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  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Tips on housebreaking

    Any tips on the best way to house break a puppy?

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    - take the puppy outside often. when awake and active this could mean every 20 minutes or more. When sleeping you have more time.
    - go outside with the puppy. bring yummy treats. as soon as puppy finishes reward HUGELY. i mean this is a huge huge hting. Big exited party (unless your puppy is nervous about over exitement ofhumans) and lots of small pieces of the yummy treats (tiny so you can give more).
    - supervise supervise supervise. active supervision eyes on puppy
    - if you cannot supervise actively the puppy should be in a small area they can keep clean. xpen, crate (if you crate, make sure to slowly crate train before closing htem in there).
    - any accidents should be ignored and cleaned up with odour neutralizing product. If you catch them IN the act (right as they are going) you can make a loud noise and carry them outside then reward. if they are done then you do or so nothing.
    - use baby gates, xpens, closed doors and whatever to limit your puppy's ability to sneak off.


    lather rinse repeat. how well this goes depends only a little bit on the individual puppy and A LOT of the humans.

    If you do crate train (which I recommend) please don't just put the pupy in the crate and close the door on day 1. Find alternative containment method for a few days as you crate train your dog. this guide has a good step by step process. the key is to not move forward until hte dog is comfortable at the current level. Take your time as this is hopefully a lifelong skill you are training. Even if you do'nt plan to crate long hours it's a useful skill for the dog to have for a variety of reasons.

    Crate Training 101 : The Humane Society of the United States
    Last edited by Tanya; 04-25-2018 at 09:49 AM.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Tanya For This Useful Post:

    barry581 (04-25-2018)

  4. #3
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Talk to your breeder. They should be able to offer all the advice you need.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    You sound like you might be a first time puppy owner. Welcome to the lab board!

    In addition to the suggestions above, all of which I agree with, I would just add:

    - don't rub the puppy's nose in any messes he makes. He won't understand why you're doing it and it won't speed things along

    - consider crate training your puppy. It can keep him out of mischief when you cannot watch him, and I mean watch him, not just vaguely have some idea of what he's up to when you're watching TV or reading or cooking or on the computer. You won't be able to catch him in the act of going to the bathroom nor learn his signals that he has to go if you're distracted or he's wandering around in the next room. You can use baby gates in doorways to help confine him to the room you're in so he has a little more room to explore but he's not 2 rooms away.

    - if you work and he's going to be alone at home for several hours, you'll need to figure out some way to make sure someone can take him outside frequently while you're away. In theory, anyway, a puppy might be able to hold his urine about one hour per month of age plus 1. So if he's 3 months old, in theory he might be able to hold it for 4 hours. The more often he is able to go outside at this young age and have positive experiences going outside, the better and quicker things will go. Some people start out with pee pads in the home but I've never wanted the puppy to get the idea it's OK to go inside at all, so I do a lot of running in and out.

    If you are a first time puppy owner, you might want to look into getting a book like Puppies for Dummies as a reference for some of the more basic puppy quandaries you'll face. Looks like it's available in both paperback and for Kindle (and probably for other e-readers, too)

  6. #5
    Puppy
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    For me it was timing and learning the puppies tells. Puppy wakes up: outside. Puppy eats or drinks: outside. After a play session inside: outside. You go outside a lot!

    Vigilance will help you notice when they are ready too. Example: they are happy playing and all of a sudden run off to an area, start sniffing the ground or doing a circle: outside. It does not have to be far, just not right where they were playing. I never had a pup that didn’t ‘signal’ they were preparing to go. YOUR job is to find out what the tells are and act on them.

    And the praise party! I am HUGE believer in praise for a job well done. Your neighbors will all think you are nuts if you are doing it correctly! “You went pee outside YEAH!!!!! What a good girl YEAH!!!” Lots of hugs and scritches as a reward!!!

    I also talked to them while they go, to drill the word in. “Good Girl go Pee.” “Pee, good Girl, pee outside.”……… Same with poop. I had a firm rule also. Pee and poop first thing, then we play outside! I never brought them right out, pee, then right back in. I considered it a reward to have some free play outside for a job well done. I also felt they would figure out that if they get it out of the way first thing, other things will happen. If I bring them out, pee, then right back in I thought this might lead to hesitation in adult life. You know, let them out to pee, they wander around putting it off as long as possible because they KNOW they will have to go right back in after they go. I want them to go out, pee first thing, then be ready for whatever, come back in or play.

    I set specific areas to go. Not so much when really small as just going outside is a big enough accomplishment! But as they grow, I bring them to a specific area. RUN out the door with them RUN to the area with them and start the pee & Poop chant. Then, of course, the praise party! I had a phrase with all three of my labs for the place “Now is the time and this is the place”. In adult life I could designate any area wherever we went. Get out of the truck knowing they have to pee. Bring them to a specific area and ”Now is the time this is the place.” That would be the poop & pee spot while we were at that location. Places we visited frequently they would remember where each spot was.

    Funny story on that. My first black gal I had while I lived in the country. I would always bring her to the high grass/bushes at the edge of the yard. When we traveled, I would bring her off to the brush or tall grass. She would NOT poop on a lawn. More than once when we went visiting she would scrunch up against a fence, trying to get behind a shrub to poop. I told everyone she was a bit shy.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog
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    Puppies do best with consistency. You will need to put your puppy on a potty training schedule and be consistent.

    Will you or someone be home with the puppy during the day? Puppies need to go out quite frequently and can't be left for long hours without a potty break.

    Please talk to your breeder. Reputable breeders will send puppy home with valuable information on training, feeding, medical care etc.

 



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