By Adria L. Henderson

and Lisa N. Peterson

Did you survive the first night with your new puppy?

Well, then, welcome to part two in our series on “puppy hood” – Housebreaking. Housebreaking can be a relatively speedy and painless procedure if you follow and stick to some basic rules. If you’re diligent you can expect that your puppy will be housebroken in 2-3 weeks.

You want to be ready to start housebreaking properly outside as soon as you bring the puppy home. Puppies, as young as eight-weeks-old, can learn when and where to eliminate. To make this process easier and faster, here are some important guidelines.

Purchase a crate - Puppies are inherently clean and will not mess in their crates or “den.” If you buy a crate that is too big and allows the puppy to eliminate and then move away from the mess, he will take that opportunity. If you have a large breed puppy and don’t want to keep buying bigger and bigger crates as your puppy grows, consider buying the largest crate you’ll need and then barricade the back portion so the puppy only has enough room to stand, turn around and lie down. Some catalogs sell crate dividers just for this purpose.

If he makes a mistake in his crate, it will usually happen only once or twice before he realizes that he “messed” his home. Until you’re sure of your puppy’s tendencies for chewing it’s probably not a good idea to leave a blanket or towel in the crate. The pup may shred, eat and choke on them while you are not home.

Consistent food - Purchase the same food the breeder or shelter was feeding, even if _you are not planning to use this food in the future. You should not abruptly change over from the food the puppy has been eating to the food you’re planning on using. All new food should be added gradually, over at least a week’s time, to the existing diet.

The puppy is already stressed from the move away from his mother or littermates, and an abrupt change in diet will cause stomach distress. Especially during this critical housebreaking stage the diet should remain consistent. A bad case of diarrhea will not increase your chances of successful housebreaking.

Regular feeding schedule - Feed the puppy at the same time and with the same amount of food for each feeding. You should ask the breeder or kennel attendant how much the puppy was used to eating and feed the same amount. Plan on feeding a puppy less than six months old, three times a day. Also, do not alter the amount of food during housebreaking, unless, of course, the puppy needs to increase his feed. If you increase the food intake you may have to alter your walking schedule to accommodate the increase.

Do not feed table scraps. Any additional food will alter the puppy’s digestive cycle and cause the scheduling to fail. Also, you do not want to get the puppy in the habit of eating table scraps. The extra calories will make the puppy fat. Remember to limit treats and biscuits as well for the same reason.

Let him have water only with his meal, after he has been active, or if it’s extremely hot. Do not leave water in the crate with the puppy. If you consider that when an 8-to-10 week-old puppy drinks water, the water will need to come out about 10 minutes later.

Elimination schedule - Take the puppy out on the same time schedule every day. Puppy’s bodies start regulating very quickly. It is important to keep the pups on a very strict schedule of eating, playing and eliminating. In this way his “biological clock” will begin to anticipate when he can expect to eat, and when he can expect to eliminate. Be ready to take the puppy out on average about 10 minutes after he’s been fed or watered. Observe your puppy to know when the best time is to take him out after a meal. Some pups need to go out immediately afterwards.

Repetition - Use the same door to go outside in the initial phases of housebreaking. The puppy will start to associate using this door to go outside when he feels the need to eliminate. Some people keep a bell on string hanging from the doorknob to ring as they go out the door. The puppy will soon learn to ring the bell on his own when he has to go out. Use the same phrase when you tell him he’s going out. “Let’s go potty” or something similar is good and the puppy will begin to associate the phrase with doing his business outside. Pick the same spot outside each time so that the “right smells” are present. Make sure the spot is a place you want to use on a regular basis.

Use the same leash and collar each time so that the puppy begins to associate the leash and collar with going out and eliminating. If you get the opportunity, and you probably will, try to correct a mistake in the house so the puppy can learn that in the house is wrong and outside is right. This only works if you catch the puppy “in the act.” Say emphatically, “No, potty in the house,” then pick-up the puppy and carry him outside. Put him down saying, “Potty Outside. Good puppy!” or words to that effect.

Always praise - Always praise the puppy when he’s accomplished what you’ve _wanted. It will make him and you feel terrific. Do not put the puppy’s face in a mistake after the fact. Some trainers still believe that this is an effective housebreaking correction. We hold to the theory (along with the fact that the alternative is barbaric) that once the act has been accomplished and some time has passed, the puppy doesn’t know why he’s being corrected. He won’t know if it was the wrong kind, the wrong time, the wrong color . . . well you get the picture.

Puppy’s First Day

The puppy will most likely wake up sometime between 5 and 6 am. Immediately take him out of the crate and bring him outside to your chosen spot. Hopefully, he will “do his business” so you can praise him.

Bring him in and feed him his breakfast and some water. Ten minutes later, out he goes again. Praise again for a good job. If he’s successful outside, you can leave him out of the crate for supervised playtime. After about 15 minutes he will want to sleep again so back he goes into the crate. When he gets up about three hours later, out he goes again. If he’s successful he gets to play for a while and then back in the crate.

Lunchtime repeats the breakfast schedule. Eat, outside playtime, back in the crate. The puppy should always be in his crate when he is not being supervised.

Dinnertime repeats, eat, outside playtime and back inside. During the evening is when you and your puppy can bond with the family in a supervised situation. Early training commands such as sit, stay and come can be taught. Remember to watch the pup for signs that he wants to go outside to eliminate. These include sniffing the floor, whining, circling around one spot, going to the door and ringing the bell you put up. It is your constant surveillance that will help bring success to the puppy’s ability to be let outside to do his business.

Puppies tire easily so keep the activity level and guests down to a minimum. Children should always be monitored with a puppy. Young children do not understand how fragile a small puppy can be. You also want to instill proper play habits between the puppy and your young children. Aggressive breeds should be handled with the utmost care in the puppy stage so that they do not learn to use their aggression to get their way.

But now we are on next week’s topic - socialization, training and the puppy’s first year.

Adria L. Henderson and Lisa N. Peterson, are owners/operators of Safe at Home, LLC, a Newtown-based pet sitting service. You can contact them at 203-426-5784 or 426-4682, P.O. Box 427, Botsford, CT 06404 or e-mail them at animallifestyles@usa.net. They welcome our reader’s response.