Puppy Housebreaking

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Be aware that most eight week old puppies will not be able to make it through the night for at least a few weeks.  Generally speaking, the larger breeds can accomplish this earlier than the small breeds.  By far the easiest way to potty train a puppy is through CRATE TRAINING.  Here are three links to websites dealing with Crate Training in more detail:

http://www.mysmartpuppy.com/articles/Crating101.htm
http://www.siriusweb.com/AAD/crate.html
http://www.barkbytes.com/training/crate.htm

The best thing for everyone is for the puppy to initially sleep as near you as you can tolerate, but IN HIS CRATE.  He will settle down better if he is near you.  Ideally the pup will already be acclimated to a crate from the breeder.  If this is not the case, if at all possible, spend some time the first day letting him explore and get used to the crate without being locked in it.  Feed him in it, throw treats in it, but don't close it on him right away unless the breeder has already gotten him used to being crated

The reason crate training works is that it makes use of a puppy’s natural inhibition against eliminating in his den.  Be aware that, although you know that the whole house is “the den” and therefore off-limits for elimination, the puppy does not instinctively know this and needs to be taught gradually.  You do this by initially keeping the pup in his crate WHENEVER he is unsupervised.  At all other times, you must be on top of him.  The only way he will learn that the whole house is the den is if you are diligent in taking him outside:

In addition, you need to “catch him in the act.”  Any correction of the puppy upon discovery after the fact that he has eliminated in the house will only be counter-productive.  Unfortunately, the puppy cannot associate your displeasure with something he did more than 10 to 15 seconds before.

Five Important Points About Housebreaking:

(1) take your puppy to as close as possible to the same spot outside to eliminate EVERY time .  Do NOT take your puppy for long walks away from home with the goal of elimination -- the puppy learns where to eliminate by smelling where it eliminated before.  If it does not get the scent cue, it may very well hold it until it is back inside.  Save the walking for AFTER the dog has eliminated in the yard.

(2) Keep elimination time (after every meal, after waking up, after exercise and before crating) BORING.  Take the puppy on a leash to the designated area and just pace back and forth.  You want to be particularly boring in the middle of the night.  When the pup eliminates, use a word or phrase of your choosing "go potty", "do it" , "do business" whatever, and start saying it as the dog starts to eliminate.  When the dog is finished, pair it with the word "good" as in "Good Go Potty!".  This repetition will eventually help cue your dog to do it essentially on command -- worth its weight in gold in many situations.  But don't start using it as a suggestion/command yet; only use it when the dog is actually eliminating so that you "capture" the behavior.

(3) Invest in white vinegar and keep a jar filled with a 50-50 mix of water and white vinegar and Nature’s Miracle (available at Petco and PetSmart) If the pup eliminates on the floor, clean it with the vinegar mixture.  Use Nature’s Miracle for carpets as vinegar can bleach them.  If the pup eliminates on bedding or something you put in the laundry, add about ½ cup vinegar to the laundry.  Regular laundry detergent will NOT eliminate the odor from the pup’s point of view.  It is critical to eliminate the scent cue to go to the same spot again.  Common household cleaners -- esp. amonia-based ones, will also NOT do this job.

(4) Initially confine the puppy to a small area, even when he is not crated.  A kitchen, with an easily washable floor, is ideal.  Gradually enlarge the area in which the puppy is allowed (still supervised!) only has he has become reliable in the smaller area.  In this way, the puppy learns to expand the definition of the den.  Expect some accidents as new areas are made available to the puppy.  This is especially likely to occur in areas that are seldom-used (perhaps a basement, or a formal dining room) as the scent cues from people spending time there make it seem less like part of the den from the puppy’s point of view.  Puppies don’t “sneak off” to piddle in those rooms; rather it’s that they view them as not part of the den.  You can help with the puppy’s understanding by spending time with him in those areas AFTER you are sure he has recently eliminated.  This issue tends to be more acute with small breeds in large houses – which if you think about it, makes sense.

(5) Unless you have a living/working situation which will require the dog to eliminate inside in the long haul, I recommend against papertraining or pee pads because they teach the dog that it IS acceptable to go potty in the house.  If at all possible, teach the pup from Day One that OUTSIDE is where we go potty.  In any event, if at all possible, do NOT put papers or pee pads inside the crate.  If you MUST have a way for the pup to eliminate when you are not home, confine him to a bathroom or invest in an X-Pen so that the pup can eliminate in a spot where he will not be sitting in it.  Otherwise, the puppy will lose its instinct to keep the den clean and you will have a very difficult time.  (This is a big reason why you should avoid purchasing a dog from a puppy mill or pet store situation in which it has become accustomed to eliminating in its cage/crate.)

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