What is the most effective way to housebreak a puppy?
When the puppy cannot be watched, keep it in a kennel that is just big enough for it to turn around and lie down. No bigger. A dog will only mess in such a box in desperation. If this happens, you have left the dog in the box WAY TOO LONG. Note: If you are handy with woodcraft, you can fashion a box with a moveable divider in it so you can slowly increase the size of the box to match the size of the dog by moving the divider. Whenever you take the puppy out of the box, immediately take it to the place in the yard where you want it to relieve itself. When the dog is not in the box, watch it like a hawk, anytime the puppy shows signs of needing to relieve itself, snatch it up and take it to the place in the yard. Additionally, take the dog to the place whenever it wakes up and just after it has eaten. This requires constant vigilance, but is very effective. If you cannot watch the puppy, put it in the box. The puppy will scream, howl, cry and whine for the first few days, but will then a
Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it realizes it has to go, and when it can’t wait any longer is a matter of seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive enough to avoid all accidents There is no sense punishing the puppy for your inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean it up if you didn’t have the puppy outside in time. Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don’t have a crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a h
