Housetraining a Puppy

House training your puppy is very important, but until the puppy is at least four months old do not expect it to hold it’s bodily functions for any prolonged length of time. Equate your puppy with a baby in diapers and use preventative care to avoid messes in the house. The two keys to housetraining are lack of opportunity to have an accident and developing a habit in the dog for eliminating outside. 

Feed the puppy at the same time everyday. Take it outside as soon as it turns its’ head away from the food bowl and keep it outside until you see it urinate and defecate. Praise it with a very sweet-toned voice by saying “Good Boy!” or  “Good Girl!” when the puppy is in the actual process of doing its’ business outside where you want it to go.

Take the puppy back inside and play with it for a while, then either tie it to you by putting it on a leash which you attach to your belt or hold the puppy in your lap or put the puppy in its’ dog crate until you can watch it again. If you use a crate, use it like the puppy’s apartment and not like a jail.

Take it outside after feedings, as soon as it wakes from a nap and every time it starts getting restless or circles while sniffing the floor or looks uncomfortable. 

It is very important to handle the puppy as much as possible. This is called socialization. The more that you cuddle, hold and carry around your puppy, the better pet it will be when grown. Let it nap in your lap while you are watching TV, play retrieve with it (Cavaliers will retrieve toys and balls that are thrown for them.), put it in obedience class when it is older (Cavaliers do very well in AKC obedience and frequently earn their CD titles.), and it will become a family member as well as a much-loved pet.

Taking the puppy to the same place in the yard each time and telling it what you want, “Go Potty” or my favorite “Hurry Up” will help the puppy to understand what you want it to do.

Housetraining is VERY IMPORTANT. The fewer accidents the puppy has, the easier it is to housetrain it. Housetraining takes about 4 months (from age 8 weeks to age 6 months), with most of the work being done the first two months that you own the dog.