House breaking is a stressful time in a puppy and owner’s life. They have left their littermates and are now out in the world with so much to learn. House breaking takes time, commitment and a great deal of patience. How you handle housebreaking will inevitably mold the relationship with your new pup. This is the time where you need to positively reinforce him so he learns patience and understanding from human contact and not pain or fear. Here are a few hints that we hope can make this time less stressful and more fun.

• Young puppies have small bladders and even less control. Frequent trips out side are the basis to establishing correct behavior. We recommend that you get an oven timer. Begin by setting it for 45-minute increment. When the timer goes off, bring the pup out side. *Anytime the pup "goes" out side give him/her a huge amount of praise followed by a very special treat such as a small piece of cheese or low fat hotdog. You want to make it yummy, let him/her know that it will only get that yummy treat when it does its business. Give your praise with enthusiasm and joy; let him/her know just how very proud you are. Eventually you can add increments of 15 minutes to the trips outside.

• As soon as the puppy eats, drinks or wakes up from a nap; take it immediately outside. Limit his/her water. Make set times for the water so that when you know he/she is drinking you know that it is time to take a trip out. Do make sure that the pup is getting enough water, but observe the times and offer it several times a day.

• We recommend crate training for the safety of the animal and the house it lives in. The space given in a crate should only be enough to stand up and turn around. Many pet stores offer dividers that can be placed in the larger crates and moved back as the puppy grows. Any time the pup is taken out of the crate he/she should be taken immediately outside. This will become habit. One important thing to remember is to NEVER use the crate as punishment. A crate should be looked to as a safe haven and not detested. A fleece toy and a nice treat going in will help to make it a pleasant place.

• It is inevitable that your dog will have an accident at some point. NEVER EVER strike, rubs its nose in it or any other type of negative behavior. Simply clean up the mess with a product that is made to eradicate the odor and ignore the pup while doing so. He/she only wants to please you. If the pup thinks that "going" is negative he/she may start to hide it from you and you could find "presents" all over the house because he/she is afraid to go in from of you anywhere and that would be a much harder habit to break.

We wish you success and happiness with the new addition to your family. As we have said throughout the adoption process, please do not hesitate to call with any problems. If we do not have the answer we will find out who does.