Housebreaking Your New Puppy
Buy a crate:
A crate is quite possibly the most valuable tool you could possible purchase in training your puppy. When you go to select a crate try to purchase a crate that will fit your dog even when he or she is full grown. You’ll want one with a divider, so you can make the space in the crate small now when your puppy is little, but that you can expand as your puppy gets larger and needs more space.
You want to turn the crate into something your puppy can call home. Make it comfortable. Purchase a cushioned crate pad for the bottom of the crate, or line the crate with a soft blanket.
The idea behind the crate is this: Whenever you leave the house (for work etc) or when you go to sleep. Put your puppy in the crate. At first your puppy will cry, bark, and probably cry some more. They don’t want to be in the crate they want to be where you are. But, unfortunately, they are also prone to mistaking where you are for a bathroom.
Your puppy will not, in most normal circumstances, use the bathroom in their crate. If they spend a lot of time in the crate, and know they are sleeping in the crate later on, they are not going to want to use it as a restroom. No one wants to sleep in their bathroom. Make sure that your puppy doesn’t have enough space in the crate that they could use the bathroom in the corner, and still sleep on the other side. You want them to get used to holding it until you wake up, or get home and can take them outside.
Frequent bathroom breaks:
Even puppy bladders have limits, so keep that in mind when you put your pup in. In general, a puppy can usually hold it for about an hour for every month old they are. So if you have a 4 month old puppy, don’t expect them to be ok for longer than four hours on their own.
As soon as you wake up, or return home and take your puppy out of their crate. IMMEDIATELY take them outside. Your puppy has been cooped up for a while; it’s important that as soon as you let them out of the crate, you let them out of the house and give them the opportunity to use the bathroom.
Get excited:
When you take your puppy outside, come prepared with a supply of treats. When your puppy uses the bathroom outside it is important to praise your puppy for doing a terrific job. Your puppy wants to please you, make sure you let them know that you’re happy they successfully used the bathroom outside. Give them a treat, and act as though this is the most amazing thing you have ever seen. Your puppy loves praise, and after a few weeks of the repetition of going outside, and receiving treats and praiseâÂ?¦your puppy will get the message.
Repetition:
Housebreaking is difficult. The most important thing you can do however is to stay strong, and repeat the same things with you puppy over and over again until they get it. Your puppy is going to cry, and bark. It’s better for both of you in the long run however that you start off your relationship together with some rules. If you give in, and leave your puppy outside of the crate a few nights of the week before they’ve started to get the message, you are sending them mixed messages. Try and do the exact same thing everyday. Take your puppy out at the same time, put them to bed at the same time. Eventually they’ll get used to the routine, and going to bed and going to the bathroom outside will seem natural for your pet.
