The first order of business for puppies is house training. What it learns about toileting during the first several months as a new member of the family will stick with it permanently so better make no mistakes on the first try. You know, problems with house training explain why plenty of dogs end up in animal shelters.

What To Do To House-Train The New Puppy

Here's the thing. Puppies will only become fully trained when they hit six months of age. Why? The bowel and bladder control of puppies isn't developed enough yet. As a result, leaving them alone for extended periods wouldn't be smart.

It would help if the owner is there to keep an eye on the new pup, even though 24 by 7 availability may be pushing it. If you won't be able to for a certain date, keep the pooch in a little dog-proof room. Cover the floor with newspaper or other disposable, absorbent materials.

Initially, the puppy will tinkle everywhere, but as it grows older, it will prefer one spot. Gradually make the covered area smaller by taking away some of the paper. Continue doing this until the pup goes just on the papers. Floor on the pup-proof room must be different from the floor of the rest of the house, like hardwoods or rugs and carpets. Once the little fellow gets accustomed to going on a specific surface, it will be willing to go on just that type.

If the goal is to have the puppy use just papers – mission accomplished. Other owners would rather the dogs eliminated outside. In this case, use of the pup-proof room should be reserved for when you're away. For pups that hang out in crates, something they do initially, cover one area of the crate with paper for their use. Being fairly clean creatures, dogs will exert every effort to avoid soiling their sleep area, establishing self-control in the process.

What about puppy outdoor training? Every 45 minutes, bring the young pup to its assigned toilet area. When done with its business in the designated location, praise it. Looking foolish while doing this is no biggie. It's picking up a valuable lesson for living in the house so don't be shy with the praises.

Puppy feeding schedules should be predictable so anticipating needs is easier. Unrestricted access to fresh, clean drinking water is okay, but not for food. Don't allow it to run around everywhere if it's not done with puppy training. To make this process quicker, put a collar plus a lengthy lead on the pup and tie the other end around the waist of the owner – you. The puppy will enjoy the closeness with you and avoid committing mistakes.

Accidents will still happen occasionally. Reprimanding puppies when they do pee or poo on the wrong area of the house won't make the situation better. They will probably associate what they did with the punishment and tense up. The poor pups might think they were chastised because they eliminated altogether - a potential training backslider.

When house training puppies, two key ingredients for success are a sense of humor and patience. You must be relaxed and calm without losing track of the training schedule. If you're at ease, the puppy will follow your lead and learn what it has to en route to becoming a happy addition to the family.

Training time is an opportunity for the owner and the pets to bond. Consider introducing other commands for the dogs like come, down, sit and stay. For videos on dog training advice, check out my site