How To House Break Your New Puppy

Bringing home a new puppy is a lot of fun, but house-breaking it can be a real chore. Our Pet Pro, Luciano Aguilar is here to help you along the road to clean carpets and floors - because we all want our pets to do their 'business' in the appropriate spot.

"Puppies come with a lot of responsibility and one of the first and most important things is teaching her when and where to go to the bathroom," says Aguilar.

Aguilar explains that there are four times puppies most commonly have to relieve themselves:

1. When they wake up

2. About 20 minutes after food or water intake

3. After extreme play

4. Right before bedtime

While training, Aguilar recommends keeping your puppy on a leash, even inside the house. This will help you monitor them and note their changes in behavior. Remember, accidents are going to happen so remain calm and just clean it up.

Puppy housebreaking may be quicker if your puppy sleeps in a crate. She will quickly learn that she has to wait to do her business.

Take your puppy out every two hours and don't rush her. Go to the same spot every time and make sure everyone involved in the house-breaking process is using the same elimination spot. The odor from the previous visits will make your puppy familiar with the same spot over and over again. Keep in mind that most puppies can be house-broken when they're between 14 and 20 weeks old.

Aguilar reminds us that house-training a puppy takes time and patience, but the effort you put in up front will definitely have a lasting payoff...in the back end!

If you've got a dog-related question, ask Luciano using the questionnaire form below.