Start
at the ideal age.
The best time to begin housebreaking a puppy is when it is
7-8 weeks old. At this age, you can teach the puppy when to eliminate before it
has established its own preferences. But, don’t worry if your puppy is older
when you start housebreaking, it will still learn, though it may take a little
longer.
Six to
eight times a day, take your puppy outside to eliminate.
Choose an appropriate spot to take the puppy immediately
after it wakes up, after play sessions, and 15 to 30 minutes after meals. If
you take your puppy to the same spot every day, previous odors will stimulate it
to urinate or defecate. Many puppies need 15 to 20 minutes of moving around and
sniffing before they eliminate. Stay with the puppy the whole time.
Housebreaking problems can result if you’re unsure whether the puppy actually
eliminates and you let it return to the house too soon. And remember the puppy
needs to focus on the job at hand, so don’t play with it until it has
eliminated.
Use a
key phrase while your puppy eliminates.
If you repeat the same phrase (e.g. “go potty” or “take care
of your business”) every time your puppy eliminates outdoors, it will learn that
this phrase mean that it’s the right time and place to eliminate.
Once
the puppy eliminates outdoors, immediately reward.
Reward the puppy by praising it, giving it a treat, or
playing with it. But remember to reward it right away. The puppy will not
learn to eliminate outdoors if the reward comes when it returns to the house.
Instead, the puppy will think that it’s being rewarded for coming home.
Supervise the puppy indoor as well as outdoors.
Find a room in your house that allows you to watch your puppy
as much as possible. This will help you catch the puppy if it starts to
eliminate indoors. You can also leash the puppy or place a bell on its collar
to help you keep track of it.
When
you leave home, put the puppy in a crate.
When you can’t supervise your puppy, leave it in a small
puppy-proof area such as a crate. If the crate is large enough to accommodate
the puppy as an adult, partition it to avoid having the puppy soil one end and
sleep in the other. In addition, remember that young puppies’ bladder and bowel
capacities are limited so let the puppy out at lease every four hours.
Don’t
punish after the fact.
If your puppy has an accident in the house, don’t go get the
puppy and rub it’s nose in it. This doesn’t do any good because the misbehavior
has already occurred. Instead, try to catch the puppy in the act. If you see
the puppy getting ready to housesoil, don’t swat it, but stomp your foot, shake
a can filled with pennies, or startle the puppy by yelling “outside!” The puppy
will likely stop what it’s doing and you can take it outside to eliminate.
Don’t
leave food out all day.
Feed your puppy at set times every day, and remove the food
bowl after 20 minutes. This will create regular intervals at which the puppy
will need to eliminate.
Thoroughly clean areas where the puppy has eliminated in the house.
Your veterinarian can recommend a safe, effective product
that removed both odors and stains. It’s important to clean a soiled area
completely, otherwise your puppy may return to it and soil it again.
Stick
with the training program.
Most puppies can be successfully housebroken by 14 to 20
weeks of age. But a pet may take longer to housebreak for several reasons.
Consult your veterinarian if you’re having difficulty.