Congratulations on your new puppy! I bet your new puppy is very cute, very cuddly and very messy. Training your puppy to use the “outside” bathroom is a family effort. The length of time it takes for you to house-train your puppy is directly related to how well you supervise him.

How long your puppy can “hold it” is directly related to his age in months. A puppy can resist going to the bathroom for no longer than his age in months plus one. For example, a 4-month-old puppy can “hold it” about 4-5 hours, while a 6-month-old puppy can hold it 6-7 hours. Any more than that and your puppy will likely have an accident.

You will have to plan on getting up in the middle of the night to walk your new puppy and ensure your puppy is not left home alone for too long during the daytime. There are four main “rules” you must strictly follow in order to have success with house-training your puppy.

Rule Number One: Never Let Your Puppy Get Out Of Sight.

If you can’t watch your puppy, he needs to be confined to a small area. The area should only be large enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around and lie down stretched out. It can be a crate or a small room. If you aren’t paying attention to your puppy and he has an accident when you’re not watching him, then you likely need to watch him closer.

Rule Number Two: Learn Your Puppy’s Routine.

Your puppy will likely need to eliminate after he eats, drinks, plays and wakes up. By putting your puppy on a feeding schedule, instead of leaving a bowl of food out, you will know when your puppy has eaten. This will help create a schedule for you and your puppy. Keep a “potty” journal of when your puppy defecates and urinates. An active puppy will have to eliminate more frequently than an inactive one. During times he is awake you will likely need to take your puppy out every couple of hours.

Rule Number Three: Praise For Going Outside.

When your puppy does go to the bathroom outside, make a big deal out of it! Reward him with lots of treats and lots of praise. Be sure the treats are extra tasty and only use these special treats for when he does go outside. You can try Halo Liv-A-Littles treats, which are made of 100% real meat and fish, so your puppy will be racing outside to go to the bathroom just to get a treat!

You can use a “cue” word for when your puppy does eliminate outside. Many dogs can be taught the command “go potty” because they learn that “go potty = treats and praise.” Even if you have a fenced in yard, your puppy always needs to be supervised. If he eliminates outside and no one is around to praise him, then why wouldn’t he want to go inside where all the people are? Remember that eliminating outside has to be better than eliminating inside. So, make it fun!

Rule Number Four: Learn From The Mistake And Work To Improve It.

It is bound to happen that your puppy will eliminate inside. After all, why not? It’s warm, dry and carpets are soft. In many respects you want to catch your puppy eliminating indoors in front of you because you can house-train him faster. When your puppy eliminates in front of you, gasp in surprise and clap your hands to startle your puppy. This generally will cause him to look at you and/or stop eliminating. Screaming, yelling or physical punishment will only cause your puppy to become afraid of you. He simply doesn’t understand. After you clap your hands and startle your puppy, immediately pick him up and take him outside. He may not continue to eliminate, but if he does be sure to treat-praise-treat! Soon your puppy will realize that when he goes outside he gets lots of treats and praise and, when he goes inside, people startle him by clapping loudly.

If your puppy has an accident and you do not catch him in the act, then you cannot punish him. Your puppy will not connect his action of going to the bathroom in the house with your anger. He will only learn to be afraid of you.

House-training a puppy can be a tiresome task. You will need to be consistent and ensure you are watching your puppy’s every moment. If done appropriately, most puppies will learn to go outside within just a couple of weeks. New places and new situations may cause your puppy to “forget” that he is supposed to go outside, and he may have an accident. When new situations arrive, be sure you take your puppy out more frequently and reward him for eliminating outside in a new place!

Please be sure to contact your veterinarian if you feel your puppy is having excessive accidents in the house. It is possible that your puppy could have a urinary tract infection causing him or her to urinate more frequently than a regular puppy. Once your puppy seems to fully understand how wonderful it is to eliminate outdoors, you can then take a moment to pat yourself on the back for being a wonderful, but very tired, owner.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 8:16 am and is filed under Amy Breton, Pet Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.