There is rarely a puppy that cannot be housebroken. With consistency, patience and education on your part, housebreaking your puppy can be painless. The following steps will put you on the path to having a housebroken puppy.

See Your Veterinarian

The Veterinarian will begin your puppy’s vaccination series and perform a stool analysis to check for worms. It is important that your puppy be checked for intestinal parasites and be properly dewormed if needed. If untreated, a parasite problem can make housebreaking more difficult.

Crate Training

Read our article on crate training and purchase the appropriate crate for your puppy.

A Consistent Routine

You need to be very consistent in your puppy’s daily routine. You will need to be able to anticipate your puppy’s elimination and a consistent routine will make this possible.

Your puppy will almost always need to eliminate after eating, after play and after napping. Keep in mind these are not the only times he will need to eliminate, but a few times you can usually count on.

You should schedule your puppy’s feeding times 3-4 times a day. Place more food then he can eat in a bowl and leave it down for 20 minutes. Your puppy can eat as much as he likes in that 20 minute period. When your puppy leaves his food bowl take him outside to eliminate.

Supervision

Supervision is probably the most difficult part of your puppy’s housebreaking. This is also the area where the most mistakes are made by owners.  Your puppy cannot be left without supervision until he is housebroken. You must catch him every time he begins to have an accident in the house. If you enter the room after he has had an accident it is too late to correct him. He may cower and look “guilty” but only because he knows you are angry when "That stuff” is on the floor. He will not understand that you are angry because he put it there 10 minutes ago. A puppy learns from positive and negative reinforcement. If something positive happens with an action he will try to repeat the action. If something negative occurs at the instant of his action he will not repeat it. When your puppy has an accident and you are not present to correct him, nothing bad happens. He feels better after eliminating, therefore he has learned it is okay to eliminate in the house. Every time you allow your puppy to have an accident in the house without catching him in the act, you are telling him that you want him to eliminate in the house.

Once outside, place your puppy on the ground and stand perfectly still. Choose a term to indicate elimination. This term can be anything you like from “Go pickles” to “Go potty”. Quietly give the elimination command you have chosen to your puppy. Quietly take a few steps away from your puppy if he sits instead of eliminating. This will usually be enough to entice your puppy to continue moving. Ignore your puppy if he tries to play with you. The instant your puppy begins to eliminate repeat your elimination command enthusiastically and praise your puppy.  Get excited and let your puppy know you are really proud of him. He will quickly learn when he goes outside it is a lot of fun! It is important to go outside with your puppy or he may feel he is being punished.

Confinement

Confinement will make supervision much easier. Two ways of confining your puppy so you can always be watching him is with a crate or with a light lead.

Every puppy should have a crate. Your puppy’s crate is his den area. It is natural instinct for your puppy not to eliminate in his sleeping area.  Whenever you cannot supervise your puppy he should be in his crate. This will prevent your puppy from having accidents without you knowing it. (Refer to our crate training handout.)

Another option for confining your puppy is to attach a light 4' rope to his nylon collar. You can then keep your puppy with you as you go through your daily routine.

Accidents In His Crate

If your puppy has accidents in his crate it could be for a number of reasons.

Is the crate too large? Your puppy may not feel the entire crate is his den if the crate is too large. Your puppy should be able to stand, stretch out and lay down comfortably in his crate. If you have a large breed puppy and have purchased a large crate to accommodate him as an adult, section the rear area of the crate off with a cardboard box until he is housebroken.

Was your puppy caged for long periods of time before you brought him home? If your puppy came from a breeder, pet store or shelter where he was not allowed to eliminate outside of his cage, he may have temporarily lost his “den instinct”. These puppies take a little more patience and time to housebreak.

Has your puppy been examined by a Veterinarian? Intestinal parasites, poor diets or an infectious virus can make it impossible for your puppy to control his elimination no matter how hard he tries.

Making It Through The Night

Teaching your puppy to control his elimination throughout the night is a gradual process. More than likely, your puppy will not be able to have the entire run of the house until he is 6-12 months old or older.
A young puppy will need to eliminate often during the night. Make sure your puppy has eliminated before you put him in his crate for the night. The rule of thumb is for each hour your puppy successfully keeps his crate unsoiled during the night, add 1/2 hour to the length of time between eliminations. Decrease the amount of time by 1 hour if he has an accident. It is normal for an 8 week old puppy to only hold his urine for 2 hours at the longest. By the time your puppy is 12 weeks old he may be able to control his elimination up to 4-5 hours. A 16 week old puppy may be able to go 8 hours without eliminating. Also keep in mind that your puppy will not be able to hold his urine as long during the daytime.

Raising a puppy is a wonderful and sometimes frustrating experience. We are here to help you in anyway we can. If there are areas of your puppy’s development you would like to discuss, please contact the hospital to make an appointment for a behavior consultation.