Housebreaking puppies is one of the most challenging parts of owning a new puppy. And puppies don't come with manuals - that makes it even harder to know what and what not to do! Puppies don't go when you want them to go!
Sometimes during the training process we don't realize that we are making mistakes. Our dogs can't tell us what to do, and sometimes it's impossible to know. So what ARE the most common mistakes when housebreaking your puppy?:
Yelling at your puppy AFTER the fact (or during, for that matter) won't do any good.
New puppy owners often think that yelling at their puppy when they find a mess in the house is going to teach him not to go indoors. But the puppy really doesn't know what it's done wrong - they have short attention spans and will forget very shortly after. It won't help to yell at your puppy, and it's DEFINITELY not a good idea to rub his nose in it!
- The only thing your puppy will learn if you do this is to fear you!
Using newspapers or "puppy pads" while housebreaking puppies will only encourage your puppy to potty indoors.
Unless you are away for several hours and cannot hire someone to let your puppy outdoors during the day, then stay far away from newspaper training. This will only confuse your puppy and he will think that it's okay to go indoors.
Don't be fooled by those puppy potty pad products out there - you'll still have to train your puppy to use the pad and it's so much easier to train him to go outdoors!
An inconsistant schedule will set your training back.
While housebreaking puppies, allowing your puppy to eat whenever he wants and feed/water him late at night your puppy will most certainly have to go when you least expect it. But if you feed him on schedule (for example, don't feed him any later than seven or eight o'clock at night) and take him out thirty minutes to an hour after you feed him then you will have greater success.