How to Housebreak a Puppy – Part 1

When it comes to housebreaking a puppy, you need to make sure to start potty training them right from the start. It’s easy to get caught up in their cuteness and the excitement of having a new pet, but you want to be sure to establish good habits with them right from the beginning or it could cause problems later on.

There are several methods for housebreaking a puppy. One is paper training, which I do not recommend, because you are basically teaching your puppy to pee inside your house on a puppy pad or on newspapers, and then later on, teaching them to potty outside. It’s much better to just teach them to go outside from the very beginning.

One other method is crate training. Crate training is very popular and very effective. Basically you get a crate from the pet store that is about the size of your dog’s bed. Dogs will typically not go potty in this area when they are in it because it is such a small space, they would be forced to lay on it or very close to it.

Whenever there is a time you can’t supervise your puppy, such as when you leave the house, or you are cooking, working, cleaning, working on crafts, etc. you place your puppy inside the crate. This way, they learn that if they need to go potty, their body is able to hold it. It makes them realize they don’t have to immediately go potty every time they feel the urge.

Purchasing the right size crate is crucial for this method. If the crate is too large, they may use that extra space to go potty in, which defeats the purpose. On the other hand, if it’s too small, it’ll be very uncomfortable for them because they can’t lay down comfortably. The crate should give them just enough space to lay down and to turn in circles to re-situate themselves and get comfortable.

It’s very useful to teach your dog a potty word. For example ‘go pee pee’. You can choose something less cheesy if you wish. Any word will do, as long as you are consistent with using it.

To teach them this potty word, wait until you are outside and they are going potty. Right as they are finishing, say the potty word, then follow it up with lavish praise and a yummy treat. The better the treat, the better this will work.

When you take them out to play games or go for a walk, you wouldn’t use the word. This way they know the difference between going outside to play, and going outside to go potty.

Get more tips and tricks to train a dog at DogBehaviorExpert.com, where I provide information to solve all types of dog behavior problems.