Obedience Dog Training:
Puppy House Training
By Jan Hoadley

Housebreaking is a very important lesson that all puppies - and adult dogs - need to learn. Teaching your pet to eliminate outside, and not in the house, can start from six to eight weeks of age, but few have the control to succeed 100% at first.

As with any training help your puppy succeed in house training. Puppy house training is made easier with a schedule. Generally speaking first thing in the morning and usually after waking up the puppy will have to urinate - anticipate this and usher him outside. Tell him "go pee" or "go potty" - and when he does praise him heavily at first.

He needs to understand that for whatever strange reasons we humans are delighted when he goes outside - and less than pleased when it's done inside. Because you are his pack leader and it makes you happy he will very likely try to repeat that behavior for wanting to please you.

Puppy house training takes patience. One aspect related to puppies that means nothing to us but does in a dog's world - if a puppy messes in the house make him aware of your displeasure by voice, remove him from the room (or if you catch him in time say "NO! Go outside!" then take him there). Then and only then clean up his mess. The reason is a puppy's mother cleans up after him - so in his mind he simply transfers from her cleaning up to you - the idea you don't want it on the carpet is foreign to him.

If he urinates on the carpet use a newspaper or cloth and blot as much up as possible - don't wipe, blot. Wiping spreads it. A product such as Out! helps neutralize the odor. Never use ammonia - this actually has an effect of attracting him back there, which is not what you want him to learn.

Get to know your puppy's behavior - you know first thing in the morning he'll have to go. As mentioned take him out. When he goes praise him then he gets a bigger praise - he comes in for breakfast and a drink! Life is good in a puppy's morning! With praise and treats it's a big signal that for reasons he doesn't understand you want him to do that. If he begins sniffing around as if searching for something, begins to squat or acts restless say "outside" and usher him out. Crate training can help reinforce this.