Puppy House Training
House training is one of the first things you need to do when getting a new puppy.
The longer you wait before you start the harder it will be to eventually train him.
The first few weeks of owning a puppy are the hardest, but also the most important. The success of house training your puppy depends on you, not your puppy. You need to be patient and spend extra time with him, especially during the first few days.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind before you start:
You have to establish a designated toilet area and stick to it. Don't confuse your puppy by changing the place where he needs to relieve himself every couple of days.
Always keep your dog's yard clean, as many dogs choose an area as a toilet. If it becomes dirty, he might look for another place to relieve himself - maybe your expensive carpet!
The best times to take your dog to go potty is when they wake up after a nap or in the morning, about half an hour after eating and before they go to sleep.
Puppies under 12 weeks old have very limited bladder control. They don't know when they have to go, so it is up to you to observe him and take him outside. When your puppy has to go you will see him sniffing and circle. He is looking for a place he used before and if he cannot find one, he will create a new toilet!
The information on this page will help you house train your puppy. However, this is just an overview. For more comprehensive info, check out this excellent puppy house training resource.
So let's start house training!
When you first bring your puppy home, carry him from the car to the yard. Put him on the grass and wait until he relieves himself. Afterwards you can take him inside and play with him, but take him outside at least every two hours while he is awake.
After you feed your puppy, wait half an hour while leaving him alone and then take him outside to go potty. Always carry the puppy to the door, so that he gets used to go when he is outside. Do not allow your puppy to free feed until the house training routine is well established.
When your puppy wakes up in the morning, carry him outside before doing anything else. Afterwards you can play with him for an hour. Then give him his breakfast and wait for half an hour before carrying him outside again.
Always limit the places your puppy can get to, as giving him too much freedom this early on will lead to him relieving himself in some out of the way corner.
For the first month or so, you need to feed him three to four times a day and continue the above house training routine. Eventually your puppy will let you know when he needs to go potty.
Paper training is very popular and indeed the only way to prevent accidents when you are not at home. However, training your puppy to relieve himself on newspapers will make it harder to train him to relieve himself outside. If you have to use newspapers when you are not at home, strictly keep to the regular house training schedule when you are at home.
My puppy had an accident - what now?
If you catch him in the act, don't yell or punish him. Firmly tell him "no", pick him up and carry him outside. Tell him that this (outside) is where he needs to relieve himself and praise him when he does.
If you just find evidence that your puppy relieved himself in the house, do not punish him, smack him with a newspaper or yell. You will just confuse him as he cannot connect what he did in the past with your present anger. He will only look and act guilty because he knows you are mad at him - without actually knowing why. Remember, it is your fault for not observing him closely.
Cleaning up after your puppy
Hopefully by following this advice you won't have many accidents. When you do clean up your puppy's accident, put him out of sight. You definitely do not want your puppy to think that he can relieve himself anywhere he wants and that you will clean up after him!
Puppies are attracted to areas where they have relieved themselves in the past, so it is imperative to get rid of the urine smell when your puppy had an accident. There are many odour killers available that you can use, but remember that your puppy has a much better sense of smell than you do!