How to Housebreak a Puppy Part 2

Puppy Housebreaking Rule #1: Here's the #1 secret to housebreaking any puppy: Supervision. Supervision is key to quickly training your puppy to go potty in the right place. By supervising, I mean you know exactly what your puppy is doing at all times. You always have them in your sight. The fact is, every time your puppy goes potty inside, you're moving a step back in your training, instead of moving forward.

Puppy Housebreaking Rule #2: Punishing a puppy for something they did in the past (even if it was only 10 minutes before) won't get you anywhere. All it will do is confuse your puppy and make them fear you. Dogs, no matter what age, don't have the mental ability to link a previous action with their current punishment. In other words, if your puppy pees on the floor because you weren't watching them, and then they start playing with their toys and you notice their urine on the floor 10 minutes after the fact, you cannot punish them at that point.

Your puppy will not understand that you're punishing them for peeing in the house. No, not even if you rub their nose in it. That will just make them afraid of you, and they still won't know why they're being punished. Your puppy will believe he/she is being punished for playing with toys, not for peeing in the house.

Puppy Housebreaking Rule #3: No matter how well you follow these rules, it's possible your puppy will have an accident in the house at one time or another. When this occurs, do not yell at or hit your puppy.

Making a big deal out of your puppy going potty in the house by punishing them unfortunately will not teach them that peeing/pooping inside is wrong. It will however, teach them that going potty is wrong. They'll believe you will punish them for going potty, so you'll have a very hard time ever getting them to go potty in front of you when you take them outside. Instead, they'll try to hide from you and go potty under end tables or in corners when you aren't looking.

That doesn't mean you should just stand around and watch them pee on the floor either though. What you need to do is pick them up, ste
ly tell them 'No' in a low voice, and take them outside.

Preventing an accident will take you much farther than trying to punish accidents that happen. Like I mentioned earlier, supervision will get you a long way. Keep an eye on your puppy at all times, and when you notice any signs of them needing to do their business, such as sniffing around on the floor or turning in circles, take them outside immediately.

Here's something useful to remember: puppies generally need to go potty approximately 30 to 40 minutes after they've had food or water. They also usually need to go to the bathroom shortly after waking up. (just like most people!)

I'm confident that if you follow the puppy housebreaking rules in this article, you'll have a housetrained pup in no time.

One last piece of advice I want to leave you with. I said it earlier, and I'm repeating it again because it's very important to understand and remember. Your puppy cannot be punished for something unless you catch them and punish them in the ACT of doing it. Even if it's only five minutes later, that's already too late. You have to catch them actually doing the bad behavior to punish them for it. So be sure to supervise your puppy to prevent accidents.