Highland Haven Aussie puppies have been paper-trained since the age of 3 weeks. This has kept their instinct to not soil their living space intact and makes them easier to housebreak. Here are a few rules to follow when beginning housebreaking:
- Housebreaking a very young pup is all about timing. Your pup should be brought outside immediately after eating, drinking a lot of water, coming out of their crate, or if it’s been 30 minutes since their last potty break and they have been out of their crate playing. You will adjust this as they (and their bladder) grow.
- With a small bite-sized treat in hand, pick your puppy up from their crate, take them outside, and place them on the grass. The first surface they touch should be where you want them to eliminate. If you let them run out of their crate on their own, they will surely pee on your floor. Once outside, give a command such as ‘Go Potty’. It does not matter what the command is as long as it is consistently given by everyone in the family.
- Standing still does not work—you must encourage your pup to walk around as you repeat ‘go potty’ until they squat. It may take a while (which is why springtime puppies are better than winter puppies!) Be patient.
- Once they begin relieving themselves use a praise word like ‘good dog’. When they are finished enthusiastically praise them and give them a small treat. You will use a treat while potty training for a few months, but not forever. At this stage, you are pairing a positive (praise and treat) with the action you want (pooping/peeing)
Your puppy should be able to be in a crate for five to six hours without an accident when they first go home. This means when the last potty break is at 11pm your pup should be able to hold it until 5am the very first night! The key is making sure your puppy does not have water after 8pm (or three hours prior to going to bed) and that the last potty break was a successful one. More info on crate training later…
Potty Accidents
If you are diligent and pay close attention your puppy will have very few accidents. That being said, mistakes (accidents) are an important part of the learning process. The way you handle them will determine if any positive lessons are learned. It is vital that you catch the accident as it is happening, therefore, you should be prepared to have your eyes on this puppy at ALL TIMES whenever they are outside of their crate. You will begin to see telltale signs when your puppy may need a potty break- usually walking around sniffing a small area. If your puppy has an accident and you do not witness it there is nothing you can do. Chalk it up to better oversight next time. When you do catch an accident in progress:
- Clap your hands loudly and say ‘no no no! You want to startle your pup while in the act. It should be unpleasant and make them say to themselves ‘Geez, I don’t want THAT to happen again!’
- Immediately scoop them up and quickly carry them outside to the grass.
- Place them on the grass, give light verbal praise, and begin your ‘go potty’ mantra
- Most of the time the deed is done, and they are unable to ‘finish’ going outside, but give them a few minutes just in case.
- In the more likely event, they were unable to finish using the potty outside, bring them back inside and put them into their crate. Wait at least 20 minutes before you take them out again. Go back to Housebreaking #2 above and follow the instructions. With some luck you can get a small pee with some good praise, and all is forgiven.
You should see some real understanding from the pup of where and when they are supposed to pee & poop within a few days of diligent work on your part. Potty training when they are very young is all about predicting when they need to go and giving them access to the appropriate place. You are NOT waiting for your dog to ‘tell’ you they need to go out. You give them access to the outside when you know they need to go. By the time they are 4 or 5 months of age you both should be in a very good habit and your dog should understand the rules.
It is not unusual to see a bit of a backslide with housebreaking between 6 & 10 months of age. This is almost always because you have become a bit too comfortable and perhaps less stringent on the pee/poop schedule. Just discipline when necessary and up your oversight a bit.
