The 9 Steps….
1.The right size of dog crate is vital. Make sure you get one before your puppy arrives. This means it should be big enough so your puppy can turn around in it and lay down in it but not much bigger than that. This will become your puppy’s den and his instinct is not to soil it. If he can sleep on one side of the crate and have enough room for a toilet area at the other side, he probably will. Don’t be surprised!
2. Make sure you are free for at least two days, so that you can remain with your puppy. He’s going to need taking outside a lot to begin with – from every half an hour to every hour.
3. You may want to limit the puppy’s access to certain areas of the house until he is house trained.
4. There are particular times when he is very likely to require taking outside, so take him out at these times: when he awakens in morning, when he gets up from a nap, after he’s been exerting himself (for example, playing hard), after eating or drinking and before he retiring to sleep at night.
5. When he arrives he is going to require you to take him outside every thirty to sixty minutes, until you learn to recognise the signals that he wants to poo or pee. The sign may be sniffing, circling or backing up.
6. Once you notice the signal that he wants to relieve himself, you need to take him outside as fast as you can and wait until he does his business.
7. When he does his business, immediately give him lots of praise and attention.
8. You can leave your puppy in the crate for an hour when you cannot watch him for a time. But you must firstly lead him to be content to remain in his crate. The way to achieve this is through giving small tasty treats when he is next to the crate and then gradually tempting him inside with them. Once he’s been in a few times, shut the door very briefly and then open again. The time the door is left closed should be lengthened gradually. You can also put an interactive toy or a dispensing toy in the crate to keep him occupied.
9. If he does have an accident and makes a mess in the house, just ignore him when he does it but be sure to clean it up and clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner or hot biological washing powder solution. If you do not clean it in this way, there will still be a scent detectable by your puppy and he is likely to do his business there again.
