HOUSE BREAKING
The Key To Successful Housetraining
Is Prevention, Not Punishment
Veterinary Exam & Urine/Faecal Check
Your puppy's state of health will affect his ability to be successfully housetrained. Make sure your puppy is seen by a vet within 48 hours of his coming home from the breeder or animal shelter. If your puppy does not receive a "clean bill of health", it is important that any physical conditions that can impede successful housetraining (such as cystitis, bladder infection, etc.) be properly treated. A faecal check will determine whether worms or internal parasites are present. (There are several types of worms that are not visible except under a microscope. Also, fleas can cause tapeworm.)
Feed Your Puppy A High-Quality Puppy Food
A consistent diet of a high-quality premium brand dry (kibble) puppy food is recommended. Avoid feeding your puppy table scraps or changing brands unnecessarily. If you should need to change your puppy's food for any reason, do it gradually over a period of 4 to 7 days. [Note: Feeding your puppy lots of canned dog food can loosen his stool, making it harder to housebreak him.]
Close Supervision Is Essential
Close supervision is essential any time your puppy is not crated indoors (or confined to a small area covered with newspapers). It only takes a few seconds for your puppy to have a house soiling accident, so watch for signs that your puppy may need to eliminate, such as sniffing the floor, circling, or running out of sight suddenly.
Confinement When Puppy Can't Be Supervised
Crate training or area confinement are recommended for puppies and most adolescent dogs when left unsupervised alone in the house. If properly introduced and used appropriately, crate training is an efficient and humane way to prevent housetraining accidents as well keep your puppy safe when you can not watch him (or when you leave the house without him). The crate should not be used for excessive periods of time and should not be used as a punishment (although brief "time outs" in the crate are fine). Sufficient daily companionship, interactive playtime and exercise are very important to all puppies and dogs.
[Note: Crate training and other forms of confinement must be balanced with sufficient exercise and companionship. Excessive periods of isolation can be very detrimental to your puppy, and can contribute to numerous behavioural problems including hyperactivity, destructive behaviour, digging, self-mutilation, and excessive barking.]
Determine Puppy's Safety Zone
Keep a diary of your puppy's urinating and defecating times for several days or more. Determine the minimum interval between elimination. Subtract 15-30 minutes from this period of time and that will be your puppy's temporary "Safety Zone". This is the duration of time he can generally be trusted to hold his urine after he is taken for a walk or has "gone" on his newspapers, provided he does not drink a ton of water during this time. Make sure however, that he is still closely supervised any time he is not confined to his crate or confinement area.
Frequent Access To Newspapers, Garden, Or Taken For A Walk If Fully Vaccinated
Puppies need to urinate shortly after the eat, drink water, play, chew, or sleep. For most puppies over 10 weeks of age, that means somewhere between 5 and 10 times a day!
Do Not Return From A Walk Until Your Puppy Eliminates
If your puppy has been confined overnight to a crate, take him outside first thing in the morning (before he's had a chance to soil indoors.) Be prepared to stay outdoors with him until he eliminates. (This could take from a few minutes to as much as several hours!) As soon as your puppy eliminates outdoors, give him lavish praise and a treat. If you take your puppy back inside the house before he's fully eliminated, he will surely have a house soiling accident indoors!
[Note: If you absolutely have to return home before your puppy does his "business", crate him, then try taking him outside again every 15-30 minutes until he "goes".]
Praise & Reward Your Puppy For "Going" Outdoors
Lavish praise, a trigger word (ie: "potty", "get busy", "business", "bombs away", etc.) and a treat reward immediately following his eliminating in the right place (newspapers, backyard, or outdoors) will help you to communicate to your puppy that you are pleased with his behaviour. Delayed praise is not effective, so witnessing him going in the right spot is important.
No Access To Inappropriate Areas To Eliminate
Many puppies and dogs prefer certain areas or surfaces to eliminate on, such as rugs, carpeting, etc. Keep your puppy away from risky areas or surfaces whenever possible. If your puppy suddenly runs out of sight (ei: out of the room), he may be looking for a secret spot to eliminate, so close doors to rooms where he may sneak a quick pee or poop.
Neutralize Urine Odours With Enzyme-Based Deodorizer
Should your puppy have a few house soiling accidents despite your best efforts to prevent them, neutralize any soiled areas (carpet or floor surface) with an pet odour neutralizer. Avoid using ammonia-based cleaners to clean up after your puppy's urine, as ammonia breaks down to urea, which is a component of urine.
No Water After 9PM
Generally speaking, it is advisable to take up your puppy's water bowl after 9 PM, unless he seems very thirsty or weather conditions are exceedingly hot. (But a couple of ice cubes are OK)
Humour
A rolled up newspaper can be an effective training tool when used properly. For instance, use the rolled-up newspaper if your dog chews up something inappropriate or has a housebreaking accident. Bring the dog over to the destroyed object (or mess), then take the rolled-up newspaper... and hit yourself over the head as you repeat the phrase, "I FORGOT TO WATCH MY DOG, I FORGOT TO WATCH MY DOG!"
