Toilet training - the best way?

Like the title says, what is the best way to toilet train a puppy?
I hear various ways of doing it, but in your experience,
what have you found to be the best way?

Thanks for any and all answers/advice!

Hi Katherine have you got a puppy yet ?

From the moment I get a puppy home I watch it closely and take it out into the garden at frequent intervals at times when it is most likely to want to relieve itself . That is first thing in the morning/last thing at night/ straight after food / after play/excitement/ when it sniffs the ground and 'circles' and about an hour after it last went out. When it relieves itself outside I immediately give lots of praise and a tip bit so the behaviour I wish the puppy to repeat is rewarded.

I always take a new puppy upstairs with me at night and have it next to my bed in a box on a nice warm blanket or piece of vetbed, this way it goes to sleep quite quickly in the dark with the comforting sound of human breathing and the touch of a reassuring hand if necessary.
The puppy will wake and cry if it needs to go out and can quickly be taken outside to the garden with the minimum of fuss and returned to the box to sleep.

Having the puppy with you also helps with the bonding process and gives the puppy chance to gain a little confidence before being left alone for a long period like all night. I find puppies which are not forced to be alone straight after leaving the dam don't have problems with separation, this is probably because they haven't had the chance to become fearful of being left alone so don't associate being alone with the feeling of fear.

I gradually get the puppy used to being left alone for short periods during the day usually after a meal and a play when it is ready to sleep and is relaxed.
Once the puppy has gained a little confidence and has gradually got used to being left it can be moved to the kitchen if necessary.

If the puppy does have an accident in the house I quickly clean it up with an none ammonia based cleaner to remove every trace of the scent and I do this without looking at or speaking to the puppy, scolding or punishing a puppy for having an accident can make the puppy afraid to relieve itself when you are around and that is the last thing you want when house training a puppy.

We have had a new puppy every years since 1991. This is what has worked very well for us. It is an expansion of how we were taught by a large dog guide school.

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.

@Minihaha
No, I do not have one.
Yet. But I do plan on getting one.
Which is why I'm trying to know ahead of time what it is I should do!

And I HAD heard you shouldn't discipline the dog if it has an accident. Never knew why though, so thanks for that!
Thanks a bunch for the advice too!

@Labman
I'm thinking about putting a bell.
It seems like a neat idea, especially if I'm somewhere else for some reason.
Thanks so much!
And thanks for the cleaning advice! xD

Labman do you practice what you preach?
In your previous posts you have stated the puppies you look after only come out of a crate at evenings and weekends so by my reckoning they are in a crate for 16 hours a day.
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?p=1885151#post1885151

In this post you say ''There have been times we returned with a 7 week old puppy late sunday evening and both were out of the house around 8 AM the next morning. Usually I could spend most of my lunch hour at home with the puppy. I would then be back around 5 PM''. http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?p=1910916#post1910916

So can you tell me please when these poor puppies which were kept in a crate for 16 hours on a wire grid without bedding or water (see above) the puppies of whom you say 'when it realises it has to go can only wait a matter of seconds' were taken out.

You say above..''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.'' how could you take puppies out at these times when you weren't there?

Why would bedding 'get wet' , why did you need 'a wire grid' to keep puppies out of accidents, is it because you weren't there to take them out. Don't you know forcing a puppy to soil in its crate can lead to behavioural problems like eating feces and excessive licking causing sores.

Would you like to spend 16 hours in a tiny space on a wire grid without bedding or access to water.
It is normal and important for puppies to run around and play and to see/smell/touch lots of new things each day as part of their socialisation, when did your puppies get to do this?

I like using the cage for house training, dont oversize the cage at first, this is what I did and it caused problems (sleeping one end messing the other) once I used a smaller cage the housing training was quicker.
Bedding in the cage is a must, the cage needs to be their little den somewhere to escape to. imagine your bedroom with nothing in it just four walls not very welcoming. at first pups need to go out at set regular intervils, then after playing, sleeping, eating.

Accidents in the house I would use biological powder and water, it breaks down the urine and lifts it without leaving masking odors which can sometimes cause the dog to scent mark over.

I can now ask my two "do you want to go out for a wee" and the legg it to the back door.

ATD x