Housebreaking Hints

Now, that you have your adorable new puppy home are you beginning to ask:
“WHO’S IDEA WAS IT TO GET A NEW PUPPY ANYWAY?”

Don’t despair – housebreaking does not last forever! Until your puppy is about 3 1/2 to 4 months of age – they really do not have alot of bladder control. From the seventh week to the 12th week you are really just catching the puppy before he goes on your floor – rather than making wonderful training strides. Some puppies are intelligent enough to catch on right away,
but this is the exception that proves the rule. If you were to remove the diaper from your 1 1/2-year-old  child in order to potty train him, you would have the same scenario. They can look at you, respond to you, and maybe even have
a small understanding of what you are asking of them – but they truly do not have the capability to function that way.

Your main goal is to never allow the puppy out of your sight long enough for him to have an accident that you do not witness. He is going to have accidents – this is just a simple fact! But, you need to be there when he does, so you can gently scold him WHILE HE IS MAKING THE MESS!
This ensures that he will understand what he did wrong. If you find an accident after the fact, then scold him – he may or may not have any idea what you are talking about. CONSISTENCY is the number one word when training a young pup!

The one and only method of housebreaking that we recommend is by the use of a dog crate. The crate must be thought of as a playpen for a child.
Your pup should be in the crate any time your attention is not directly on him. The crate should never be used as a punishment. In order to choose the proper size crate you sould seek the advice of a professional or use the
purchse guides offered by the crates manufacturers. A crate should only be large enough for the dog to comfortably lie down and turn around in. Anything larger than this will defeat the purpose as your puppy may learn to
have an accident in one end and sleep in the other. The correct size crate, or partitioning off one end, is vital to the successful use of a crate.

You must correspond feeding and watering times around crate times. Your pup should be fed and watered at least one full hour prior to being placed in the crate. This is expecially true if you are leaving for any period of time. Food and water should not be left in the crate with a young puppy as he will certainly need to eliminate before you return.

You should not put anything in the bottom of the crate for the first few nights. Items like blankets, towels or rugs will absorb any accident your puppy has. If he does not have the unpleasant experience of sleeping in his mess he may continue to do it over and over. After a week of keeping the crate dry you should be able to make it more comfortable for him by adding some type of bedding.

You should also purchase a stain and odor remover that has been specifically designed for dog odors and stains. Other products simply mask the smell to our human senses, but your puppy will still be able to smell where he has previously gone. This will be an open invitation to go there again.

All puppies need to go outdoors after a meal, directly after a nap, and regular intervals in between. We find it very helpful to take the pup out, let it go-then bring it back out again about 10 minutes later. Quite often a young pup will not fully empty their bladder as they are so excited to see you.

When Does Training Begin?

The answer to this question is quite simple! The minute you purchase your new pup. An eight week old puppy can learn to sit, lay down and stay.

You should never allow any behavior now that you will not happily except when your puppy is full grown.

If you do not want your dog to jump up on people, make sure they are always sitting politely in front of you when you greet them or whenever they want your attention. Do not reward them with being petted until they are under control.

If you do not want your dog to beg at the table, do not feed him scraps directly from the table EVER! Always give any table food after dinner is done and always put it in thier food bowl.

If you do not want them in certain areas of your home, teach this the day you bring them home. Simply let the puppy follow you to the doorway of the room that they are not allowed to enter. As you cross the doorway, quickly turn around, stomp your foot at the puppy and say “Wait”. If they try to pass through pick them up , set them behind the doorway and firmly say “NO”. Continue this until they sit back – even for a quick minute and praise them.
With consistency, an 8-week-old puppy can be trained without the use of annoying door gates. You will have to try to entice the puppy to follow you past this border in order to correct him. Never use his name to call him over this will only confuse him.
Once he is consistently staying out of the room, you can roll a ball or toy past the border and correct him if he passes over. By teaching boundaries in your home you will be able to teach them outdoors as well. This is helpful in keeping dogs away from gardens or the road.

You can also teach your dog to go potty in only a certain area of your yard in order to keep the rest of the yard clean. Simply take him to the special spot every time you take him outdoors during the housebreaking period.
Never let him go anywhere else in your yard.
As he gets bigger and goes out on his own, you should reprimand him if he goes somewhere other than the specified location just as you would when he has an accident in your home.

If you do not want your dog on the furniture or beds as an adult do not let him sit in your lap when he is little.