Housetraining a puppy -
The general goal for puppy housebreaking is to teach the puppy where it is acceptable to relieve himself and to prevent accidents happening in the home or other indoor area. To do this, you will need to supervise your puppy, anticipate his needs, reward his successes, clean up his failures - and above all remain patient, calm and consistent. A tall order? Not really! Read on to find out how to housetrain your puppy successfully. On this page: When can I start housetraining a puppy? Start as soon as you get your puppy home Getting ready to housetrain Special words and special places How long will it take? Will this just go on forever? Watch his every move! And anticipate what he does ... Help! My puppy made a mess inside! Don't panic! Making progress in housetraining Getting there ... Indoor dog potties - do they work? A handy alternative if your pup can't get outside When can I start housetraining a puppy?If your puppy came from a breeder, and your puppy will be 8 weeks old or more, the breeder may have already allowed the mother dog to do some of the housetraining for you. If the mother dog is allowed access to outside, she will teach the pups to go outside when they need to relieve themselves and to avoid soiling the area where they sleep and eat. In any case, you can start housebreaking a puppy as soon as you get him home. Start good habits early! Getting ready to housetrainA 'potty' or toilet wordJust as we learned that using marker words is helpful when learning how to train a puppy, using a special word when you want your pup to relieve himself will make housetraining all the easier. Choose a simple single word, or no more than two words. Make sure it's something you're comfortable with using in public! For example, you might say 'Go potty!' or 'Wee time!' You'll learn how to use this word below. An advantage of using a toileting word when housetraining a puppy is that eventually your dog will be able to relieve himself on command - very useful if you need to travel and want him to go before he gets into the car, or if you show or trial your dog and don't want him to make a mess in the ring. A special place to goPick a spot outside where you want your puppy to relieve himself and always take him to this spot. Be aware that if you pick a grassy area as his spot, he will have a preference to relieve himself on grass; if you pick a concrete spot he will prefer concrete, and so on. So make sure the spot you choose is one where it is OK for him to go wherever he is. How long will it take?Don't expect housetraining a puppy to happen overnight! It will take time and patience. There will be little messes in the house and you should be prepared for some cleaning up. A young puppy simply cannot control his bowels and bladder - but he will improve with time. Some puppies catch on quickly and might take as little as two weeks to housetrain. Most will not be completely reliable until they are about 6 months old. Watch his every move and anticipate, anticipate!Since your puppy will need to learn how to alert you to his needs, you will need to take the initiative. This means you need to supervise him constantly during waking hours and anticipate when he needs to go outside. The idea is to catch him before he makes a mess and take him bodily outside to the appropriate toileting place. Supervise his every move!Keep your puppy with you during waking hours so you can watch him for signs of needing to relieve himself. Signs to look for are:
If you spot these signs, use your toilet word described above in a bright cheerful voice, pick up the puppy and take him to the toilet area outside. Repeat the toileting word. As soon as he relieves himself, give him heaps of praise and a small reward. It won't be long before he associates relieving himself outside with a reward and relieving himself inside with no reward - so which one is he likely to choose? Positive reinforcement methods will make housetraining a puppy a breeze! Don't let this become a game though - don't play around with the puppy. He needs to learn that he's been put there to do a job and you expect the job to get done! If he has not relieved himself in a couple of minutes, pick him up and take him inside again. Watch him like a hawk and take him out again when he shows signs of wanting to eliminate. Anticipate!Don’t wait for your puppy to show signs of needing to go out. Sometimes he will be too quick for you! Try to anticipate his needs and take him out before he even realises he needs to go. This will help to avoid any negativity associated with an accident in the house. The best way to anticipate his needs is to take him out:
Help! My puppy made a mess inside!Never punish a puppy for an accident. No matter how furious you feel while housetraining a puppy, punishing him will only make him secretive about where he goes in the future. Think about why the accident happened:
Clean up any accidents immediately. Use a pet deodoriser or just ordinary vinegar to mask the smell – any remaining odours will attract him to use the same place again. Making progress in housetrainingPuppies will usually get the hang of daytime housetraining fairly quickly if you are around most of the time to supervise and anticipate. This is why it's a good idea to have a week or two at home when you first buy a puppy. Night-time training may take longer but puppies that sleep through the night should be able to hold out to morning. Just don't expect them to last through a human's late Sunday sleep-in! You'll need to get up and let the puppy out as soon as it wakes up. Puppies often show good progress for a while, then relapse. Don't panic! It's all just part of the learning process. Just go back to the basics, remain calm and he will soon pick up progress again. Indoor dog potties - do they work?If your puppy can't easily get outside, or you live in an apartment, an Indoor Dog Potty or 'pet loo' might be the answer. These handy, hygienic devices provide a place for your pup to relieve himself indoors and are very easy to clean. I use one for my two indoor dogs, who have to spend 8-10 hours shut inside while I'm at work. Using the techniques for housetraining a puppy described here, I quickly trained both dogs to use it. Although they still prefer to go outside, they are quite happy to use the indoor dog potty when they are home alone. No mess on the carpet! Easily cleaned. Happy dogs and happy owner. Brilliant! The 24 hour housetraining challenge!Here's a handy short video that gives great quick tips about housetraining. It says you can housetrain a puppy in 24 hours - are you up for the challenge? Hitting a puppy with a rolled-up newspaper and rubbing a puppy's nose in its mistakes are things of the past. We now know we don't need to use such harsh methods and they may even be counterproductive as the puppy becomes fearful and secretive about relieving itself. More training at PuppyPrimer.comMind you, some people still swear by the rolled-up newspaper method: Carry the newspaper with you and whenever the puppy has an accident in the house, hit yourself smartly over the head with it! This will remind you that it was your fault because you failed to supervise and anticipate! Housetraining a puppy need not be traumatic or difficult - it just takes vigilance and patience. Now that you have learned the basics of housetraining a puppy, continue to our page on confinement and crate training a puppy to learn more about housetraining a dog when you're not at home.
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All new puppy owners long for simple tips for
housetraining a puppy. So
here is a successful method for potty training puppies, using gentle methods that work without stressing owner or dog!
