Housebreaking

Perhaps the biggest challenge of having a new puppy in your home is housebreaking it. It is not that difficult if you keep certain things in mind.

Hopefully the breeder has started the puppy on its way to knowing the difference between inside and outside. Inside is for
playing and eating and sleeping. Outside is for eliminating, running and getting into all kinds of trouble, or fun, as puppies call it. A puppy who is two to three months old can’t be expected to go for more than an hour or so without having to relieve himself. This time gets longer as the puppy gets larger.

At first it seems like you are taking the puppy out all the time, and you are! I strongly recommend a crate, not only for housebreaking, but for a place where the puppy can sleep and get away from the hustle and bustle of a busy household. It is not cruel to put a puppy in a crate. Just remember, everyone likes his own space, and to a puppy, it is his crate. It also serves as a means to preventing to chewing on furniture when left unsupervised.

After you have introduced your puppy to his new house, you will want to confine him to a certain area, perhaps the kitchen or laundry room, where you can supervise him closely. You will need to take him out after he wakes up, after he eats, and often in between those times. If you find that you can’t watch him closely, put him in his crate.

A puppy will not soil his sleeping quarters, as a rule, as long as the space is not the TajMajal. The crate should be just big enough for the puppy to sleep in and should have some soft, washable bedding in it. After you take your puppy out of its crate, take him directly outside and praise him for doing his “duty” or whatever you wish to call it. Then he can go back inside. You will be surprised how quickly they catch on.

Never hit your puppy, or rub his nose in his accident. The instant an accident has occurred, the puppy has forgotten. I don’t recommend the use of newspaper to housetrain, either, unless your desire is to have your puppy forever trained to anoint the Sunday paper! I have a friend who trained her puppies to go on a blanket that she would throw out on the ground and every time the puppies found something on the floor that resembled a blanket- guess what?!

Take the puppy outside to the area you want them to use and PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE! Do not leave a puppy in its crate all day. At 6 weeks, a puppy can last for about four hours without eliminating. By week 8, five hours. By 12 weeks, six hours and by the time the puppy is five to six months old, the puppy should be able to wait an average workday- 8 hours if necessary.