How to Housebreak Your Dog courtesy www.futurepets.com & Midwest Homes 4 Pets Housebreaking is one of the easiest tasks facing a new puppy owner if you know a couple of secrets to what makes your puppy tick. You don't have to teach a puppy not to soil their own sleeping area. They instinctively understand that to be their "den". If you harness that instinct and give your puppy only two choices: his den or the back yard, he will always try to hold elimination until he is "away" from the den. Puppies have small bladders. The ability to hold longer and longer grows with age. An 8 week old puppy has about 2 hour limit. 12 weeks has 3-4 hours. 16 weeks have 4-5 hours. An adult dog can hold for up to 8 hours, although it may not be very comfortable and won't happen if he has free access to drinking water during that time. Early housetraining requires short term confinement in his dog crate (den) and frequent exercise.   Be conscientious about giving your pup a reasonable time in his sleeping area and then take him out to the spot you want him to get in the habit of using. Use a consistent phrase to encourage him to go. Say, "Hurry up" or something that comes naturally to you. Walk him in a circle, encouraging him to leave your side. Exercise stimulates his bowels, so give him a few minutes to recognize his need. When he has finished, give him his cookie or a fetch toy to end his elimination time with a reward. He can play loose in the room after he has voided. But be sure to actively watch him. Puppies in the 6-8 week range just "drop and plop" with almost no warning. From about 9 weeks on, they usually circle and sniff a little before squatting. Watch for the signs. If you see them, grab him quickly and take him to the "out" area. Puppies will have a strong need to urinate first thing in the morning. If you have to go, he has to go. Most pups must go when waking from a nap. They almost always need to eliminate about 10-20 minutes after eating. Time all of those breaks accordingly. Toys breed dogs are the hardest to train. The owners of toy dogs are the hardest to train. Because the "accidents" are small, many owners of small dogs get into lazy habits and do not watch the dog closely enough. They also can't stand to keep them confined in their dog crate until the outdoor habit is established. Tiny toys need tiny crates. The dog itself is so small that he can define his bed as his "den" move only 6" and feel he has left the area far enough to stay "clean". That might put the "accident" actually inside the crate. On the other hand, a golden retriever puppy is so large that he feels constrained by an area about 2 feet outside of his bed. Because the defined "clean zone" is small, it is not a good idea to try to housebreak a dog using a room such as a kitchen or laundry room. It is too large to constrain his elimination and only encourages him to soil inside the house.   It might also encourage other bad habits such as getting into things that don't belong to him or being destructive with your belongings.         Additionally, leaving your puppy too long in his crate where he is forced to soil it will ruin all of your hard work and establish exactly the habit you DON'T want.   After either your puppy or older dog has begun to respond to the rhythm and sequence of the new schedule you have set, begin to test the dog a little. After opening the crate, release the dog into the room UNDER CAREFULLY MONITORED SUPERVISION. First 2 minutes, then 5, then a little longer. Little by little, he will begin to realize that opening the crate is NOT just a signal to eliminate. Do you have an older dog that soils inside the house? The same procedures apply to an older dog. Very few dogs will soil their bed at any age. Confine the dog in either a wire dog crate or plastic kennel until he has established an outdoor habit. If he insists on soiling inside his crate: The majority of dogs that will actually soil their sleeping quarters are dogs that have either been crated without proper relief (such as those kept by breeders who are not conscientious or kept in pet stores where they just eliminate in their tiny habitat) or dogs that are kept in small runs or kennels such as at the Human Society. Any dog that has been forced to eliminate within his comfort zone can override his "clean zone" and be very hard to deal with. To start over with one of those types of dogs, reduce the time spent confined and expand the number of exercise periods throughout the day. For older dogs, an actual baby suppository may work to help you establish a bowel-relief habit. Using his own internal clock, be particularly vigilant first thing in the morning and after meals. Using a tiny baby suppository, lift his tail and insert it into his rectum carefully. Now take him to the yard where you want him to eliminate. He will be feeling pressure from the anal stimulation as well as pressure from his intestinal tract from the meal. Encourage him the same way we encouraged a puppy. "Hurry up". Walk, walk, walk in a circle. When he squats. tell him what a good dog he is. Even if he eliminates only the suppository, it feels like voiding his bowels to him, and he is rewarded for a deed well done. When you begin having success getting a bowel movement from him using the suppository trick, time it every day at the same time until he has a perfect bowel rhythm. The more habitual it becomes, the less you have to fear in the house or crate. Soon you can dispense with the suppository altogether. After either your puppy or older dog has begun to respond to the rhythm and sequence of the new schedule you have set, begin to test the dog a little. After opening the crate, release the dog into the room UNDER CAREFULLY MONITORED SUPERVISION. First 2 minutes, then 5, then a little longer. Little by little, he will begin to realize that opening the crate is NOT just a signal to eliminate.   Watch carefully for his signal (going to the door for instance) that he is needing to go out. Comply with his request immediately and reward his good deed.   You're well on your way to a housetrained dog at this point. And, the added bonus is that you will also be training your dog to love his crate. This will help to curtail destructive behavior as well.