"Discover
Your Sparkling Clean Floors Again
When You Potty Train Your
Puppy The Right Way"
The best age to begin housebreaking your puppy is between
8 and 12 weeks old. You don't want to wait too long but you
want them to be able to understand what you want them to do.
Experts suggest incorporating a crate in the young
puppy house training process. A crate usually resembles a
cage, with a locking door and see-through bars, and should
be big enough for the dog to move around in.
While it sounds like a miniature jail cell, crates should not be
used to punish your puppy. The idea is to make the crate into a
doggy bedroom - someplace where your puppy can play and sleep. They should never be confined in
their crate for more than 2 hours at a
time.
Because dogs, thank goodness, don't believe in taking care of
business by
their sleeping areas, your puppy will not relieve themselves in the
crate unless you've cruelly locked them in there for longer than
they were able to hold it in. Three-month old puppies generally need to
go potty about every 3 hours.
Try to always leave the house through the same door - the door
you'd like your dog to scratch at to signal his need to go out in
the future. Try to take your dog out at around the same times each day.
You want to establish a routine.
If your not-yet-housebroken dog is used to roaming freely
around the house, look for clues that tells you they need to go.
Your dog may suddenly put their nose down and sniff the ground
intently. They may begin to circle an area or they may stare at the
door with an intense look on his face.
Signs like these tell you
to drop what you're doing and get that puppy out of the house. Then take them outside to let them finish up and praise them with pats on the head or a pleasantly chirped, "Good
boy Fido!"
when they do. (Note: Don't say "Fido" if your dog's name
is "Rex").
There are commands you can use to make them go almost on
command such as "hurry up" as they begin to go. That
will eventually connect with them and they will understand that
means to speed things up. Those magical words will make a frigid winter walk much shorter
for the future.
One final thing on housebreaking your dog - maintain your
patience. We know that when the stakes are as high as cleaning dog
poop off carpets several times a day and having your entire house
smell like a public bathroom, you want your puppy to be housebroken as
soon as possible, if not sooner.
But losing your temper or giving
up on your dog will only set back any progress you have made. Keep
in mind that your puppy WILL have accidents at first, so don't complain about
cleaning up dog pee or poop. It comes with the territory.
If your puppy tends to pee during the night, don't give
them
water before bedtime. If they tend to poop a lot during the night,
take them out one last time right before bed, and wake up early to
take them out again. First cater to their schedule, and then slowly
change it to yours.
