Housebreaking Strategies

DO

Do start with a schedule. Dogs are creatures of habit so feed your puppy at the same time each day and allow him to go out after playing, eating and sleeping. Be patient and don't rush him. When he performs, praise him.

Do feed Eukanuba for puppy. You can get this diet at your Vet office or a pet store.

Do feed your puppy at least 2 times daily. Remove food after puppy eats while leaving the water out at all times. Remove both food and water at least 2 hours before bedtime.

Do use a 50/50 vinegar and water solution to deodorize the areas the puppy has wrongly used.

Do use a crate to housebreak. The puppy will not potty where it has to sleep. Only give the puppy enough room in the crate for him to turn around and lay down until he is 4 months old.

Do follow the principle of "earning rooms." Once the puppy is 4 months you can try leaving him unsupervised in one room of the house for various periods of time. After 7 straight days without an accident, allow him access to one more room. Again, after another 7 consecutive days have been accident-free, allow him access to a third room, and so on until he has the run of the whole house. But if he has an accident at any one stage, return to the previous stage and continue your program from there.

DON'T

Don't supplement the pup's diet unless specifically instructed to by your vet.

Don't paper train your pup unless you plan on having him always go inside the house. Paper training in my opinion only confuses the pup.

Don't expect your pup to have good bladder control before he is 4 months old. He isn't mentally or physically capable of holding himself till then.

Don't shout at, hit, or otherwise abuse your puppy for having accidents. You will frighten him, thus interfering with his ability to learn what you want him to do. If you find a mess, take him to it and in a low tone, tell him how displeased you are as you point to the mess. Then take him where he should have gone.