I should have entitled this article, “What you wish you knew to housebreak your new puppy”. “You” being ME.
Maybe that’s a little over exaggerated, but housebreaking is a lot harder than initially anticipated. I answer a handful of questions below that ran through my mind before Stella arrived.
WHEN IS THE BEST AGE TO BEGIN HOUSEBREAKING?
I thought the best age to begin housebreaking would have been immediately, but research shows that you should start between 7 1/2 – 8 1/2 weeks old. This is a good age to introduce where you want the puppy to go to the bathroom. In our case it was the backyard, but if you don’t have a backyard try to walk the pup and stop at the same place to do his or her thing.
Use the same key phrase each time you take the puppy out. You can simply say “go potty”, “do your thing”, “go pishy” (a word my grandma used all the time with her dogs). Hearing that key phrase in that same location over and over signals to the puppy that it’s the time and the place!
HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO WALK THE DOG PER DAY?
I recommend taking the puppy out immediately after you get up. I am crate training Stella, so I literally take her out of her crate and we head right outside. We go for a walk every hour, and 15 to 20 minutes after meals.
Have patience. Puppies like to sniff around, but make sure you are bringing her to the same place and wait at least 15-20 minutes for her to do her thing. I try to not allow for any distractions – if something diverts Stella’s attention from the matter at hand, I could be outside for an additional 20 minutes.
WHAT DO I DO AFTERWARD?
Reward, reward, reward! I have these little training treats that I bring outside each and every time. If Stella pees, she gets a treat. If she poos, she has two treats coming her way.
I never understood why Sadie, our beautiful furry daughter for 9 1/2 years, would go inside after going outside (whether she went to the bathroom or not) and go straight to the pantry looking for her treat. We taught her that! We’d give her the treat when she came inside not right after she did her thing OUTSIDE.
DO I HAVE TO WATCH THE PUPPY 24 HOURS A DAY?
Kind of. We keep Stella in a room that we can watch her all the time. If we cannot watch her, we place her in her crate or playpen.
WHAT DO I DO IF I FIND A PUDDLE ON THE DINING ROOM FLOOR?
True story!
I learned not to punish after the fact. The minute the puppy walks away from peeing on the floor, it’s an old story. People have said, “rub their nose in it” but that’s gross and it does absolutely nothing.
If you catch him or her about to eliminate on the floor, make a loud noise – get her attention which will hopefully stop the action and then take her outside ASAP.
Be sure to thoroughly clean the soiled area really, really well. If the puppy smells any bit of pee or poo, she will be more likely to go right back to that spot and christen it again!
WHAT DO I DO WHEN WE GO OUT?
We leave Stella in a crate – one that she can stand up and turn around easily, but that’s all the space she needs. Dogs do not eliminate where they sleep. If you allow for more space, the puppy may eliminate in one spot and nap in the remainder.
Try not to leave the puppy in the crate for more than 4 hours at a time.
WHY CAN’T I LEAVE THE FOOD AND WATER BOWLS OUT ALL DAY?
You’re a glutton for punishment if you leave the food and water bowlsout all day. Make sure you feed her at the same times each day. This allows the puppy to get on a schedule of eat, then pee/poop on regular intervals.
I hope I answered your housebreaking questions. If you have any others, please comment below and I’d be more than happy to help out in any way I can! Puppy parents need to band together!
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