Housebreaking 101

The easiest way to housebreak a puppy is to crate train him. Wild dogs and wolves live in dens. So a crate is not a depressing cage to a dog. A crate makes a dog feel safe and secure - this is my house and nothing is going to hurt me here.  This is how dogs naturally feel about crates. We need to keep it that way so you must never use the crate as a punishment. The first thing you have to do to crate train your dog is properly introduce him to the crate. Take your puppy to the crate with some tasty treats that he will love. Through some treats into the back of the crate. When your puppy goes in close him in. Puppies will whine at first - IGNORE the whining. If you give him any attention you will have taught him that whining gets him what he wants and it will be difficult to break him of it. Once your puppy is nice and quiet praise him. Tell him how happy you are that he is being quiet in his crate.


Got a new puppy? Having trouble with house training? Here is the best way to housebreak your puppy.

Dogs like to be clean and like to live in a clean space. They don't eliminate (pee or poop) in their den. Which is why crate training is essential to housebreaking. Puppies should spend most of their time in the crate. Anytime that they spend out of the crate they need to be closely monitored - this avoids accidents and damage.

Take your new puppy out every hour to eliminate. Puppies can't hold it for very long - approximately 1 hour per month of age. So a two month old puppy can only hold it for 2 hours (don't leave them in the crate for too long or they will eliminate in there). You should only spend about 2-5 minutes waiting on them to go. Give a command for eliminating, we use "go park" but you can use whatever command you like. If he eliminates give lots and lots of praise - "good park" and tell him what a good dog he is, rub him all over, and give him a treat. When you go back inside it's time to play with your puppy. Only empty dogs are allowed to have play time in the house. If your puppy didn't eliminate within 2-5 minutes he goes back in the crate. This will teach your dog that he has to go when you tell him to or he doesn't get to play inside or go for a longer walk.

If you notice your puppy starting to circle, looking for a place to eliminate in the house scoop him up and take him outside. If he starts to go inside - stop him (a shout should do it), scoop him up, and take him outside. When he eliminates outside praise him as usual. Your puppy will soon figure out that he only gets paid when he goes outside. If you follow these rules you should never have an accident in the house but if you do and you don't catch your puppy in the act don't punish him. He won't know what you are upset about. Just clean it up with a good pet odor remover. If you don't your puppy will still be able to smell it and think that it's okay to eliminate there again.

Never paper train your puppy - this sends the wrong message. You are letting your dog eliminate on something in the house don't be surprised when he then thinks it's okay to eliminate in the house when the paper is gone. If you start paper training it's going to be harder to actually housebreak your puppy. A dog is either housebroken or isn't. There is no 90% housebroken. He either gets it or he doesn't, and if he isn't housebroken he just needs more work.

Be Wise... Bewaggle!


About Bewaggle:

Bewaggle is a pet services company located in DeLand, Florida. We offer pet sitting, dog walking, puppy training, basic obedience training, and more. We are bonded and insured, with background checks and references. Be wise... Bewaggle!