Petsmart Dog Houses

house training your puppyrequires more than a stack of old newspapers. it calls for patience,commitment, and above all, consistency. hi, i'm kathy santo foriams with howdini.

Petsmart Dog Houses, and today we're goingto talk about how to house train your puppy. a trusting and consistentrelationship is fundamental to successful house training.

the more consistent youare, the faster your puppy will learn. house training a puppy cantake several weeks and sometimes longer withsmaller breeds. the first step to house trainingyour puppy is to establish a routine. puppies did best on a regularschedule, because it teaches them that there are timesto eat, times to play, and times to potty.

as a general rule, a puppy cancontrol his bladder about an hour for every month of age. so if your puppy is only threemonths old, he can probably only hold it for about threehours, if not less. make sure to take him right outafter he wakes up, during and after play time, and aftereating or drinking, because these are times he's mostlikely to have to go. if you work and are unable totake your puppy outside as often as needed, you could hirea dog walker to give your

puppy his necessary breaks. i recommend picking a specificbathroom spot outside and always taking him there firstwhen he's on a leash. while your puppy is going, saysomething like "go potty" so that you can eventuallyuse that phrase to remind him what to do. you should take him out for awalk or play time after he's gone potty, or he mightjust learn to hold it to keep you outside.

reward your puppy every timehe goes potty outdoors with praise or a treat, but makesure to do so immediately before he goes backinto the house. rewarding correct behavioris the best way to teach your puppy. be careful not to reward yourpuppy until he's completely finished, or he may forget tofinish up outside and then have an accident inside. and remember, what goes into apuppy on a schedule comes out

of a puppy on a schedule. so always take your puppyout after feeding. try picking up your puppy'swater dish about two and a half hours before bedtime, so hewon't have as much water to try and hold overnight. if you keep a consistentschedule, your puppy could be house trained by the time he'sfive to six months old. but don't be discouraged if ittakes your puppy longer or has an occasional accident.

many factors, including breedof dog, consistency, and temperament, can contribute toa longer training period. if you feel that there's littleto no progress, consult with your veterinarian to besure that a medical issue, such as a bladder infection,isn't the culprit. supervision in the beginningis critical. exercise pens are extremelyhelpful while house training. keeping your puppy in a smallspace within eyesight will allow you to notice and reactwhen they start showing the

signs of needing to eliminate. those signs can be barking,scratching at the door, squatting, sniffing,or circling. if you're unable to monitor yourpuppy, you can confine him to an area small enoughso that he won't want to eliminate there. a space just large enough forhim to lay down with a couple extra inches is just fine. many people choose to combinewith a crate which can be very

helpful for house trainingyour young dog. for more information on cratetraining watch "how to crate train your puppy." i'm kathy santo for iams withhowdini, and i hope that

you've found this helpful as youwelcome your new addition to your family. for more information on puppycare and training, visit iams.com/puppy.