Dennis Dalia

How To House Train a Puppy

Bringing Your New Puppy Home for Beginners

Let’s get stated,German Shepherd Puppy Training

When you first come home with your new puppy it is all novelty and excitement for you both.  And we all know that puppies are irresistibly cuddly and cute, everyone wants to give them constant attention, holding and spoiling them.

While this social contact is a good for you puppy, you’re setting a bad precedent for future behavior and expectations.

Too much attention will spoil them and they will be looking for this kind of attention all the time.  So, here is some tips for you and your new puppy.

The best thing that you can do for your new puppy is, not give them attention every time they come to you and lick you.  Most people think that if they do not give their puppy that attention, then the puppy will not be happy.  But that cute little puppy will just do whatever it takes to get over on you and that’s when the problems begin.

Crate Training Tips

This is a video with me and one of my German Shepherds.  Sorry I did not have a puppy available at the time of making this video.  But the rules are the same for getting started with a new puppy.

How to use a crate the right way. How to teach your dog to go in, and out of the create the right way. This will prevent bad behavior for getting started with your pup.

Puppy Training Challenges

I find that most people that get a new puppy run into these types of problems, which I call training challenges – because they did not establish some simple rules for their puppy. Eight weeks to 24 months of raising a puppy is the most important time of dog’s life.

Because if you do not do this right, then you will have all kinds of behavior problems popping up as your puppy starts to grow up, that lead directly back to behavior you allowed as a pup.

People blame their dogs for these behaviors, but it was not the puppy who failed; you did.  So, how do we avoid unwanted behaviors when it comes to bad behavior?  It can be done, but it’s better to teach the correct behavior from the beginning. So now you will need to break all the bad behavior that you let you puppy or old dog get away with. And that can take some time. Depends on the  temperament of the puppy.

Just be consistent with your schedule every day, and you will see great results.

Remember, your new puppy will not house train himself.  So, you need to learn to train him.. simple rules are not hard to establish for the most part.  But it can be for a lot of people and that’s why we have so many puppies that need good homes.

Housebreaking is only hard when people free-feed their dogs.  That means they keep the bowl on the ground and keep it full.  When puppies eat, they need to go to the bathroom.  They are young and can’t hold it a long time.  So, if you feed them at a set time – and this should be done three times a day – you will know when they have to go out.  If you free-feed you are going to have a hard time getting your puppy house broke.

When it is time to eat, put your dog’s bowl down, then release them to eat.  If they haven’t finished the bowl within 20 minutes to 30 minutes, or have walked away and left the food, pick it up and remove it. Because your puppy is at such a young ages, we need to give them another chance to eat there food, so wait about 15 to 20 minute and put the food down again. Most puppies this young will eat right away, so you may not run into this problem. But I have seen people have this problem before, so I just wanted to cover it with you.

In the first 24 month, is important stage of there life because they are going through growing period, witch means they will be fully developed at 34 months of age. They need to learn that when you put the bowl down, it’s time to eat, not time to be sidetracked.  Some people are afraid that they’ll be hungry if this happens.  Well, yes, they will.  And when you put the bowl down the next time, they will eat their food.

With young puppies you need to be on a consistent schedule.  So, after you feed them, you take them outside to an area that you want them to go in.  Set them down and say, go potty or whatever command you want.  You always need to be consistent and establish one area in your yard, and consistently stick to this area for them to relieve themselves and you will find that they confine themselves to this area.  It makes cleaning up a lot easier and you won’t have surprises waiting outside your front door.

The people that come to me for this problem are failing for the following reasons:

They refuse to use a crate.  A crate is no different than a play pen.  You would not allow a toddler to run around unsupervised; do not allow your puppy.  If the crate is the proper size for you dog, they generally will not mess in the crate and will actively try to let you know that they need out.  Immediately take you puppy to the their designated area when you take them outside.  If they are small, carry them there.  Do not allow them to wander.  Because the first thing they’ll want to do is relieve themselves.

If your puppy is out of its crate you need to be supervising them.  This prevents accidents and misbehavior.  Never leave your puppy unsupervised.  Not just because bad behaviors can result from it, but they can also get into something that can hurt them.  Again, puppies are like toddlers, they put everything in their mouths.  Crating your puppy keeps him safe and shows them boundaries; it is not a punishment.  Allowing them to wander and get in trouble at will is irresponsible.

Here are my main rules in short form:

Rule #1 – Anytime your dog is in the house with you he needs to be watched like a hawk!

Rule#2- Always use a Crate.  When you can not watch them, use the crate to keep your puppy safe.

Rule#-3 You must remove the scent if your puppy has an accident.

Rule#-4- Teach your puppy to go in one area in your yard.

Rule#-5- It’s best to have a set schedule for feeding and watering.

Rule#-6 You must be consistent or you will fail. Trust me, consistency is the key to potty training your puppies.

Rule#-7- If you work long hours and are trying to housebreak your new puppy, it’s best to have a friend that can come in let your puppy out for you.  Or hire a pet sitter to come and take the puppy for a walk a few times a day.  This is another  great way that will help you get your puppy house trained.

More dogs are given up every year due to housebreaking failure than any other behavior problem.  Housebreaking is fairly easy if you follow a few rules.  I have helped many people understand why they were having problem with housebreaking their new puppies.  And the number one reason they could not get their puppy to stop having accident is that they were not being consistent with training.

The reason that animal rescues are packed with puppies and older dogs is because so many people impulse buy, but don’t truly have the time or the commitment to train them.  They get frustrated and give up, and the dog goes to a shelter.  To me that really gets old.  If you do not have the time for a puppy, then it’s better to wait until you do have the time, or get an older dog that is already housebroken.

Remember, every day is a new day; and every day your puppy will find away to challenge you.  They are growing curious, and interested in their surroundings and how they fall in the pack (your family).  The most important thing you need to do is to have consistency in training.  If you do that you will be on your way to raising a well trained puppy that’s housebroken.

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Enjoy Dennis!