House training a puppy is one of, if not the, most important thing you must do with your new canine companion. The thought of living indoors with an animal that relieves itself any time and any place it wants to is both unacceptable and unhealthy. Fortunately, with proper technique and lots of patience, house training a puppy is not all that difficult.
You should understand two things; first of all, dogs are inherently clean animals and given the choice they will not soil themselves or the area they call home. Second, your puppy will quickly learn that the best thing in his world is praise from you. Regardless of which method you choose to housebreak your dog keep those things in mind and you will greatly increase the odds in your favor for successfully house training your puppy.
Speaking of methods; which is the best one to potty train your puppy?
I suspect there is no right or wrong answer to that question as the best way is the one that works best for you and your pup. In the articles contained in this section you will read about several different ways to housebreak your dog, including:
- Potty training puppies
- Crate training puppies
- Paper training your dog
- The dog litter box
I've seen and/or used them all and far and away my favorite methods for house training a puppy is crate training. Crate training puppies makes use of the two characteristics of dogs that I pointed out above; their desire to remain clean and their appetite to please you. When crate training your puppy the two of you are literally working in harmony to accomplish the same end--much easier than trying to catch him, swat him then haul him outside every time your dog pees or poos in the house.
Whichever method you decide to use when house training a puppy please remember this--be cool.
If your mother with dementia peed her pants you wouldn't yell at her. You wouldn't shake her and scream "NO!" at the top of your lungs. You wouldn't rub your mother's nose in her own urine. And you wouldn't spank her with a newspaper, either. Your mother didn't know she did something wrong and neither does your puppy. And if you punish her she likely won't connect the punishment with the crime. BUT!...
Praise her when she does something right? There is no sweeter sound to her little puppy ears
...than that of someone she loves telling her what a wonderful little puppy she is! When she does her "bizzness" where she's supposed to lay it on thick. No matter how tough, strong or macho you are it's okay to say, "What a good wittle puppy-wuppy you are!", even if the neighbors do hear you.
