You need to watch the puppy, not the clock. Take it out at what seems random times to it, and it will only be confused about why you are taking it out. Learn to identify when it needs to go out , and take it out then. Raven is our 19'th young puppy, 8 weeks, since 1991. We have had her about a week. Things are going quite well as usual.

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it realizes it has to go, and when it can't wait any longer is a matter of seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive enough to avoid all accidents. There is no sense punishing the puppy for your inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean it up if you didn't have the puppy outside in time.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have a crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire grid in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. It helps block off part of the crate for the smaller puppy. If you already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start out in crates as little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose in the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting the dog have its crate all its life. A crate needs to be just big enough for a dog to stretch out in.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays, the less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it to the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. Sometimes you need to walk it around to stimulate its body to eliminate. If it does anything, praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it, and maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it, but it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine. Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the house until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating, drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older. How successful you are depends on how attentive you are.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if they go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts to going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it even gets near the door. When you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and take it out. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving it and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with the other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet. This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam. Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire grid in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first.

Thanks for your post Labman. It's great advice and to be honest we are doing everything you mentioned now. It was really hard to start with but I think we're finally getting on track now. We don't take out 'by the clock' and take Beau out after every meal, when he wakes up and when he starts sniffing. We still have a few accidents but I expect that at 9 weeks. We've had no 'solid' accidents for over 24 hours now I think thats partly due to the fact we have chicken wired off a section of garden to make it completely safe (the garden was secure anyway but he was running behind the plants and conifers and becaue he likes to eat ANYTHING I didn't want him behind there where I couldn't see him!) so we no longer have to take him out on his lead which seems to have made toileting easier.

Btw, we have no carpets downstairs, thank goodness! Only a rug from which he is only allowed on under very strict supervision and only after he has just toileted outside

Are we talking about puppies here or battery hens in this county we don't put puppies on wire grids or as you state in another thread ''a piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place''http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=115677

imagine a small breed puppy on one of these its feet would fall through
Puppies feel the cold and miss the warmth of their dam and siblings when first removed from the litter. They need a warm bed like a blanket or vet bed not to stand for hours on wire shelving in case they soil because someone won't take them out or at the very least allow them a space to soil. I am amazed that the Guide Dogs for the blind organisation in America allows such treatment of puppies by their puppy walkers.

Completely agree , we are talking small puppies here, WIRE GRIDS FOR GODS SAKE:!!!!!!!!!!! the more one hears of the way this organisation works, the more one is horrified

Apologies Vics for having to disagree with someone in your thread, many people read this website and I would hate to see someone copying this suggestion and treating a puppy in this way.

Vics, let me point out that I likely have more experience housebreaking puppies than my critics put together. Count on them for the best of the 50's advice.

Oh, and ditch the puppy pads! awful inventions. If you see him heading towards the back door, scoop him up outside ASAP and put him on the grass. The pads will only confuse him as dogs do not generalize well. A sofa, bed, carpet...any soft surface...could be fair game for him to toilet on and you certainly don't want that.

If Vics or anyone reading and asking for advice wishes to follow your recommendations, thats up to them.

Hers a few examples for them to ponder over.

Lock pups up in crates for 8 hrs a day.

Put wire mesh on the floor of crate,

Chain puppies to tethers so they dont pee all over the house.


Just a few to be getting on with....any takers

Vics, let me point out that I likely have more experience housebreaking puppies than my critics put together. Count on them for the best of the 50's advice.

Be prepared for a lot of bad advice from people with little or no experience or training.

Do you want to believe an ordinary dog owner or a team of professionals that has been breeding 300-400 large breed puppies a year and following most of them through their whole life? I doubt Labrodork has 0.1% of the experience the dog guide school I raise puppies for does. At 12 weeks, they are almost old enough to cut back to 2 meals.

I can't find it, but not too long ago there was a thread ''How do you know what you know'' or some such. It made it quite apparent most of the answers here come from a person with nothing beyond the limited experience any one person can have in a life time. Those born knowing all there is to know and no need for any training or reading a book.
And by the way, if you took time to read my profile or many of my posts, you would know I am far more than a dog walker.

The inmates are very much in charge of that asylum and are making great progress here. I am free to go back there, but will not be a part of a site with an idiot for a moderator.