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Basic Training by Debra Horwitz, DVM

A housetrained puppy is just nine tips away.

Heart-melting eyes and squeezable cuteness make just about any misdeed forgivable in a puppy.  But for the sake of your sanity and your home's preservation, make house-training priority No. 1.

We've simplified house-training to nine key tips.  But remember, it's up to you to enforce them consistently.

Supervise your puppy inside and out.   Constant supervision of the puppy is essential in house-training.  A bell on your puppy's collar can help you keep track of its whereabouts.  To avoid accidents, keep the puppy with you.  Pay special attention after the puppy wakes from a nap, finishes eating or appears anxious.

Crate or confine your puppy when unsupervised.   When you can't be with your puppy, leave it in a small puppy-proof area, such as a crate or even a large box.  This helps create a den setting, [in which canines are usually reluctant to soil].  Bladder and bowel capacity is limited in young dogs, and confining them for long periods without providing an opportunity to eliminate can result in soiling of the confined area.

Allow frequent access to the appropriate elimination location outdoors.  A puppy should go outside immediately upon awakening, after play sessions and 15 to 30 minutes after meals, for a total of six to eight times daily.

Once outdoors, allow time for sniffing, movement and investigation.  In fact, you should encourage your puppy to sniff and investigate potential elimination locations, preferably while the puppy is on leash.   A puppy may need 15 to 20 minutes of sniffing and movement before elimination occurs.  Avoid play until the puppy eliminates.  Returning to a consistent location allows previous odors to stimulate the puppy.

Use a key phrase to signal elimination.   Doing so teaches a puppy where and when to eliminate and helps teach long-term control of elimination behaviors.  Repeat the same words consistently.  Some examples:  "go potty", "hurry up" and "take care of business".  Verbal control of elimination can be beneficial in inclement weather, when fecal or urine samples are needed or when traveling.

Reward proper elimination immediately.   Offer praise or a treat such as food or play for elimination in the right location.

Do not punish "after the fact".   Punishment is effective only when it comes immediately upon performance of the behavior you wish to discourage.  If you come across a mess after it has happened, it does no good to drag the puppy to the spot and scold it.  The action of elimination and the punishment are separated by too much time.  Such punishment causes fear:   fear of the owner, fear of the owners finding what was eliminated, fear of the location and fear of eliminating in front of the owner.

Feed at set intervals, and remove food after 20 minutes.   Regular feeding times help control elimination.  If a puppy is taken outside within 10 to 30 minutes of eating elimination is more likely.  Free-feeding eliminates this advantage.  Never restrict water access to decrease urination, especially in warm climates. 

Adequately clean soiled areas inside the house.   Puppies use scent to return to the same location of elimination.  If your puppy eliminates inappropriately in the house, clean the spot thoroughly.  After removing waste, use one of the many enzyme- or bacterial-based cleaning products on the market to remove order and stains.  Follow package directions carefully.  Do not use ammonia-based products.  Ammonia is a component of urine, and its scent will draw the puppy back to the area.

TIPS FOR WORKING FAMILIES

If you must be away from home eight or more hours a day, house-training becomes difficult.  Puppies are not able to go that long without eliminating.  While some can last longer, most puppies 8 to 12 weeks old can last just two to four hours at a time.

Ideally, make arrangements for a friend or service to come in during the day to take the puppy outdoors every four hours.  When this isn't possible, you may need to give the puppy an appropriate elimination area inside the house, such as layers of newspaper or commercially available house training pads.  Leave these inside the crate or confinement area while you are gone.

As your puppy matures, its bladder and bowel control increases.  By 6 to 8 months, it should be able to last 10 hours without eliminating.  Then the temporary elimination area gradually can be made smaller until it is removed altogether.   

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