All Dog Breeds: The Basics of Housebreaking a Puppy

The Basics of Housebreaking a Puppy
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admin on 19 October, 2009 06:47:00
 
Dogs have to be housebroken while they’re puppies. And because puppies have
teenie weenie bladders, they need to be given the opportunity to use the
restroom once every one to three hours. As your dog gets older, he’ll be able
to hold it longer, but potty training puppies takes time and patience.
One of the easiest ways to start training your dog is to maintain a consistent
routine time in terms of its schedule for elimination. Choose easy times such as
when the dog first wakes up in the morning, when it wakes up from naps, after it
eats, and just before bedtime.
Dogs (puppies) aren’t really housebroken until they've made it four weeks
without peeing in the house in an inappropriate spot. Be realistic and expect
that your best friend is going to have a few accidents before he/she gets it
down to a science. Think of housebreaking like as skill for puppies, like
reading and writing is for children, so it takes some time to coordinate the
need and the act. When you find yourself getting frustrated, just look into your
pet’s big pretty eyes and your frustration will melt away because your baby is
just so darn cute.
Okay, so let’s talk about what to do when your puppy does have an accident.
First of all, no matter what you’ve heard, do not rub the dog’s nose in the
spot where he had the accident. Instead, if you’ve caught your puppy in the
act of having an accident, startle him by stomping your foot and saying,
“No” firmly, then take him outside to go potty.  Praise your pet when he
goes to the bathroom in the appropriate place.
As you’re training your puppy, choose a phrase that you’ll use and use it
consistently whenever you want him to go outside to go potty. Say something
like, “Let’s go do your business,” or “It’s time to go pee-pee.” 
Use the same language any time you want it go use the bathroom. Dog trainers say
that this becomes a command so that when you use it, the dog will always know
what you want it to do.
As you know, dogs “mark their territory,” so once your pet has chosen a spot
where it likes to “do its business,” keep taking your puppy back to that
same spot. You can’t smell it, but the dog will recognize the odor and it will
be like a beacon telling your pooch where to go. Again, every time your puppy
uses the bathroom in the right place, reward it either with treats, by praising
it, or by petting it. Just like children, our pets want to please us and they
will repeat that behavior that they think makes us happy if they notice that
they’re getting rewarded for it.
Sorry to have to be the one to break it to you, but if your puppy has an
accident in the house, you have to jump right on the situation in order to clean
it up. As already mentioned, dogs return to areas that they can small as their
“marked territory,” so you have to remove the odor immediately. There are
commercial products designed specifically to remove dog urine. You should
saturate the stained area and keep the dog away from it until it is completely
housebroken so that it doesn’t return.
There’s one other consideration about housebreaking and that’s when your dog
has “nervous peeing.” You’ve seen it – when a dog wets itself (or you)
because it gets so excited about seeing you. It’s really not a housebreaking
issue as it isn’t done when the animal needs to pee, but rather out of
excitement. Most puppies outgrow it, but some breeds of small dogs that are more
high-strung might continue to do this when they’re older. Don’t punish the
pet for nervous pees, but simply take him outside or expect it to happen and
don’t let it upset you when it does. Your dog really can’t help it.
Don’t worry, your puppy will learn housebreaking and you’ll still be best
friends when it’s all said and done.
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