Rachel's Guide to Puppies

I'm not quite ready to tackle a complete post on potty training...I might get to that this weekend. But here are a couple of quick potty training tips that have been on my mind this week. As we're looking into getting another puppy, this is what I fear the most! I'm hoping it will be 50 times easier the second time around.

• If your dog goes potty or poop in your house, it is your fault. NEVER scold the dog or yell at them. EVER!
• This one is so hard for new dog owners because most of us remember our parents shoving our dog's nose in their business to "teach them"
• This is NOT positive reinforcement. Dogs don't understand what you're doing because by the time you find their mess, they've already forgotten they've done it. This means your dog will only learn that you are a mean mean human if you do this.
•  Take the puppy out at least every hour until you are used to their elimination patterns. I think I read somewhere that they can hold it for 1 hour past their age in months. (3 month old can hold it for 4 hours)- I'm not sure I would trust this. If you're home, just take them out hourly & you'll avoid some messes.
• Exceptions:
• After they drink water, take them out 15-20 minutes later
• After they eat, take them out 15-20 minutes later
• Take treats out with you. When the dog eliminates act like they just won the freakin lottery! This is a huge deal going potty/poop outside! Reward them with a treat along with all the praise. 
• Make sure not to scare them with your praise!
• If you don't crate train, you should. It makes it so easy to contain messes they may make while you're away from home. 
• Pick a word for going outside to go to the bathroom. We started out with "potty" so I'd say, "Potty outside" every time we'd walk out the door to go to the bathroom. When he'd eliminate, I'd praise with "Good potty outside!" 
• As he got older & could tell the difference, we started differentiating between potty and poo, but puppies won't be ready for that yet.

House breaking is really just trying to predict when your dog is going to need to eliminate and getting them outside before they do it! It can be SO frustrating, but if you stick with it and continue to be consistent with the timing and praise, your dog will be housebroken in no time. You also have to remember to contain your initial anger when you see a mess. But just keep it in, grab the dog & head outside, then clean up the mess after they've eliminated in the correct place.

Well, that turned out to be more complete than I thought it would be, so if you have any questions about anything you think I've left out, let me know!

Good luck!