Now that you have your new puppy home the first thing you need to address is the housebreaking. This is the part that we all dread but it doesn’t have to be the nightmare you think it’s going to be. To housebreak your puppy all you will need is patience and your time. Dogs are smart and it won’t take long before your puppy gets the idea that he’s not to go inside but outside. You do have some options at hand and with the help of these housebreaking should be a breeze.

You have one thing going for you and that is a dog will not go potty where he sleeps. This is where a crate can come in very handy. Make sure the crate is large enough to give your puppy room to move around but not room enough for it to get far enough away from where he is sleeping to go potty. I found this method worked wonders for our puppy. I would not force him in during the day but at night when we went to bed I would bring the crate to our room and place him in it. You have to take your puppy outside to go before you do this. In the morning try to get up a little early and take him directly outside. It didn’t take our puppy long to catch on to this and he was staying dry during the night. During the day bring the crate out where you are and encourage him to go into it. Your crate should never be used as a punishment. You want your puppy to feel safe when he’s there. All dogs like the feeling of safety and a crate will give them that feeling. If you have to leave your puppy don’t leave him more than eight hours in a crate.

Be sure to watch your puppy carefully until he is housetrained. When he wakes up from a nap take him directly outside and encourage him to “pee pee” or use what word you like as long as it is the same word repeated. If your puppy goes potty remember to praise him. Remember your puppy is just a baby and will need to go often. You can make this into a fun time for you and your puppy so that he will enjoy going out with you. It will also help if you feed your dog the same time every day, wait about ten minutes and take him outside. If your puppy do have an accident inside don’t ever punish him for this. Place your puppy in another room and clean up the mess, puppies can be very sensitive to this.

With good vigilance and patience your puppy will be going to the door to be let out in no time. They are born to please and they don’t take long to figure out what makes you happy. Even as our puppy grew into adulthood all I would have to do was take him outside and say “go pee pee” and he would go. A lesson learnt is never forgotten but I also remembered to praise him every time.