Puppy Housebreaking Basics

After getting a new puppy, probably the most important thing to learn is how to break his habit of answering nature’s call just about anywhere or any time he feels like it - your kitchen floor, the dining room carpet, the sofa in the rec room. To a puppy, one place seems as good as the next.

So if you’ve just brought a puppy home, here’s the info you need to save your upholstery and carpets by means of a simple training method called Housebreaking.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what housebreaking is all about. We want Fido to relieve himself in a place of OUR choosing, and we want him to wait until we take him there before he “lets loose”. But remember, this isn’t an instinctual thing. Animals don’t need to do things on a schedule in the wild. Nor do they really care where they do their business, for the most part.

So it’s going to take some teaching to let him know what’s acceptable and what’s not.

First, lets look at some facts before we talk about housebreaking techniques:

• No pup is able to control his peeing or defecating, until he’s about 12 weeks of age. (But that doesn’t mean you should wait until that time to start the training. On the contrary, start as soon as you can.)
• Most puppies need to engage in bathroom related activities approximately 6-7 times a day.
• Every time your dog seems to be following its tail in circles rather slowly, hurry up and get your shoes on, because if you don’t, you’ll soon have something to clean off your floor.
• Take your dog out soon after eating because food immediately puts pressure on its colon and bladder.

The first lesson in housebreaking, as in all dog training is to ‘communicate with your dog’. Make sure you let your dog know that you don’t like him peeing all over the living room. A firm, loud “NO” is all that’s required for successful housebreaking. But it should be administered immediately after the infraction. Showing a dog a puddle or a pile that was deposited earlier in the day will do nothing to prevent the unwanted behavior in the future - dogs cannot associate in the same way that humans do. Your dog must associate the reprimand with the action, because he is not able to associate it with the result of the action (the puddle).

You should never put your dog’s nose in his mistakes, and never, ever, hit your dog with a rolled up newspaper, your hand, or anything else.

Positive reinforcement works much better than negative. When your dog poops or pees outside, praise him profusely. Dogs are like politicians, always eager to please. They will do anything to get cuddled and patted (I’m speaking about dogs here, but I guess most politicians probably like to be cuddled and patted too ), so it’s relatively easy to make them perform in the manner that you desire.

Keep a close eye on your pooch. You’ll soon recognize the signs he gives when he has to go out. As soon as he looks like he could do with a visit to the good old lavatory, take him out. When he relieves himself in the right place, pat him to show how much you appreciate it. Give him a treat, and tell him what a good boy he is.

Proper communication with your pet, along with consistency, is all that’s required for successful housebreaking.