Housebreaking
Your Puppy
You
can’t expect too much in the way of housebreaking
before your puppy is 14 weeks old because he does
not have full sphincter and bladder muscle control.
Puppies simply cannot hold bladder and bowel movements
for long periods at this age. The interval between
the urge and the act is very short. Unless you
immediately notice the distinctive movements a
puppy makes when he’s ready to relieve himself,
like sniffing the floor to search for a toilet
spot or going around in circles, he’ll probably
soil your floor. Your principal duty at this time
is to help the puppy to prevent accidents because,
at this stage of a puppy’s life, virtually
every action is a learning experience.
There
are two methods of training: Paper training and
housebreaking. Paper training is NOT the first
step in housebreaking! Paper training means that
the dog is trained to urinate and defecate on
several layers of newspapers which are placed
at all times in the same location inside your
home. Paper training is primarily for dogs which
will always relieve themselves indoors. It may
be the method of choice for someone who lives
in an apartment. Housebreaking means that a dog
is trained to urinate and defecate outdoors and
is never allowed to eliminate indoors. Mixing
the two methods most often results in simply confusing
your puppy.
The
basic lesson you want him to learn is either
he can eliminate inside the home or he can’t
and not sometimes yes, sometimes no. You
must be consistent to prevent confusion.
A regular schedule lets your puppy know
exactly when, where and what is expected
of him so he is more quickly able to adapt
than if he doesn’t know when he will
have the next opportunity to relieve himself.
It also allows you to help him in controlling
the time nature will call. |
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The
average puppy should be housebroken by 4 months
of age if the owner is kind, responsible and attentive.
After 4 months, the puppy gains much better control
over bladder and bowel functions so you should
see a major improvement in the number of accidents
which happen. Although you may become frustrated,
NEVER HIT YOUR PUPPY. A good scolding works just
as well and does not endanger the bond you are
trying to establish. Don’t be too strict
with him because puppies go through a fear-imprinting
stage between 8 and 10 weeks of age. Harsh punishment
should be avoided; any discipline should be extremely
mild. Do not let anyone deliberately hurt or frighten
the puppy. Even a seemingly insignificant episode
can destroy the bond you want to establish and
frighten the puppy for months. An experience which
produces trembling at this stage might affect
your puppy for life. The following is a sample
schedule recommended for making the task of housebreaking
your puppy as quickly and as easily as possible
for both of you.
I. 3-6 month
old puppies eating 3 meals a day
With owner at home
all day:
7:00 AM: Take puppy outside.
7:10-7:30 AM: Free play period
7:30 AM: Feed and water
8:00 AM: Take Puppy outside.
8:15 AM: Free play period.
12:00 Noon: Feed and Water.
12:30 PM: Take puppy outside.
12:45 PM: Free Play Period.
5:00 PM: Feed and Water.
5:30 PM: Take puppy outside.
8:00 PM: Water
8:15 PM Take puppy outside.
8:30 PM: Free play period.
10:00 PM Take puppy outside then confine to
living quarters overnight.
II: 3-6 month
old puppies eating 3 meals per day
With
owner working during day:
7:00 AM: Take puppy outside.
7:10-7:30 AM: Free play period.
7:30 AM: Feed and water.
8:00 AM: Take puppy outside. Confine to living
quarters when leave for work.
Leave safe toys and chewies to keep
dog entertained.
6:00 PM: Take puppy outside.
6:15-6:30 PM: Free play period.
6:30 PM: Feed and water.
7:00 PM: Take puppy outside.
9:00 PM: Feed and water.
9:30 PM: Take puppy outside then confine to
living quarters.
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