It takes time, and it takes patience, but we sincerely hope you will put your best efforts into teaching your pet good toilet habits, since he will be sharing your house for the next 12-14 years! This leaflet outlines a humane housetraining program based on praise and prevention, not punishment. If followed carefully, it will result in a happy, well-trained dog.

   If at all possible, train your puppy to go to the bathroom outside from the beginning rather than paper training. Your aim from the first day is to catch the puppy doing the right thing and give him the praise he deserves for doing that. He really does want to please you and get some loving attention, and he will learn very quickly that you seem truly thrilled with him when he eliminates behind the old lilac bush. The other side of the coin is that you will need to let him know that you are a whole lot less than thrilled when you catch him doing the same thing on the living room carpet, but don't go overboard: no hitting, no shaking, no rubbing his nose in the mess. These things not only don't help, they can make your puppy fearful and make training that much harder. When you catch your puppy urinating or defecating indoors, just say NO in a firm voice and take him outside at once. And that's all. Some people suggest startling a puppy caught in the act by something that he perceives as coming from the environment, like slapping the wall loudly with your palm or tossing a pillow at him, but that firm NO from the owner has worked well for millions of puppies.

   One of the basic rules of the housetraining game is that if you don't see him do it, you don't scold him about it. When he's caught in the act, hears that emphatic NO, and is taken outside, he makes the connection that wetting on the Oriental rug was not a great idea. But if you drag him to a damp spot on the carpet hours (or even minutes) after the fact, he simply can't make the connection. When you find a spot like that, don't make a fuss and rush the dog outside; just accept the fact that you lost that round, clean it up, and forget it. For cleaning accidents, use one of the enzymatic cleaner’s available at most pet supply stores or use diluted white vinegar in the last rinse to remove odors that might tempt him to use the same spot again.

   Since your aim is to praise the puppy for doing right, it's important that you give him the chance to earn praise by anticipating his need to go outside. There are certain times when you can be almost certain your puppy will need to eliminate: always take him out after eating, when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap, and after a play session. Some puppies want to eliminate immediately after such activities, others some minutes later. You will soon learn your puppy's pattern. If you watch your puppy closely to learn what signals he gives before eliminating (sniffing, restlessness, circling) you will be able to get him outside soon enough to prevent accidents at other times as well

   This program of prevention and praise requires you to keep an eye on your puppy. Some accidents are inevitable, but you just can't give him the run of the house and let him get used to making mistakes. Use a baby gate or even a light, 6-foot tether to keep him with you in the kitchen or family room where you can watch him.

   Some people advocate the use of a crate in housetraining a puppy, and it can be a useful tool. But it can also be misused. A sleeping size crate takes advantage of a dog's natural instinct not to soil his "den" or sleeping quarters, a trait held over from his wolf ancestors. Since no one can watch a puppy every minute, a crate is useful for confining a small puppy for a short time while you run to the store or take a shower. A crate could also be properly used as a good sleeping place for an older puppy that is almost at the stage of making it through the night without a trip outdoors. (The crate will encourage him to wait, but place it in or near your bedroom so he can wake you if he really needs to be taken out.) However, placing a small puppy in a sleeping size crate for hours at a time is unfair. He cannot control his bowel and bladder for very long and is forced to dirty his bed and himself. If a small puppy must be left for more than brief periods, a far more humane practice is to prepare a pen (partition off part of a room or use an old baby playpen) with a sleeping area, a playing area, and a papered area where it is OK for him to eliminate.

   You have probably noticed that we used the phrase "take him out" throughout this leaflet. Even if you have a fenced yard, it's important to take your puppy out to go to the bathroom If you just shove him out the door, you won't know if he has eliminated, and you're skipping that essential part of training: praise. In addition, he's going to get into the bad habit of eliminating just outside the door. It’s best (for both your puppy and your lawn) to take him to a selected spot each time so that he gets used to the idea that he is expected to eliminate there. Some experts also advocate consistent use of a brief phrase like "do your business" to help your puppy understand you brought him out at 2:00 a m. in your pajamas because you thought he had to go to the bathroom, not because you wanted to play.

   Canines are creatures of habit, and housetraining can go much more smoothly if your puppy is on a regular schedule, especially for feeding. A puppy who eats his meals at regularly scheduled times usually eliminates at fairly predictable times, making him a lot easier to train. Free choice feeding can make training a lot harder.

   If your puppy continues to have accidents at a favorite spot, even though you have cleaned it thoroughly, make that spot unappealing by such methods as covering with a plastic carpet runner (pointy side up) or laying down a section of double-sided sticky tape.

   Paper training is a method that is usually considered to be an intermediate step (except, perhaps, in the case of a very small dog in an apartment building). It may be necessary if the weather is too bitter to take a small puppy outdoors or if the owner cannot be home as much as needed for outdoor training. However, it adds an extra step to the training process and it may take longer for you to get to the final goal of a completely housetrained pet. When paper training, confine the puppy to a small room or part of a room, and put papers down over the entire area. Gradually remove the papers farthest from his favored spot for eliminating, always leaving a piece of soiled paper at that spot to encourage the puppy to return there. Proceed as you would with outdoor training: take the puppy to the paper when he shows signs of needing to eliminate, praise for proper performance, and scold with a firm NO when you catch him eliminating off the papers. When the puppy is more mature and able to go for longer intervals without eliminating, remove the inside papers, place a soiled paper at the chosen spot outside and take him out frequently, praising him for eliminating out-of-doors. The unfortunate thing about paper training is that the puppy may have a hard time understanding why it's no longer OK for him to eliminate in the house when he was praised for it before. Be patient with him and be sure the former paper spot has been cleaned thoroughly- to remove his smell. Please don't expect too much too soon. A three or four month old puppy cannot really be considered housetrained. He may know what you want, but his immature body will cause him to make mistakes These will decrease as his system matures, but it is not unusual for a dog who will be a good, well-trained adult to still have an occasional slip at eight or nine months, especially if you are gone longer than normal.