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An Introduction to House Training Puppy
When you bring a young puppy home, he lacks a lot of the basic skills. To make house training puppy a success, you'll need some simple tools and basic understanding of puppy behavior.
Good house training also requires a lot of patience.
As a rough estimate, don't expect that your puppy will be fully housebroken before he is 6 to 7 month old. Don't rush, and you will be surprised at how much farther you will get by moving at a slower pace.
Establish a Schedule
So, when is a good time to start housetraining puppy?
Start immediately after you bring him home, but not before your puppy is at least eight weeks old.
To speed up the house training process, establish a routine. Just like people, puppies learn quicker with repetition, and that's what a schedule establishes.
For best results, take your puppy outside every two hours. At a bare minimum, try to build the schedule around your puppy's feeding times. Here is a sample schedule that offers a compromise between the two:
| 06:15 AM | Wake up and take your puppy out for a walk | |
| 06:45 AM | Feeding time. Put food and water inside the crate | |
| 07:15 AM | Another walk | |
| 11:15 AM | Take your puppy for a walk | |
| 11:45 AM | Feed your puppy. Again, do it inside the crate | |
| 12:15 AM | Take your puppy outside | |
| 04:30 PM | Take your puppy outside to do his "business" | |
| 05:00 PM | Feed your puppy in a crate | |
| 05.30 PM | Another walk | |
| 08:00 PM | Don't rush. Let him eliminate before bedtime | |
| 09:00 PM | Put him in a crate for the night |
Adjust it to fit your schedule.
To speed up house training puppy even more, set up not only a walking but a feeding schedule too. A regular feeding schedule also increases the chances that he will eliminate on a regular schedule too. But remember, puppy potty training will take time.
More Tips…
Here are some additional tips to speed up house training puppy.
Every time your puppy eliminates outside, praise him. This is how he will learn that he is doing something right. To be effective, praise him immediately after he eliminates.
For example, if your puppy eliminated outdoors, don't wait to praise him until you get home and don't praise your puppy just for going outside.
Similarly, when you reprimand your puppy, do it right after an "accident".
If you come home and discover that your puppy soiled on a rug, just clean it up with a good dog urine cleaner. Puppies forget very quickly, so if you try to reprimand him, he will not understand what he did wrong.
The Best Tool For House Training Puppy…
Young puppies can't control their bladder for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time.
Since there will be times when a puppy will need to stay home alone, some dog owners teach puppies to eliminate on old newspapers. This technique can isolate a problem of eliminating indoors to a smaller area, but it will also extend house training puppy time. Visit puppy paper training page to learn why I feel this way.
Teaching your puppy to eliminate in a dog litter box is a little better, but if you want to housebreak your puppy in the shortest time possible, consider crate training. Here is why…
Dogs are den animals and don't like to eliminate in close proximity to where they sleep and eat. A crate will teach your puppy to have bladder and bowel control.
There are several types of crates, each with it's own advantages and disadvantages.
In my opinion, the most practical type for most dog owners is a wire crate like this Designer Color Wire Homes by Kennel Aire.
When it comes to house training puppy, nothing is as valuable as a crate.
To learn more about types of crates and how to crate train your puppy, visit crate training page.
For more information on house training puppy, visit potty training puppies and puppy house training pages.
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