Thursday, February 28, 2008

How to Housebreak Your Puppy in 15 Minutes Using the 5 Minute Rule


I brought my puppy to the vet the other day and saw this in the office. It's another method for housebreaking your puppy. It's similar to the one I wrote last month, but has a few different tips on keeping to a housebreaking schedule:

1. Take your puppy outside first thing in the morning for 5 minutes. (Be consistent, try to do this at the same time everyday.)

2. Bring the puppy back inside and feed him/her whatever he can eat in 5 minutes.

3. Take the food away and bring the puppy back outside for another 5 minutes.

4. Reward and praise your puppy for urinating or defecating outside.

5. Repeat this again in the afternoon and evening.

This method is a proven and recommended way to housetrain your pet. If you catch your puppy in the act of urinating in the house, you should immediately say NO in a loud voice, make a loud noise, or give the pet a quick squirt from a water bottle and take the dog outside immediately.

Your puppy will associate the negative reinforcement with urinating or defecating in the house. Any negative reaction after the accident has occurred will do no good to prevent future accidents. You have to catch your pet in the act of having an accident.

Rubbing your dog's nose in his/her accident or hitting the puppy is strongly discouraged. It may cause your pet to fear you. Stay positive and your pet will be housetrained in no time.