How to House Train a Puppy

Bringing home a new puppy or dog is a great joy and a great responsibility. The new member of the family will learn many things in his or her first few months including how to 'do their business' outside. With the help of this guide, new owners can successfully learn how to house train a puppy.

Puppies are cute, furry, sweet, and squiggly. When you bring one home everyone is welcoming a furry new member of the family and accepting the responsibility of being its caretaker. Part of taking care of a puppy is making sure it's housebroken. When a puppy or dog is housebroken, this mean that it can reliably eliminate outside the house. Accidents and setbacks may occur, but that's normal. Owners should consult with their veterinarian to ensure that the puppy is healthy and developing on track, to rule out any health issues that may contribute to accidents or marking inside the house.http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/4/House-Training-Your-Puppy.aspx Depending on the age and size of the puppy, the time between elimination (or potty) breaks will differ. Sticking to a consistent routine and providing daily training will give the puppy the best chance to succeed.

• The most important part of house training is setting up a schedule. This will greatly reduce the chance of accidents. While most puppies under the age of 12 weeks have not developed bladder control, older puppies are beginning to be able to 'hold it' to eliminate in an appropriate place.http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/4/House-Training-Your-Puppy.aspx

1. The general rule is that for every month a puppy is old, it can wait one hour to go outside]. This means a three-month-old puppy will need go to out at least every three hours. http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/4/House-Training-Your-Puppy.aspxThere's no need to cut things this close, however! Plan to take your puppy out regularly and often.
2. Keep meals on a regular schedule and take the puppy outside before and after them.http://dogchannel.com/puppies/training/article_1856.aspx
3. If you have a toy breed, check with your veterinarian to see if it needs to eat food all day.http://dogchannel.com/puppies/training/article_1856.aspx
4. Stop giving a puppy water two hours before bedtime.http://life.familyeducation.com/dogs/pets/45660.html It'll help him or her make it longer periods during the night without accidents.
5. Be aware that a very young puppy may still need to go out during the night. In general, expect puppies that are four months and older to begin make it through the night without needing to go out.http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/4/House-Training-Your-Puppy.aspx
6. Take the puppy out when he wakes from a nap.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/housetraining.html
7. Just finished playing with the pup? Time to head outside!
8. Go to the same spot, which will help cue the puppy as to what he should do.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/housetraining.html
9. If you have papers or rags soiled by your puppy, place them in the spot to indicate its purpose to your puppy.http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-training/dog-elimination/dogs-in-house/article_2581.aspx
10. Use the same word (also called a verbal cue) to tell the puppy it's time to relieve himself.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/housetraining.html This trains the dog to relieve himself on command.http://dogchannel.com/puppies/training/article_1856-2.aspx
11. Praise the puppy every time she relieves herself outside: make sure to praise when outside, during the act, NOT when the puppy is back in the house.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/housetraining.html

• It's fine to use the occasional treat as you train your pup, but you don't need to make treats a large part of the process.

1. Well timed praise is the best thing you can do to encourage your puppy.
2. Too many treats can upset a dog's digestion, undoing all your good training.http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/To-Treat-or-Not-to-Treat-When-Housetraining-Your-Dog.id-1469.html
3. Treats can be useful if you're trying to teach other commands alongside potty training.http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/To-Treat-or-Not-to-Treat-When-Housetraining-Your-Dog.id-1469.html

• It is optimal to keep a puppy's schedule in place, but sometimes schedules change. These steps will help owner's deal with a puppy who goes off-schedule, and give an alternative should they have to leave a puppy for a short time.

1. Be vigilant: a puppy sniffing the ground or circling, could indicate she's about to relieve herself. Take her outside, rather than risk an accident.http://dogchannel.com/puppies/article000001-2.aspx
2. If an owner must to leave a puppy unsupervised for any period of time, place her in a paper-lined room or in a crate.http://www.barkbytes.com/training/house.htm
3. Be aware that paper training can delay successful housebreaking, as a dog will get used to relieving herself on paper-lined floors, and less accustomed to going outside.http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-training/dog-elimination/dogs-in-house/article_2581.aspx
4. Make sure your dog can enter, stand and turn around comfortably within her crate.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html
5. If your puppy isn't happy in the crate, she could hurt herself trying to escape.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html . Consult Mahalo's How to Crate Train a Puppy for helpful tips on encouraging a puppy to learn to enjoy spending time in his crate.

• Accidents happen. Especially when potty training a puppy. Here's the best way to deal with them; without derailing potty training efforts.

1. Catch your puppy mid-accident, gently startle him to stop the accident, then take him outside as quickly as possible. Praise him as usual if he finishes relieving himself outside.
2. Never scream at or hit a puppy to stop his accident.
3. Never scold or yell at a puppy or dog after the fact. He won't understand why you're upset.http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/housetraining.html
4. Clean the spot thoroughly so the smell doesn't attract the dog to repeat the accident.http://dogchannel.com/puppies/article000001-2.aspx
5. If you can, put the soiled cleaning materials in your puppy's regular outside bathroom spot, so he knows where he should go in the future.

• Although most puppies will be housebroken by the time they're six months old, some dogs aren't fully potty trained until they're a year old.http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/4/House-Training-Your-Puppy.aspx Don't focus on how long the process takes. Enjoy playing with the puppy, be patient, and eventually owner's will have a fully potty trained dog!

• ASPCA: House Training Puppies and Dogs

• BarkBytes: House Training Your Puppy (1998)

• DogChannel.com: Simple ways to housetrain your dog (October 2, 2001)

• DogChannel.com: Seven steps to a housetrained dog

• DogChannel.com: Puppy Potty Schedules

• DogChannel.com: Paper-training often prevents a fully house-trained dog (December 9, 2002)

• Dummies.com: To Treat or Not to Treat When Housetraining

• Family Education: Potty Training Your Puppy

• Google Video: How to House Train a Puppy (Time: 1:06)

• The Humane Society of the United States: Housetraining (2002)

• The Humane Society of the United States: Crate Training (2002)

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