The Basics of House Training Your Puppy

House training is one of the simplest yet most difficult issues for people to overcome when raising a new puppy. It takes an investment of time at first, but the rewards are huge.

To start house training your puppy, you will need:

• Cash register. Big enough for him to get up and roll over, but not so big that he’s going to relieve himself in one corner and be fine napping in another corner.
• straps To take him out to go to the bathroom.
• candies For potty, you’ll want a very high-value treat, like a Natural Balance dog food roll, cheese, or hot dog chips.

Dogs love schedules and routines, and these are essential when housetraining your pup. Don’t feed your pup for free. While it may be convenient to just fill his bowl whenever it’s empty, it doesn’t make his elimination schedule predictable and therefore you can’t reward him for his proper potty habits on a consistent basis. Decide the hours you want to feed your puppy. For example, 7a and 7p, so you eat every 12 hours.

You will need to go to the bathroom every time you wake up, drink, or eat. Also, at first more frequent intervals to be able to praise him for a job well done.

The general rules are that if he relieves himself where you tell him to, he’s earned a treat and supervised release. If he doesn’t, he’s locked in a cage for a short time and then taken outside for another chance to go. Here’s a basic plan to get you started:

• When you wake up in the morning, put your pup on a leash (take treats with you) and run to the bathroom. Running shakes up his bladder and increases the chances that he will go to the bathroom. When you get to the spot you’ve designated as the potty spot, say, “Fido, go potty.” This is one of the first commands you will learn.
• Stay in that place for up to three minutes. If he goes to the bathroom, reward him immediately after he’s done (not during) with a “good boy” and treat. He then goes back into the house. If he doesn’t go to the bathroom, he goes into his cage for 15 minutes and repeats the process until he does.
• Even if you have a yard and think you don’t care where he chooses to eliminate, take him on a leash with you. You’ll know exactly when he goes to the bathroom, and you can reward him to let him know that’s exactly what you want. And think about it, do you really want me to go somewhere in the yard? Wouldn’t it be more effective to teach him to go to a particular spot instead of having land mines all over the yard?
• After his first bath, it’s time to feed him. I recommend manual feeding for the first few weeks. He will learn that you control the food, encourage him to eat since you will be giving it directly to him and you will not protect the food plate. If you don’t eat all of your food in 15 minutes, remove it. Once again, you control the food and he will learn that he needs to eat right away or that he has to wait until the next meal.
• Five minutes after he’s finished eating, he’s ready for another bathroom break. With the bowl of water by the door, lead him there on the leash. Let him drink and then take him back to the bathroom. Run to the spot, give the command, “Fido, go to the bathroom.” and wait up to three minutes. Dogs have a higher metabolism than us and can process food much faster. He should poop at this point, so make sure you wait the full three minutes for him to poop.
• If you go to the bathroom, you’ve earned 30 minutes of supervised release. If he does not go to the bathroom, he returns to the cage for 15 minutes and the process of going to the bathroom is repeated. Supervised release means you can’t be alone in a room. You would not leave a small child alone in the room. Just like a small child, your pup can get into things he shouldn’t and accidents can happen (which he may not find for days).
• Then, go through your morning ritual and be sure to give your pup another chance to go potty shortly before you leave for the day.

If you can’t supervise your puppy, crate him until you can. If you want to watch a movie at night and not be interrupted with constant potty breaks, you can keep him in his cage to build up the bladder strength to last longer than 30 minutes. If he’s asleep in his cage when it’s potty time, let him sleep; Just keep an eye on him to see when he wakes up. You’ll have to get out quickly.

A general rule of thumb for the maximum number of hours he can be in the cage is: take the number of months he is and add one. So, for example, if you have a two-month-old puppy, you can expect him to be able to hold him in his crate for three hours. Once you start your home workout program, you’ll be able to stick with it longer and longer.

Keep the 30 minutes of freedom for two days. Then increase the time by 15 minutes every other day. If you have an accident, turn back time five minutes. You may have been asked to hold it longer than you are capable of at that point in the process.

During the night, there is a high probability that you need to go out. If he moans to get out, take him out, but note the time. The next night, set your alarm 30 minutes before that time. You want to be able to dictate the schedule, not him. As during the day, every two days that night break to go to the bathroom is extended by 15 minutes.

Puppies develop differently. So don’t be discouraged if a friend’s pup can hold it longer than yours. The real test will be when your pup reaches adolescence (around five to six months). Many puppies that were great in the early stages will hit their teens and suddenly act like they can’t remember a place to go potty.

Prevention creates good habits. If he makes a mistake, roll up a newspaper, hit your head on it, and say, “Bad human!” You pushed it too far and you need to pay more attention to the house training program. Punishing him for soiling the house teaches your dog to relieve himself in a more secret place.

Sounds like a lot of work house training a puppy. Forks! But the rewards are endless. A month’s investment in proper potty training will yield years (and even a decade or two) of relief.