HOUSE BREAKING

It is a good idea to find out if possible , exactly what the puppy’s
environment was before you brought him home. This will tell you
what the puppy was accustomed to messing on in the early stages
of life. (i.e. was it a newspaper litter box style, sawdust or shavings
as in a barn or pet store, cement floor as in a kennel run, or maybe
a grass bottom playpen.) This information will help to determine
what will immediately work for your puppy. The most common
method of housebreaking is paper training. When using this
method, you will need to spread papers, a couple layers thick in
a certain area of the puppies most used room in the house. Also,
you will need to spread some newspapers in the area of the yard
where you want the puppy to make his bathroom. (of course
weather permitting) Weight these down with rocks or bricks in the
beginning stages.

Try to not allow the puppy to have access to the whole house as
this is just too much territory for him to be able to handle in the
early stages. This only reinforces long-term housebreaking.
Gradually over the first 4 months, after you have brought him into
your home, can you start allowing him access to other areas
unsupervised. When you catch the puppy in the act, but missing
the papers, gather him up in your arms, scold him with a growling
BAD PUPPY, OUTDOORS, and take him outside to the
designated bathroom area. Do this quickly. Move quickly so your
body language give the right message to the puppy as a sense of
urgency. Set him down on the ground and repeat in a command
voice “Hurry up!” “Hurry up!” You could use other words rather
than hurry up, words of your personal choice, but hurry up sounds
better than “pee pee”. Especially if your in a public place.

When the puppy has done it’s duty, and only then, start to praise.
“Good boy/girl!”, Outdoors -this is spoken in a praising tone. Even
if the puppy has finished inside the house, praise him anyway. You
are relaying to the pup that messing in the house is bad, messing
outside is good. If your puppy doesn’t t do anything after 5
minutes, pick him back up and bring him back inside with you.
Supervised housebreaking with proper correction and praise will
be much more effective then if puppy is left outside alone after
an in-house accident has occurred. With puppy out of sight, clean
up the mess with paper towels to remove the access and then
deodorize the area with an a neutralizer cleaner available at most
veterinary clinics or pet stores. If the puppy is present during the
cleanup, he will sense your hostility again and become confused.
The positive reinforcement with praise outside could be lost.

Helpful Hints to make the task easier

1. When your puppy wakes up from a nap, even a 5-minute
snooze, almost every time he will have to relieve himself. Gather
him up in your arms and take him outside to his spot. Repeat the
word OUTSIDE to him as your on route to the spot. Place him on
the newspapers or prepared area and wait. He may move onto a
grassy area near the papers. That’s super, that’s the goal.
Encourage him with the key phrase that you want to use every time
as “Hurry up”. Whatever term you use, just be consistent. Do not
praise with Good boy/girl until the pup is completely finished, then
lay on the praise and continue on your way. Use this procedure
after a playtime, meal, nap, confinement or first thing in the
morning and last thing at night. Keeping a pair of slip on shoes by
the door will make an emergency exit more effective for you and
the pup.

2. Keep your puppy on a feeding and watering schedule. The best
method for puppies 6 weeks to 4 months is to feed 3 times a day if
possible. Early morning, late noon, and again in early evening.
Allow him access to water during feeding times but restrict the
amount so he does not intake too much and become stuffed or
bloated. This could lead to a serious intestinal situation, requiring
veterinary help. What he leaves in his food bowl, pick it up and
place it out of his reach. About 1/2 bowl of water could be left with
the pup for drinking between meals. His body will adjust to a
feeding schedule very quickly, therefore making housebreaking
very predictable. Simply realize that the puppy will have to relieve
himself within 5 minutes after he eats so be prepared to make the
trip outside to his spot. Be consistent with the scheduling and the
task of housebreaking will be much quicker. If you need to change
the puppy’s food type, it is very important that you do it gradually
slowly adding the new type to the old, small amounts at a time.
Your pup could become ill if the change is made too quickly.
3. Crate training or room confinement of your pup while you can t
be there will greatly help your goal of housebreaking. At first you
may feel this is a mean gesture on your part but it actually can be
the opposite for your puppy. He actually regards the crate as a den
or his private territory. Two to 3 hours at a time is a long enough
time span. Once accustomed to it, puppies will often retreat to their
special den for a nap time even when you are at home. Do not feed
or water the pup in his crate, however, do leave several small toys
in there for entertainment and companionship. Most puppies will
not eliminate in their sleeping quarters so they learn to hold on
until they are taken out side. If a crate is not in your budget, use a
small room like a laundry room, washroom or barricaded off den
or kitchen. A whole house is just to much for puppy to respect in
the early stages.

4. When your puppy does get into a mess or does an undesirable
behavior, no matter how cute he is in the situation, DO NOT
LAUGH AT HIM. This will encourage him to do it again because
he may interpret it as a positive attention getting action. Discipline
the puppy first then afterwards when you are sure the puppy has an
understanding that what ever happened wasn’t a good thing, you
can gently and slowly give soft pats and gentle hugs. As if to say,
“I still love you but don’t do it again”. Don’t get real excited and
have too happy a face or the puppy may not get the feelings of
your true emotions. Remember your puppy is reading body
language as well as the tone of your voice and even perhaps the
few words he is starting to catch on to. They do learn quick and
what you wish to accomplish here is a level of understanding and
respect on the learning puppy’s part.
5. If your puppy is frantically struggling with you, perhaps he
needs a break from the play or training, so a trip outside to his spot
is in order.