Housetraining in a Nutshell

Myths About Housetraining…

• Pee pads will prevent my dog from having an accident on the floor.

• Punishing my puppy will stop him from having any more mistakes.

• I should take my dog out every hour to make sure he doesn’t have an accident.

Keys to

Success…1.Crate (short-term

confinement)2.Pen (long-term confinement)

3.Consistent Schedule

The Single Biggest

Key to Housetraining Success….Your Puppy never gets to be free in

the house unless you’re 100% sure his bladder and bowels are

EMPTY!!!!

Puppy, Meet

Crate…• Pup should NEVER be in the crate for longer than he can hold it. For most pups that means his age in months plus one in hours (ie: 3 months=4 hours).

• The key to the crate is to make it a great place for your puppy to be.

• Place treats in the crate throughout the day.

• Tie his favourite chewtoys at the back of his crate.

• Feed his meals to him in his crate.• Use the crate as a place for your pup to

sleep overnight.

How the Crate Works…

• The crate is also known as “short-term confinement”, a term introduced by Dr. Ian Dunbar.

• When to use the crate: 1) When you need to have a shower. 2) When you need to do the dishes. 3) When you need a nap. 4) Any time at all when you can’t watch

the puppy

Puppy, Meet

Playpen…• The Pen is also known

as “long-term confinement”.

• When to Use the Pen: 1) When you need to

leave the house for longer periods of time.

2) When you have guests over.

3) Any time you want your pup to stay out of trouble

Proper Playpen Set-up…

Your Playpen should have Four important elements:

1)Pee Pad or Newspaper:

The pee pad should be in a corner away from everything else in the Pen.

Proper Playpen Set-up…

2) Crate or Bed

Your Playpen should have Four important elements

Proper Playpen Set-up…

Your Playpen should have Four important elements

3) Interactive Chew Toys• Use toys that will keep your pup’s attention, such as Kongs or Marrow Bones.

Proper Playpen Set-upYour Playpen should have Four important elements

4) Plenty of Water

Establishing a

Schedule…Every housetraining schedule follows a

very simple formula:

Potty Break then Supervised Play for ONE hour then Potty Break

then Crate for TWO hours then

Potty Break *Rinse and Repeat*

Establishing a

Schedule…Here it is again with visuals:

Potty Break

ONE hr supervised play

Potty Break

Potty Break

TWO hours of Crate Time

Rinse & Repeat!

TIPS…• Feed your pup his meals AFTER his supervised

play time BEFORE you take him out.• Don’t forget to give him an extremely tasty

treat when he goes outside.• If he won’t go, bring him back inside and put

him in his crate for 10-15 minutes and try again.

• If he rarely needs to go when you take him out then start to lengthen the time between potty breaks.

• For each week accident FREE give him another 15 minutes of supervised play time

Happy Housetraining!!!

• Please email us at info@followtheleaderinc if you’d like a “puppy prep” in-home consultation package.

• We’ll start from scratch and help you develop a schedule unique to your lifestyle and situation.

• We also answer any puppy questions from nipping, nutrition, socialization to exercise…we LOVE to hear from you

www.followtheleaderinc.com