Housetraining Your Puppy

House training your puppy requires much more than a stack of old newspapers. It calls for vigilance, patience, commitment and, above all, consistency.

By following these procedures, you can minimize house soiling incidents. Virtually every dog, including puppies, will have an accident in the house. Expect this - it's part of living with a puppy.

The more consistent you are in following basic house training procedures, the faster your puppy will learn acceptable behavior. It may take several weeks to housetrain your puppy, and with some of the smaller breeds, it may take even longer.

Establish a Routine

Like babies, puppies do best on a regular schedule. The schedule teaches him that there are times to eat, times to play, and times to potty.

Generally speaking, a puppy can control his bladder one hour for every month of age. So if your puppy is two months old, he can hold it for about two hours. Don't go longer than this between bathroom breaks or he's guaranteed to have an accident. If you work outside the home, this usually means you'll have to hire a dog walker to to give your puppy his breaks.

Take your puppy outside frequently

Take your puppy outside at least every two hours - and immediately after he wakes up, during and after playing, and after eating or drinking.

Pick a bathroom spot outside

Always take your puppy to that spot using a leash. While your puppy is going potty, use a word or phrase like "go potty," that you can eventually use before to remind him what to do. Take him out for a longer walk or playtime, only after he has gone.

Reward your puppy every time he potties outside

Praise him or give him a treat - but remember to do so immediately after he's finished and not after he's come back into the house. This step is vital, because rewarding your dog is the only way he'll know what's expected of him. Before rewardingh him, be sure he's finished. Puppies are easily distracted. If you praise him too soon, he may forget to finish until he's back in the house.

Put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule

What goes into a puppy on a schedule comes out of a puppy on a schedule. Depending on their age, puppies usually need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he'll eliminate at consistent times as well, and that makes house training easier for both of you.

Pick up your puppy's water dish

This should be done about two and a half hours before bedtime to reduce the likelyhood that he'll need to potty during the night. Most puppies can sleep for seven hours without having to go potty. If your puppy does wake you up in the middle of the night, don't make a big deal of it; otherwise, he'll think it's time to play and won't want to go back to sleep. Turn on as few lights as possible, don't talk to or play with your puppy, take him out to do his business and return him to his bed.

Supervise

Don't give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house; keep an eye on him whenever he's indoors. Watch for signs your puppy need to go potty. Some signs are obvious, such as barking or scratching at the door, squatting, restlessness, sniffing around or circling. When you see these signs, immediately grab the leash and take your puppy outside to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.

Keep your puppy on a leash in the back yard

During the housetraining process your yard should be treated like any other room in your house. Give your puppy some freedom in the yard and house only after he is reliably trained.

Confinement

When you're unable to watch your puppy at all times, he should be confined to an area small enough that he won't want to eliminate there. The space should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down, and turn around. You can use a portion of a bathroom or laundry room blocked off with baby gates.

Or you may want to crate train your puppy and use the crate to confine him (be sure to learn how to use a crate humanely as a method of confinement). If your puppy has spent several hours in confinement, you'll need to take him directly to his bathroom spot as soon as you take him out, and praise him when he eliminates.

Oops!

Expect your puppy to have a few accidents in the house - it's a normal part of housetraining.

Here's what to do when that happens:

- Interrupt your puppy when you catch him in the act of elminiating

- Make a startling noise (be careful not to scare him) or say "OUTSIDE!" Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.

- Don't punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled area, it's too late to administer a correction. Just clean it up. Rubbing your puppies nose in it, taking him to the spot and scolding him, or any other punishment will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. In fact, punishment will usually do more harm than good.

- Clean the soild area thoroughly. Puppies are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces. Check with you veterinarian or pet store for products designed specifically to clean areas soiled by pets.

It's extremely important that you use the supervision and confinement procedures to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to eliminate frequently in the house, he'll get confused about where he's suppose to eliminate, which will prolong the housetraining process.

When you're away

A puppy under six months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder for more than a few hours at a time. If you have to be away from home for more than four or five hours a day, this may not be the best time for you to get a puppy; instead, you may want to consider an older dog, who can wait for your return.

If you already have a puppy and need to be away for long periods of time, you'll need to:
- Arrange for someone, such as a responsible neighbor or a professional pet sitter, to take him outside to potty.
- Train him to eliminate in a specific place indoors. Be aware, however, that doing so can prolong the housetraining process. Teaching your puppy to eliminate on newspaper may create a life-long surface preference, meaning that even as an adult he may eliminate on any newspaper lying around the living room.

Paper training
When your puppy must be left alone for long periods of time, confine him to an area with enough room for a sleeping space, a playing space and a seperate space to eliminate.
- In the designated elimination area, use either newspaper or (cover the area with several layers of newspaper) or a sod box. To make a sod box, place sod in a container such as a child's small, plastic swimming pool. You can also find dog litter products at a pet supply store.
- If you clean up an accident in the house, put the soiled rags or paper towels in the designated elimination area. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is suppose to eliminate.





article originally posted October 30, 2009 on the Humane Society of the United States web site.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/housetraining_puppies.html