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Tips for Successfully House Training Your Puppy
By Steve Stuchlik

So you now have that puppy that you’ve always wanted, but now you are worried about ruining your carpet or rugs because of accidents. Are you looking for that easy solution to house training your new puppy? Well guess what? There is no easy solution, it is going to take some time, effort, patients, and love from you, but it can be done.

The first thing you have to understand is that your puppy is probably about 6-8 weeks old, and at this age they don’t understand good and bad. They know when they are hungry, thirsty and when they have to relieve themselves, so it is your job as a puppy owner to teach them what to do. The main thing that your puppy wants to do above all other things (no it is not chew your shoes, but that is close LOL), it is to PLEASE YOU. Your puppy understands that you control the food and water, and it wants to make you happy. So make sure that you praise your puppy and give it a treat when it uses the bathroom outside. Under no circumstances should you every yell, whip, spank, or rub your puppies nose in their accident, this will only delay your goal.

If you want to be successful in house training, you will need to establish a routine for your puppy, and to aid with this, I suggest using housetraining pads. I recommend the Ol’Roy brand from Wal-Mart, as they are very inexpensive, about a third to half the cost of other brands from Petco or Petsmart and they work just great. Place the pad as close to the main door as possible so that your puppy will get used to going to that spot, and evidentially, after about 3-4 weeks your puppy will be “going to the door” when it is time to relieve themselves and will continue to do so, even after the pad is gone. Now you know the secret as to why you see your friend’s dog go to the door when they need to “go outside”.

Start off by taking your puppy outside about every 30-45 minutes. Remember your puppy is small (even if it is a LARGE breed) and likewise their bladder is small, so they will have to relieve themselves more frequently. Also remember that the more you feed and/or water them the more they will have to go. Don’t starve them, but use some common sense, also talk to your vet about how much to feed them.

If you have to leave your puppy alone for long periods of time (I dunno, like maybe when you go to work?) make sure that you feed and water your puppy about 30 minutes prior to leaving and that you take your puppy outside to “do their business”. If you have to leave your puppy, please get a kennel or cage that is at least twice their size, so that they have room to move around a little. The kennel will also teach them, that even though they “feel the urge” to go, they can in fact hold it. If you don’t give hem food or water, in their crate, they will be less likely to relieve themselves since they don’t like to lie/sleep in their own waste, puppies that are 5-7 weeks old can actually hold it for up to 7-8 hours, but please, please make sure that the first thing you do when you get home is to take your puppy out to “their favorite place”. Also always use the same term when you want your puppy to “go”. It might be “let’s go potty” or something similar, but always keep it consistent so that your puppy can learn what you are wanting.

Now trust me on this, after about 2 months of following the same routine, you will all of the sudden realize that “hey, Suzy hasn’t had an accident in the house in about 3 weeks. You will feel a great satisfaction in this and will probably go buy Suzy a new toy from Wal-Mart for her success. She won’t have a clue as to why you did this, but she will be happy and love you more just the same.

I hope you find this article helpful. If so you can find a few other articles I have written on my website, along with some of my “favorite shopping places”…

I am the Helpful Homemaker. I am the mother of 4 children and have been happily married for 10 years to the “game master”. You can learn more about me at helpful-homemaker.blogspot.com/

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Stuchlik