The Do's And The Don'ts Of House Training Your Puppy

House training a puppy is very important for the wellbeing of both puppy and owner. The number one reason that dogs are surrendered to animal shelters is problems with inappropriate elimination, so it is easy to see why proper house training is such an important consideration.

It is important to establish proper toilet habits when the puppy is young, since these habits can last a lifetime, and be very difficult to break once they are established. It is very important for the owner to house break the puppy properly. In most cases, true house training will not begin until the puppy is six months old. Puppies younger than this generally lack the bowel and bladder control that is needed for true house training.

Puppies younger than six months should be confined to a small puppy secured room when the owner can not supervise them. Entire floor space should be covered with newspapers or similar absorbent materials, and the paper changed every time it is dirty. As the puppy grows older, the quantity of used paper to be reduced as the puppy begins to establish a preferred toilet area. It is the preferred toilet area that will form the basis of later house training.

Do's of House Training Your Puppy:

Always provide the puppy with constant, unrestricted access to the established toilet area.

When you're home, take your puppy to the toilet area every 45 minutes.

When you are not home or can not supervise your puppy, you must be sure that your puppy can not make a mistake. This means limiting puppy to a small area that has been thoroughly puppy proof. Puppy proofing a room is very similar to childproof a room, since puppies chew on everything.

Always provide a toilet area that does not resemble anything in your home. Training your puppy to eliminate on concrete, Blacktop, grass or dirt is a good idea. The puppy should never be asked to remove something that looks like hardwood flooring, tile or carpet he may encounter in a home.

Praise and reward your puppy every time he eliminates in the established toilet area. Your puppy must learn to associate toileting in the established areas with good things like treats, toys and praise from his owner.

Always a set schedule when feeding your puppy and provide constant access to fresh, clean drinking water. A consistent feeding schedule equals a consistent toilet schedule.

Using a crate can be a great help in helping a puppy develop self control. The concept behind the box training is that your puppy does not want to toilet in his bed area.

And finally, it is important to be patient when house training a puppy. Internal training can take as long as several months, but it is much easier to house train right the first time than to retrain a problem dog.

The Don'ts of House Training Your Puppy

Never reprimand or punish your puppy for mistakes. Criminal puppy will only create fear and confusion.

Do not leave food out for the puppy all night long. Keeping to a set feeding schedule in order to make the dog's toilet schedule as consistent as possible.

Do not give your puppy running in the house until he has been thoroughly house trained.

Internal training is not always the easiest thing to do, and some dogs tend to be much easier to house train than others. It is important however to be patient, consistent and loving as you train your dog. A rushed, frightened or intimidated the dog will not be able to learn the important lessons of internal training. Once you have your puppy love and respect, but you will find that house training your puppy is easier than you ever expected.