ppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay No, no, no! A puppy’s life! “No”, frequently the first word that comes to your mind when she looks up at you and starts tearing up the paper…or squats! But should it be? After all, tearing up paper is fun, going potty when the urge hits is natural…regardless of where. Don’t simply reprimand the puppy for doing what comes naturally; take some training steps to change the behavior. A well-trained puppy makes a good dog.

Training should start as soon as you bring a new puppy into your home. Why let her learn bad habits that you will have to change later? Training doesn’t need to be a struggle, but the more diligent you are; the shorter the training period will be. Basic to training, when a puppy is doing something it should not be doing in order to be a good citizen of its environment, redirect her activity and praise the new good behavior. Train yourself to recognize the “I’ve got to potty!” signs. She may suddenly start to run in circles or start sniffing the floor or, later in the training, run toward the door. She may even just give you the look. You’ll get to know it!

When not interacting directly with the puppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay c

eprimand the puppy for doing what comes naturally; take some training steps to change the behavior. A well-trained puppy makes a good dog.

Training should start as soon as you bring a new puppy into your home. Why let her learn bad habits that you will have to change later? Training doesn’t need to be a struggle, but the more diligent you are; the shorter the training period will be. Basic to training, when a puppy is doing something it should not be doing in order to be a good citizen of its environment, redirect her activity and praise the new good behavior. Train yourself to recognize the “I’ve got to potty!” signs. She may suddenly start to run in circles or start sniffing the floor or, later in the training, run toward the door. She may even just give you the look. You’ll get to know it!

When not interacting directly with the puppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay

ning doesn’t need to be a struggle, but the more diligent you are; the shorter the training period will be. Basic to training, when a puppy is doing something it should not be doing in order to be a good citizen of its environment, redirect her activity and praise the new good behavior. Train yourself to recognize the “I’ve got to potty!” signs. She may suddenly start to run in circles or start sniffing the floor or, later in the training, run toward the door. She may even just give you the look. You’ll get to know it!

When not interacting directly with the puppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay

Train yourself to recognize the “I’ve got to potty!” signs. She may suddenly start to run in circles or start sniffing the floor or, later in the training, run toward the door. She may even just give you the look. You’ll get to know it!

When not interacting directly with the puppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay

ppy and/or not being able to supervise her closely, she should be crated or confined to a small area (small relative to her size). Baby gates work well for this. Whenever the puppy whines first assume she has to go to the bathroom and take her outside…rain, shine, sleet or snow. Stay close, preferably with the puppy on a leash, so that you can offer praise immediately while she potties. Using a leash more easily allows you to, with a gentle tug, regain the attention of an easily distracted puppy and to establish a specific area of the yard for elimination. Praise must come immediately, not after the fact, so that she relates praise to going potty outside. Teach the puppy “outside?” and the language of elimination…“go potty” or “do thing”, “do other thing”, whatever terminology you wish to use; just keep it consistent and be sure everyone in the family uses the same commands and tone. Soon she will pair “outside?” and elimination. The goal is to get the puppy to eliminate on command. If a puppy is not yet used to a leash, put the leash on and carry her outside to the elimination area saying, “go outside” along the way. Put the puppy down and then switch to your command for elimination. Go inside immediately after the job is done so that she knows the phrase “outside” is for a specific purpose and was not for play. When the purpose is for play, use a different term.

Before and after playtime or walk tim