors on a pee pad, or both. If you plan for only outdoor bathroom breaks, you may end up taking your dog out every hour or two. You might be able to catch them after a nap or when you see them sniffing. This is great if you have a backyard and you can let your puppy out exactly when they need to go. For us, living in an apartment meant that we couldn’t take our puppy outside immediately when we saw the signs of a potty break. Pee pads were our best friend at this time and luckily our iggy was already familiar with using pee pads from the breeder. If your puppy is not familiar with pee pads, a great way to inspire them to go there is to try and capture the behaviour at least once. If you can get one pee pad with urine on it, your puppy will enjoy going to sniff it and likely pee there again.
WILL MY PUPPY CONFUSE THE CARPET FOR THE PEE PAD?
In our experience, it is more difficult to train for pee pads when you have a fully carpeted home but it is not impossible. Like we said in our previous tip, enzymatic cleaner can help to take away the motivation to pee on a previous accident. The most effective thing you can do is direct your puppy towards the pee pad when you notice the signs that they are going to go potty. If you happen to have an area of your home that is not carpeted, this may be the time to invest in some baby gates so you can leave them in a smaller enclosed area to be monitored for signs of going potty. When there’s an accident on hardwood or tile, it’s just easier to clean and set your puppy up for success.
4. Reward instead of punish
As we said in our Top 5 Tips for Raising an iggy, we believe in positive reinforcement training. It is not effective to yell at your dog for making a potty accident. To go potty is a self-rewarding behaviour in itself (it’s called “relieving yourself” for a reason). Yelling at them can confuse them as well as hurt the relationship between you and your dog by instilling fear.
In the case of potty training, you can reward your puppy with praise and/or treats for going potty in your desired spot. This one is pretty simple, if they go pee on the pee pad or make potty outside, you can say “yes” and give a treat as you would for any basic skill like “sit” or “come”.
Our tip for using treats with any kind of training is to find small, low-calorie treats so that you are not overfeeding your pup or giving them diarrhea. Sometimes the best treats are high value treats like fresh cooked chicken shredded into tiny pieces.
5. Forgiveness - Poop happens!
Sometimes the most important part of potty training is your attitude about it. Don’t beat yourself up for mistakes because they are going to happen. You will have setbacks and it is not a reflection of you as an iggy parent. Know that even the best parents have messy times and even the brightest of pups are going to have their own struggles.
Some factors that lead to mistakes are things that are out of your control such as a change in environment. At the end of the day, if you treat yourself and your iggy with kindness, you will be setting yourselves up for success. Tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to bond with your dog.