Housebreaking
Your Puppy
Potty training.
Never, never, never.......... use paper to housebreak a puppy. It doesn't
work well, it's messy, it makes your house smell, it's not logical, and
5 years from now if you put your newspaper on the floor she'll come over
and pee on it. No seriously it's true.
There are a few things to know to make housebreaking a snap. A puppy must always sleep in her crate at night and when you can't watch her during the day (during the day at least til she's reliably house broken about 4 months of age). Vinegar is your friend. It's the best for cleaning and totally neutralizing any odours from any accidents on floors and carpets. Don't give her food or water past about 7pm at night (unless it's really hot or she's been running with you and is genuinely thirsty). This way she has been out for puddlies several times before bedtime around 10:30pm (for example). So, she shouldn't have much in her system during the night. And, generally dogs don't like going to the bathroom in their kennels. So that's an important step. In the morning the puppy pees before you do! She will hear you as soon as you wake up and she will have to go right away. Praise her for good behaviour. Consistency, patience and repetition are critical. Always use the same door for going outside for puddlies. Always tell her "puppy outside". When she "goes" praise her "good puddlies" "good girl" . Everytime she finishes drinking, eating, running around even for 10 minutes, as soon as she wakes up from a nap. Take her "outside". Yes, it will seem as you're going outside 30 times a day for the first little while. But, within a week she'll be giving you signs that she needs to go "outside". She'll go to the door. She'll start sniffing around. Watch her cues!
There are a few things to know to make housebreaking a snap. A puppy must always sleep in her crate at night and when you can't watch her during the day (during the day at least til she's reliably house broken about 4 months of age). Vinegar is your friend. It's the best for cleaning and totally neutralizing any odours from any accidents on floors and carpets. Don't give her food or water past about 7pm at night (unless it's really hot or she's been running with you and is genuinely thirsty). This way she has been out for puddlies several times before bedtime around 10:30pm (for example). So, she shouldn't have much in her system during the night. And, generally dogs don't like going to the bathroom in their kennels. So that's an important step. In the morning the puppy pees before you do! She will hear you as soon as you wake up and she will have to go right away. Praise her for good behaviour. Consistency, patience and repetition are critical. Always use the same door for going outside for puddlies. Always tell her "puppy outside". When she "goes" praise her "good puddlies" "good girl" . Everytime she finishes drinking, eating, running around even for 10 minutes, as soon as she wakes up from a nap. Take her "outside". Yes, it will seem as you're going outside 30 times a day for the first little while. But, within a week she'll be giving you signs that she needs to go "outside". She'll go to the door. She'll start sniffing around. Watch her cues!