Lyngar Kennel 

Puppy House Training

 

A few words about house training…

 

House training is a topic of great importance to every new puppy owner and nearly everyone asks how long will it take. There is no specific answer but several factors play an important part in this process.

 

A puppy’s bowel and bladder function is automatic and he really has no control over it. Mother Nature provides a strong instinct for a clean ‘den’ and pups will leave their bed to puddle in another place. This is why they can become paper trained so quickly in their nursery.

 

Once home they will continue to use a newspaper when they figure out where it is and if it is not too far away from where they happen to be when nature calls. As a new owner, you can anticipate when puppy needs to do his business and take him outside or place him on the paper. Some of the time you will be right.

 

Eventually, after the pup is about 12-16 weeks old, he begins to have a sense of his functions and begins to learn the art of waiting until he is in an appropriate place. If that appropriate place does not happen immediately, he will be unable to hold his business and will do it wherever he happens to be. This is simply a fact of their physical development. ‘YOU’ might be house trained if you have a routine that gets the pup outside when he needs to go but the pup is not really house trained until he is old enough to control his bowel and bladder.

 

A word about puddles and poop; urine is sterile and poop is what is left over from what YOU feed puppy. It is not unspeakable and it is not something to get upset about. Have lots of paper towels on hand and don’t let puppy onto your antique carpet. Be patient, be consistent and be cool….its no big deal.

 

(Updated Nov./14)