House Training Your Puppy Dog Using Paper

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Paper training your dog doesn't have to be complicated. Just take your time and be patient with your puppy and you'll eventually succeed.

Be consistent in your training. When you use one method stick to it. Consistency will be rewarded. Try to maintain a strict schedule regarding:

• What you feed your dog
• When you feed her
• When you give her water
• When you take her out for a walk

Stick to quality, dry food. It makes his digestion and stool's consistent. A good quality, dry food also exercises his jaws and helps to keep his teeth clean. What you feed your dog will affect:

• How solid her stools are
• How often she potties
• How much control she will have over his urge

Eating table scraps can really mess up your dog's stools (as well as giving him health problems) and therefore wreak havoc on your housebreaking plans. Decent quality, dry dog food is you and your dog's biggest ally... table scraps are not.

When a puppy, your dog will require 3 or 4 feedings and waterings a day. When 6 months and older begin to cut his feedings down to a couple of times a day, but continue to give him water 3 or 4 times a day. The last watering should be no later than a couple of hours before bedtime.

The feeding and drinking time shouldn't last over 15 minutes. She'll soon learn not to dawdle over her food bowl.

Try to feed your dog in a nice, quiet spot and don't interrupt him during his 15 minute feeding and watering time. The last feeding should be as early as possible (around 5 or 6) so that he will eliminate on the last walk and will not have to go overnight.

When you bring your dog home, section off a small area for her living space. Start out covering her entire confined area with absorbent paper.

Your mission is to gradually make her paper area smaller and smaller until you are left with a very small potty area. And then you will probably want to move her potty area exclusively to the great outdoors.

Keep her potty papers in one location. Do not put them throughout the house. She should have her one, defined, potty area in her sight at all times.

Try to change any dirty paper ASAP. You want her to be clean at all times, which will make her prefer it to being dirty.

Clean thoroughly the areas where she uses the potty with ammonia free cleanser. A simple solution of vinegar diluted with water is a good neutralizer. You can put some in a spray bottle for convenience. She will continue to use the potty where she smells even faint traces of her own waste. And a dog's urine contains ammonia. You can also use this to your advantage... Put some of her soiled papers exactly where you want her to go.

When you take your dog outside to potty, stay with him. Take him exactly where you want him to go using his collar and leash. You can also take his soiled paper with you and put it in the area where you would like for him to go. Give him around 15 minutes to do his business. If he doesn't go, then bring him back in. If he shows signs of having to go, then take him back outside.

Praise your dog when he potties on the designated papers or area. Don't go overboard in your praise though. In the wild, his mother would not. Whenever you catch your dog going in the wrong place - grab him and take him to his papers or designated area immediately, while saying "Bad Dog."

After a walk and business done, then he can get 15 - 20 minutes of play time and then back to his living area.

If you discover an accident after the fact, take your dog over to the area and let her get a good whiff. Say "Bad Dog" and then take her to the designated potty area.

Don't ever shove his nose in the mess or hit him. This does no good at all. His mother wouldn't do it. She would correct him with her voice, or shove him with her muzzle or body.

Make sure that all other sources of water are eliminated during training so that you will have control over when and therefore where she urinates. Possible sources where she might sneak a drink of water: toilets, flowerpots, puddles, etc.

Patience is very important. Remember that if you stick with it, your dog will sooner or later be housebroken.

Points to remember:

Tough love is sometimes necessary. Remember, you are the leader and your tough love will pay off in the long run.

A dog's sense of smell is thousands of times keener than our's, so believing that an odor is gone by using your own sense of smell is useless. Always use an ammonia free cleanser.

His small living space should be near the action of the house so he doesn't get too lonely.

Your puppy won't have very good control of his stools and urine until after 3 months of age, so he will need more frequent walks.

Keeping your puppy confined to his personal area or him being where you can keep a constant eye on him are essential to house-breaking. It does more good to catch him in the act of an accident and stopping him than correcting him after the fact.

While you're away, leave him in his personal confined space with his potty papers. Make sure that he has something to chew on, as this will keep him occupied. You might also want to leave the radio or television on, as dogs are social animals and crave company.

Observe closely your dog's habits. See how long after eating he relieves himself. Get a good average. This will help you in planning a schedule for his walks.

When the paper training is over, clean the area thoroughly with ammonia free cleanser so that he doesn't continue to use that area.

You can take some of his soiled paper outside while training to get him to go in a specific area.

Take your dog out first thing in the morning. He should go within about 20 minutes, if not bring him in and watch him. Take him out when he displays the urge to go.