Simple Tips for Housebreaking Your Puppy

You’ve been looking everywhere you can think of, and at long last you finally succeeded.  You found a special little ball of fluff, and he started wriggling his way into your heart the first time you saw him.

Few things are more exciting than finding the perfect puppy.  There are, however, a few practical things you’ll want to do right away for Dog Training Maryland.  One of them is housebreaking your puppy.  No one wants “accidents” in the house, but follow these simple tips and you’ll soon be able to enjoy your puppy without having to worry.

It’s essential to be consistent when you’re housebreaking your puppy.  Choose a word as a command to tell him he’s at the right place to relieve himself.  It doesn’t matter what the word is, as long as you use it each and every time you want him to “do his thing.”  Soon, your puppy will make the association between the word and the act of relieving himself.

Give your puppy treats and affection whenever he relieves himself after you give him the command.  Puppies respond much better to positive reinforcement than to discipline.  Lavish affection when he does the right thing will go a long way toward shortening the time needed to housebreak him.  Never hit or shout at your puppy if he has an “accident.”  You’ll make him afraid of you, and it won’t make the housebreaking go any faster.  If you do reprimand him, make sure you don’t do it physically or in any intimidating way.

When he relieves himself in an unacceptable place (and he will, at least a few times), thoroughly clean the area immediately.  If possible, use a cleaning product specially designed for removing pet odors.  Eradicating the odor is essential, because puppies use their noses to find spots where they previously relieved themselves.  If you don’t eliminate the odor, your puppy will return to the wrong place repeatedly.  It’s important to break this cycle because dogs are creatures of habit.  If your puppy gets in the habit of relieving himself in the wrong place, changing that behavior will be more difficult.

You also need to have a housebreaking routine, and you’ll need to stick to it.  Take advantage of the times when puppies need to eliminate, because they’re predictable.  They need to urinate immediately after a nap or sleeping all night, so always take your puppy outside as soon as he wakes up.  Do this right away because he won’t be able to wait while you’re having your morning coffee.  Puppies also urinate about 15 minutes after eating or playing, and they defecate about 30 minutes after eating.  In between all of this, they also need to urinate every hour or two.  Obviously, you’ll be taking him outside quite often during the first few weeks.  Timing your trips to match these predictable intervals will speed the housebreaking up considerably and help prevent accidents.

Using a crate can also be effective.  Most puppies refuse to relieve themselves in their crates, so putting your puppy in his crate overnight will almost guarantee he’ll have a “dry” night.

It might take a few weeks, but these tips will help you train your puppy to relieve himself in appropriate spots.  Puppies want to please their owners, and yours will be the same way.

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