House training is the most important thing your puppy must learn. Common sense should tell you why. Do you want your house to stay spic and span? Then, think about it. Handle your puppy’s housebreaking well. Aside from the maintenance of your household hygiene, trained dogs are happy dogs. As creatures of habit, it’s in their nature to keep schedules as pack animals. Here is how you should housebreak your puppy:

Ideal House Training Age

When your puppy reaches the age of 8 to 12 weeks old, it’s high time to begin housebreaking. Remember the old adage that old dogs can’t learn new tricks? It may be true. So, don’t take any chances.

Crate Help

Dog trainers suggest using a crate in house breaking your puppy. A crate is like a cage, with see-through bars and a locking door. Its size should accommodate the dogs’ size for it to move around in. It should be used like a dog’s bedroom. But be advised to not confine your puppy in his crate for more than two hours at a time.

The advantage to using a crate for housebreaking your puppy is that a dog will typically not eliminate in their sleeping areas. However, your dog might be forced to relieve itself if you lock him in the crate for longer than he can hold it in. So, never use a crate to punish your dog, it will backfire. Generally, pups that are three-months old must eliminate every 3 hours, so you should take him his special outdoor area more often.

Make Your Puppy Learn Routines

As you are housetraining your dog another useful tip to consider is to only leave the house through one door. This door should be the only one that you want your dog to scratch at in order to warn you about his being called by nature.

Taking your pup outside at around the same times every day will be very beneficial for the both of you. This will help in establishing a routine, and will make him learn to hold it in until you become available to take him out.

Look For Clues

If your un-housebroken dog is accustomed to roaming freely around the house, search for signs that show you he needs to go outside. Be really observant of his behavior, i.e., heavy sniffing, circling an area, staring at the door with an intense look on his face, etc. If you catch him WHILE he is doing it, stop him with a quick grab of his collar and pull it up while saying “No” using your deep, stern tone (don’t forget to use a deep, gruff voice when stating commands), then take him outside and let him finish what he is doing. Lastly, pat him on his head while saying “Good (his name)!” It is a good idea to make sure your dog gets whenever he does anything that makes you proud. Giving him food treats as a reward after he does his business in the appropriate spot can help, too.

Patience is a Big Virtue

Like any training endeavor, housebreaking requires a lot of patience. If you do not want to be cleaning your dog’s waste off your carpets everyday and you do not want to have your whole house smelling like a public bathroom, be persistent so you can be successful with your housetraining as soon as possible.

Use your Common Sense

Use your common sense and it will help you in dealing with your puppy’s housebreaking endeavor. Logically you know that you should not give your dog water before bedtime as of course, this will increase his tendency is to pee at night. Catering to his schedule first will prove to be very helpful in making it gradually change into yours.

Aside from patience and common sense, consistency is also one of the important factors of this puppy training activity. If you suddenly forget about the routines yourself, don’t blame if your puppy if he starts committing accidents more often. Remember that the stakes are high (dirty and malodorous house). If you would like to succeed in this housebreaking training or just about in any other training drills, don’t treat it as a game. Allot enough time and commitment on your part.

If you do not want to hassle with housetraining you may consider an older dog for a pet. Some of the advantages of getting an older dog include the fact that many grown dogs are already housebroken so an adult dog may cause less damage to your belongings. Also, grown dogs rarely wake up at night like most puppies do and a big advantage is that they also have usually outgrown the impulse to chew things. An older dog will also more easily adapt to other pets, like other dogs or cats, if you have a group of them at your household.

Adopting a dog is not an easy task and choosing one to adopt can be a little tricky too. Everyone loves sweet looking puppies, but all puppies grow up and not everyone wants to go through the tiresome task of house training. Adult dogs need no great amount of guidance but can still turn out to be a lovable pet.

Whichever you think is the right pet for you, just keep in mind that taking care of a pet requires a lot of time and effort. In return, they will give you a great deal of love, always keep you company and always be there with a ready smile and an excited wag of tail each and every day.