No matter where you get your puppy or what kind of puppy you have, house training needs to be high on your list of priorities. Training a puppy takes patience and persistence but if you work consistently with your puppy it will only take a few weeks to have a puppy who is well on his way to being safely house trained.

House Training Decisions

Before you bring your puppy home you should decide what kind of house training you want to do with your puppy. Do you plan to use papers or a patch of synthetic grass of some kind? Do you have a yard for your puppy? Will you be taking your puppy for walks? Once you have decided on a method, you can make plans accordingly. The most popular method of house training a puppy is to teach the puppy to go outside when he needs to potty, though not everyone has access to a yard of their own.

House Training Basics

When you bring your puppy home you should begin by taking him outside and encouraging him to relieve himself in an area you have chosen. Give him plenty of time to potty. He may be nervous, so allow lots of time. When he has relieved himself you should praise him and give him a reward such as a treat. House training a puppy will go more quickly if you give your puppy positive reinforcement and let him know when he’s done something you like. This approach works better than relying on punishment since your puppy usually doesn’t understand why he’s being punished.

You should plan to take your puppy outside frequently, especially if he’s between two and four months old. He may need to go outside six to eight times per day to urinate and poop. There may be some false alarms, too, but if you keep taking your puppy outside he will start to get the idea that this is where he’s supposed to go when he needs to potty.

Most puppies need to relieve themselves at the following times:

• As soon as they wake up in the morning

• Right after they eat

• After a play session

• When they wake up from a nap

• Just before bedtime

You can watch your puppy for signs that he needs to go outside. These signs include:

• Sniffing at the floor

• Going back to the scene of a previous accident

• Looking at the door

• Looking for a secret or private place, such as behind furniture

• Glancing at you

Take your puppy outside when you see these signs and you will probably find that he does need to potty many times.

Crate Training a Puppy

Some people also like to use crate training to help them when they are house training a puppy. If your puppy is crate trained he can spend the night in his crate which will help him learn to sleep through the night without needing to go outside to potty. However, if your puppy is younger than four months old he may still need to go outside during the night at least once. Crate training a puppy to sleep through the night is still helpful since it prevents your puppy from having accidents somewhere in the house. No one likes to wake up to puppy surprise packages in their living room.

Patience and Persistence

These are the basics of house training a puppy. If you are patient and persistent your puppy should soon learn that he should let you know when he needs to go outside to potty. Remember to praise and reward your puppy when he relieves himself outside. Clean up accidents in the house thoroughly so your puppy won’t be tempted to return to them. And, keep in mind that punishing your puppy for mistakes doesn't do any good. Your puppy usually doesn’t know why he’s being punished.

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