The whole family loves the excitement of bringing a new puppy home. Everyone wants to enjoy playing with their new puppy. One thing no one seems to like about the puppy though, is his using the house as his potty. Make the whole house training process easier by using the crate training method for house training your new puppy. I used to do it the old fashioned newspaper on the floor way (with predictably “crappy” results).The paper method did work in a manner of sorts, but it was a lot more work and occasionally my puppy would somehow miss the papers. After stepping on a particularly nasty “accident” in the middle of the night that was deviously hidden by the dark, I decided I better look into getting a crate for my puppy.

The crate training method for puppy house training is a system that greatly reduces the number of “accidents” that will most likely happen around the house before your puppy has been thoroughly house trained.  Using the crate training method requires you to keep the puppy in his crate at all times unless someone is actively watching him, and making sure to avoid any accidents. I have found that if I don’t supervise  my puppy pretty closely, I’ll be giving an accident an opportunity to happen, and as they say “accidents happen”.

• When crate training your puppy, try to keep his crate in the room you are spending most of the day in. If you work in a home office, for instance, place the kennel in the office with you, so your puppy feels more secure.  By being close to the puppy you’ll know when it is time to take him out for relief. Except for potty breaks or when you have a couple hours free for a supervised play time you’ll want to keep him in the crate-don’t let him out just because he is bored and whining .

• You can be sure he will need to have a bathroom break after he wakes up from a nap, so listen for sounds of activity in the crate, and be ready to take him out to his spot.  You will also notice your puppy will relieve himself within about 30 minutes at most after eating and drinking, so don’t put him back in the crate until that has happened.If you always bring him to the same area to relieve himself and reward him for a job well done, you will be positively reinforcing him to go where you want him to learn to go.

• Give him his food and then lots of exercise by playing and maybe a little training so the he is ready for a nice rest when he goes back in his crate. You want to tire the puppy out with by playing with him during his break from the crate, so that he’ll be ready to sleep for the next couple hours-that way he is not whining out of boredom.

• The key to making the crate training work best for your puppy is to be very consistent with the training. If you are lax about leaving him out of the crate until he is house trained, he will surely have some accidents. You don’t want any accidents at all to happen, because once they do, the puppy will be able to smell that spot even after you have cleaned it up, and may want to revisit it again.  Don’t yell or hit your puppy if he does have an accident, as this negative behavior will only serve to intimidate and confuse the puppy. If you happen to see your puppy about to squat, try to stop him with a firm “No” command, and take him outside to the regular spot.  Remember, the potty training should always focus on praise and reward for a good job-using the right spot-but don’t get negative if there is an occasional setback. The better you apply the crate training method the better and quicker results will be and the accidents won’t be a regular feature.

After using the crate training method the first time, I could tell it kicked butt on the  old fashioned newspaper technique. In fact, it took my latest puppy only about 2 weeks to become house trained.  Don’t let them out at night just for whining when they are bored-only for real potty breaks. Don’t use the crate as a punishment tool-you want him to view the crate as his safe and comfortable den, and for him to have only a positive attitude bout being in there.

If you are about to house train a new puppy, be sure  to use the crate training method. To learn a lot more about the house training of your puppy, I highly recommend the Ultimate Guide to House Training book. This excellent book gives you a very thorough blueprint on how to overcome the house training hurdles new puppy owners must face(check out my review).The Ultimate House Training Guide Review.

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