How To House Train a Puppy in 8 Steps

You bring a new puppy home and it’s cute as all get out! This is so exciting; you have visions of long walks in the park and insane greetings at the door when you come home from a hard day at work. You put the puppy down and watch it play with the new toys you bought. You see it suddenly squat on your rug and a big wet spot appears! You now have your first challenge; housebreaking!

Housebreaking a puppy is so very important for the well being of both you and the puppy. Sadly the number one reason that dogs are taken to animal shelters has to do with them having “accidents” in the house. You can see why it is so important to potty train your puppy right from the start.

Establish proper toilet habits when the puppy is young, since these habits will last a lifetime. When they get older it will be very hard to retrain them. Usually spot on (excuse the pun) house breaking cannot begin until the puppy is at least six months old.

Younger puppies by and large lack the bowel and bladder control that is necessary for true house breaking. Puppies younger than six months should be confined to a small, puppy proofed room when the owner is away. Cover entire floor with newspapers or similar absorbent materials, like those in our store. Be sure to clean up and change the paper every time it is soiled.

As the puppy gets older you’ll need less paper as the puppy begins to pick a particular spot. This will be the chosen toilet spot that will be the basis of later house training. Shop our eBay store for some great products that help clean and eliminate odors which brings them back to the same spot.

The 8 Steps:

1) Make sure your puppy has constant access to the potty area.

2) Take your puppy to that area at least every 45 minutes when you are at home.

3) When you are not at home or cannot supervise the puppy, you must be sure the puppy cannot make a mistake. This would be by confining the puppy to a small area that has been thoroughly puppy proofed. Puppy proofing a room is very similar to baby proofing a room, since puppies chew on everything.

4) Be sure the potty area that does not resemble anything in your house. Good examples would be concrete, blacktop, grass or dirt. The puppy should never be encouraged to eliminate on anything that resembles the hardwood flooring, tile or carpet he may encounter in a home.

5) Praise and reward your puppy every time he eliminates in the established toilet area, make a big deal out of it. The puppy must learn to associate toileting in the established areas with good things, like treats, toys and praise from his owner.

6) Always keep a set schedule when feeding your puppy, and provide constant access to fresh, clean drinking water. A consistent feeding schedule equals a consistent toilet schedule, input/output.

7) Using a crate can be a big help in helping a puppy develop self control. The concept behind crate training is that the puppy will not want to toilet in his bed area, it's not a cruel thing. Remember dogs are basically den animals.

8) Please be patient when house training a puppy. House training can take as long as several months. Remember it is much easier to house train right the first time than to retrain a problem dog.

The Big 3 No-No's:

1) Never reprimand or punish the puppy for mistakes. Punishing the puppy will only cause fear and confusion. Rubbing their nose in the mess does not work. Besides it makes the clean up harder!

2) Do not leave food out for the puppy all night long. Keep to a set feeding schedule in order to make the dog’s toilet schedule as consistent as possible.

3) Do not give the puppy the run of the house until he has been thoroughly house trained.

House training is not always the easiest thing to do, and some dogs and even some breeds are to be much easier to house break than others.

Be patient, consistent and loving as you train your dog. A rushed, frightened or intimidated dog will not be able to learn the important lessons of house training. For further reading we have a book in our store that gives very good training information. If you don’t catch them making a “mistake” don’t scold them because puppy live in the moment, it’s forgotten.

When you have gained your puppy’s love and respect, you will find that housebreaking your puppy is easier than you ever expected. You’ll have those long walks and happy greetings for many years ahead.