Puppy Basics - House Breaking

Here are the steps for housebreaking a puppy -

Start at the ideal age. The best time to begin housebreaking a puppy is when it is 7'/2 to 8'/ 2 weeks old, when substrate and location preferences are forming in young puppies.

Take the puppy outside to eliminate
The first step in housebreaking a puppy is to take it outside frequently to eliminate. The owner should take the puppy outside immediately after it awakes, after play sessions, and 15 to 30 minutes after meals for a total of six to eight times a day.2 Once outside, the puppy should be allowed to sniff and investigate potential elimination locations, preferably on a leash. The owner should choose the location carefully. To minimize the possibility of the puppy's contracting parasitic or infectious diseases, the owner should avoid areas where many other dogs eliminate. A consistent location for elimination should be used so that previous odors can help stimulate the puppy to urinate or defecate. Many puppies may need 15 to 20 minutes of sniffing and movement before elimination occurs. Movement is important to stimulate elimination, but playtime should be discouraged until the dog has eliminated.

Reward the puppy
An owner should reward a puppy while it is eliminating or immediately afterward (within 15 seconds and before it moves away and engages in another behavior), not once the puppy has returned to the house. Rewards for proper and timely elimination can be food treats, praise, or playtime. By offering these, the owner teaches the puppy to associate a reward with eliminating outside on the appropriate surface and in the desired location. For this reason, the owner must accompany the puppy outside to monitor elimination behavior. Housebreaking problems can result when an owner is unsure whether a pet actually eliminated outside.

Supervision
When a puppy is inside, it should be supervised as much as possible. Using a leash or placing a bell on the puppy's collar can help owners keep track of the puppy's whereabouts. When the puppy cannot be supervised, it should be left in a small puppy-proof area such as a crate or large box. A crate large enough to accommodate the puppy as an adult may need to be partitioned to avoid having the puppy soil in one end and sleep in the other. Remind owners that bladder and bowel capacities are limited in young dogs, so requiring puppies to be confined for long periods without access to appropriate elimination locations will result in soiling.

Feeding
Feeding and watering routines affect housebreaking. Regular feeding times help control fecal elimination by taking advantage of the gastrocolic reflex. A full stomach encourages colonic contractions within 10 to 30 minutes and increases the likelihood that a puppy will need to eliminate when taken outside.' Discourage free-choice feeding because it does not allow an owner to take advantage of this reflex. But water should be given free-choice. Water restriction to decrease urination is not a good idea, especially in warm climates. Normal water intake in dogs is 60 to 100 ml/kg of body weight per day.

Punish puppies for housesoiling
For punishment to be effective, it must be given consistently and immediately when the misbehavior occurs.

Clean soiled areas
Proper cleaning of soiled areas is important when housebreaking puppies. Many products with enzymatic or bacterial action remove stains and prevent odors that may stimulate the puppy to return to the area and soil again.