FAQ: What is the best way to house train a puppy?

Young puppies don't have adequate bladder control...so, you need to accept the fact that a
young pup is going to have accidents. Puppies under four months of age need to go out every
two hours: after waking from a nap, after a meal, after a play session, just before bed and as
soon as they wake up in the morning or upon waking from a nap. Basically, puppies need to
go out a lot!

Train your puppy to outside (the fenced backyard):

• Be aware of the activities that stimulate a puppy to eliminate, such as,
  those listed above: waking, feeding, playing, etc.
  
  
• Learn your puppy's body language. Watch for circling, sniffing,
  restlessness, whining and approaching the door.
  
  
• Take your puppy outdoors to the elimination area you want him to use.
  
  
• Condition your puppy to the commands "out" as you take your puppy
  out to the yard and "go potty" while you are outside with your puppy.
  
  
• Praise any sniffing or other pre-eliminatiion behaviors. And when your
  puppy does the deed, praise heartily!
  
  
• Be patient, you may have to spend as much as 10 minutes waiting
  for your puppy to take care of business.
  
  
• Other things to be consider are: Your puppy's feeding schedule should
  be consistent, offerthree meals a day the same times every day,
  feeding the last meal three to five hours before bed time. Avoid feeding
  before long periods of confinement.
  
  
• When you are not home confine your puppy to a specific area. An indoor
  kennel (a crate) is ideal for an unsupervised puppy.
  
  
• When you are home and your puppy is free in the house you need
  to provide constant supervision until trained.
  
  
• If you catch your puppy in the process of elimination indoors, a loud clap
  of the hands or "no" to distract the puppy is all that should be necessary.
  Then take him outside to his "potty spot" and let him finish. When your
  puppy is done, don't forget the praise.
  
  
• Remember! There are two reasons why puppies have accidents, (1) The
  puppy is not being watched carefully when your home and (2) when
  your puppy is not in it's crate when your not home!