House Training Your Puppy

Training a puppy is a lot like having a baby, especially when they're really little. For the first 8 weeks you need to be taking you're puppy out to the bathroom every couple hours. There bladders are under developed and they don't have the control over it like they would when they're older.

Crate training is the best way to house train a puppy for a couple of different reasons. One the crate is not only good for house training but it also give them a place of security that they can call their own.

How it helps with house training

1) Puppies don't like to soil where they lay, so the chance of them going to the bathroom in their crate is less like likely. When you first introduce the crate to your puppy because he may not be used to he will probably not like it. So if you're using a crate that had room for them to move around in there is a chance that they could go to the bathroom in it.

Now we have a 3 month old puppy who doesn't like his crate and he has room to move around in. He has never gone to the bathroom in his crate. You'll have to feel out your own puppy, if you find them going to the bathroom in the crate then you can divide it in half so they don't have room to move around and soil in it.

2) The other good thing about a crate is, as soon as you take them out of it automatically take them outside to go to the bathroom. This will give them a routine and teach them that outside is where they go to the bathroom not in the house. Be consistent even if you only put them in for a short amount of time, take them to the bathroom as soon as you take them out of the crate.

3) If you see your puppy going to the bathroom in the house say hey! and take them outside right away. Until puppies are trained they don't know the difference. Plus if you haven't taken them out in awhile and they don't know to go to the door yet so they have no way of telling you they have to go.

4) Now I've read that puppies around 3 months should be able to hold it for about 3 to 4 hours. With our puppy that maybe true in his crate but not when he's out of it. Being 3 months his bladder is still under developed so he can't seem to hold it as long. So we are still taking him out every 2 hours or so. He is now starting to go to the door and ask to go outside after 2 weeks of training. As much as this can be a pain, it pays off in the end because he not going to the bathroom in the house but outside.

5) Be Consistent!!!! This is going to be the biggest challenge. You're tired of going outside with them especially in the winter time but if you're not consistent then it will take longer for your puppy to train. You'll confuse your puppy as to what is right and wrong. Your reward will come with consistency and patience!!