How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days

by Shirlee Kalstone

Dogs are social creatures that readily adapt to dominance-subordination relationships. They prefer to live in groups, or “packs,” rather than alone. A bond of attachment formed among the pack members keeps the group together. But the bond by itself is not enough to maintain order in the group. There is also a leader and a chain of command.

A puppy’s infancy is very short compared to a human baby’s: three to four canine months are roughly equal to three to four human years.

Unless you immediately notice the distinctive movements a puppy makes when he’s looking to relieve himself, like sniffing the floor to search for a good toilet spot or going around in circles, he’ll probably soil your floor. Your principal duty at this time is keep the puppy from having the run of the house to urinate and defecate on the carpets and floors. However, at this stage of a puppy’s life,

Be considerate and take your puppy out early in the morning so he can relieve himself. If your puppy soils his crate, take him out of it, rush him outdoors, point out his toilet area, and praise him lavishly the next time he goes there. Don’t ever let your puppy sit in a crate that contains urine or feces, and never put him back inside one that is dirty.

Walk back and forth a little as you say “Go potty,” “Business,” or something similar (use the same phrase each time), repeating it over and over until the dog relieves himself. The moment he does, praise him and tell him how clever he is, then bring him back indoors.

Give him breakfast. Pick up his dish after 15 to 20 minutes and give him a drink of water. During the training period, remember, water is being restricted by time, not by quantity, so give him all he wants to drink. Fifteen to 20 minutes later, snap the leash onto his collar, say “Let’s go out,”

If nothing happens, however, bring him back inside, confine him in the crate for about 15 minutes, then take him out once more. He must learn to associate these first outings with the acts of urination and/or defecation, and, if he simply walks aimlessly about, come back inside and confine him for another 15 to 20 minutes before you try again.

When the puppy does relieve himself after breakfast, he can have another supervised free period before being confined until his next meal or outing, when you will repeat these same steps again. The length of supervised free periods depends on a puppy’s age. Once yours can handle a 30-minute period with no accidents, give him more freedom by increasing his free time to 45 minutes, and so on. Your goal is to increase his free periods gradually until he needs to be confined (during the training period) only when you are away from home.

Immediately after he wakes up in the morning. 15 to 20 minutes after every meal and drink of water. After he wakes up from a nap. After extreme excitement or long play periods. The last thing at night.

actions such as whining, acting restless, sniffing the floor, or going around in circles. The time interval between “indicating” and “doing” is

There will be accidents, of course; that’s part of raising puppies. When your dog makes a mistake in the house, never abuse him physically.

Dogs are highly motivated by praise. Praise is the most effective way to show your dog that you are pleased with him.