Housebreaking

To limit the number of times your puppy needs to eliminate, you need to put the food down for a maximum of 15 minutes. Do not feed snacks between meals and only give treats when the puppy is eliminating outside.

Be sure to enthusiastically praise the puppy (Good puppy!) and to give your puppy a treat immediately upon elimination. Ten seconds later and you are rewarding a different behavior. Take your puppy to the same spot each time, and use the same words each time it eliminates. You should use something different than other times, maybe "Hurry up," "This spot" or "Do it now" etc. Usually this will teach the puppy to go to the bathroom when you tell it these words. This helps a lot when you are on a trip or in a hurry.

No water after 6 pm at night. Restrict water intake inside the house, no unlimited water bowls.This does not apply to a puppy that is outside. Especially in the warm weather, your puppy must have water at all times outside.

You need to neutralize any soiled areas of the house where the puppy has had an accident by using a specialty item just for this. We use Nature's Miracle but there are several different brands available at your local puppy store. You can also use 25% white vinegar to 75% water. Be sure to fabric test any product that you use. Do not use household cleaners that contain ammonia. To your puppy, ammonia smells like urine. This will only encourage your puppy to eliminate in that spot again.

Be consistent

A puppy is only as consistent as his owner.

Confine your puppy when alone or overnight or when you are not there to watch him.

Time your puppy to see how long it takes before it eliminates after eating. Be sure to take it outside just prior to these times.

Do not expect your puppy to "hold" longer than it is capable. Remember it is still a little baby.

A rough rule of thumb is one hour for each month of age. (A two-month-old puppy should be able to hold for two hours, three months, three hours, etc.)

You will probably need to set an alarm to get up at least once and maybe twice during the night to let your puppy out. A good idea is to keep the crate next to your bed (puppy should not be in your bed), and if the puppy starts whimpering, get up and take it out. This does not apply to a puppy that is crying all night when you first get it. In this instance, you should reach down and assure the puppy that you are there and everything is fine.

If you must leave a puppy for long hours while you work, you can try placing a small crate inside an exercise pen in the kitchen. This confines the puppy but still keeps it used to the crate. Some people baby gate a puppy inside the bathroom for easy cleanup. Be sure there is nothing that the puppy can be harmed with, like household cleaners (very poisonous), soaps, etc.

One last thing: Do not holler at it if it starts to make a mistake in the house. Or, when you come across an "accident." If you holler, like "NO!" when it is urinating or about to, it will think you are angry at it for using the bathroom, it will not understand that it is where it is doing it. This will make it afraid to use the bathroom in front of you and it will try to hide it when it needs to go. Also, do not rub its nose in it (an old time method); this can also confuse it and make it think it should put its head in it in order to please you.

Animals do not think as we do, and many of the old methods have proven to be wrong. You do not want to scold a puppy when it has an accident. Just pick it up, and take it outside each time. Lots of praise when it does it outside too, plus one of the puppy's favorite treats helps.

And do not forget - obedience training is the first step in making your puppy a welcome part of the family.

Jupiter FL
Phone: 561-339-7709
Email: Patricia@floridashepherds.com