Your puppy is outside digging in your flower bed. You yell “Come Here” and your puppy doesn’t come so you march over to him, smack his bottom, and say “Stupid dog. I said COME HERE!”. Your puppy is no dummy. He is now thinking that “Come Here” means he is in trouble and will be punished.

Now he is outside playing and it is dinner time. You tell him to “Come Here” and he runs away. So you go get him and drag him inside so he can eat his food. You’re thinking Dumb Dog and say sternly “Why don’t you COME when I say COME HERE?”. Your puppy thinks “Hummm, my memory is right. ‘Come Here’ means I’m in Trouble and am going to be Punished. I had better run away from my angry owner.”

This is how crate training works: your puppy is in the crate at all times unless she’s eating, outside with you going to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)

You’ll need to be consistent, or else it won’t work: you can’t let your puppy wander off through the house unless you’re focusing your complete attention on her. If you allow her access to the house before she’s thoroughly house trained, you’re basically encouraging her to relieve herself inside - and remember, each time she does this, it’ll be easier for her to do it again (and again… and again…).

Sample schedule of a morning’s crate training

7am: Wake up. Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back outside for another toilet break (accompanied by you, of course.)
7.50 - 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, cuddled, etc.
8.45: Outside for another toilet break.
8.50 - 11: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
11.05 - 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch time.
12.45: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
1 - 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap.

… and so on throughout the day.

Crate training usually takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate - but beware of doing this too soon!

Puppies respond to two things - affection and food (treats). Actually there are more than just these two but most result in a nervous and fearful puppy, such as happens by using a loud, mean voice. My first choice would be to use affection as a reward in training your puppy. That way you don’t have to carry a pocketful of treats with you at all times.

Some dogs just learn faster with treats as their reward but if you are patient you will find that most puppies will want to learn from you if they know it pleases you. You show that it pleases you with affection. Pet your puppy, say “Good Boy (or Girl)”, but don’t turn it into a play session. During training sessions the goal is to teach your puppy a behavior, not to play.

Using treats or using affection is your choice, but always be patient and calm. During training no harsh tones or loud commands are allowed. A firm voice is fine so that your puppy learns that you mean business just as long as you control it. And above all, do not get frustrated. After all, a puppy is just a baby dog that happens to learn a whole lot faster than a baby human :)

The New Arrival 

As soon as you bring the puppy home, take her outside. She will have to go anyway because of the excitement of the car journey coupled with the unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds. If you can work it out so that her first toilet break occurs outside instead of inside, then so much the better. And not just from the perspective of short-term hygiene, either - the more your puppy relieves herself inside, the more likely she is to do it again.

The homecoming is a great opportunity for you to set a precedent for toilet behavior!

- Take her to the area you picked as the potty area, and put her down on the grass.

- Wait while she sniffs around. Do not pet her or play with her because you don’t want her to associate this area with playtime and games. You are potty training your puppy and she has to learn that this part of the yard is for potty breaks only.

- When she begins to relieve herself, say the phrase you want her to associate with potty breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever works for you. It’s best if that phrase is short and easily recognizable. Use the same voice inflection each time so that your dog can easily learn the meaning of the phrase.

- When she’s done, make a big fuss over her. Shower her with praise and affection, and give her a little treat.

When you take her inside the house, the house training should start immediately.

As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time. Crate-training is the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you’re not actively supervising her or at home.

Crate training is based on all dogs’ dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you’re restricting your puppy’s movement to her sleeping space, she’ll instinctively “hold it in” until she’s let out of the crate (provided you don’t leave her in there too long, of course!)

This is why it’s important that the crate is sized properly: if it’s too big, she’ll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!

You walk through the door and your puppy is all over you, lavishing you with affection and wanting to play. Your puppy behaves like he hasn’t seen you for days, even though all you did was make a quick run to the store. What do you do? Why of course you return the affection and play with your puppy. Why? Because that is what you want to do. And you don’t want to hurt your puppy’s feelings. After all, puppies give unconditional love, are so cute, and are a great source of entertainment and companionship.

Now let us take a look at what just happened. Your puppy has trained you to give her affection by misbehaving. Yes, I said misbehaving. And your puppy will expect the same results from others when they walk through the door so she will jump on them, pull at their pants leg, and nip their heels (there’s the misbehaving part). And remember, your puppy will grow up to be a full size dog that will jump up on people, pull at their pants or sleeves, and nip (bite) them - trying to get the same attention that she trained you to give her as a puppy.

I’ll bet right now you’re saying “That’s NOT what I want!” and then “But what do I do?”. Lets try the following.

You walk through the door and your puppy is all over you, lavishing you with affection and wanting to play. Do not even acknowledge that your puppy is in the same room. Do not make eye contact. Do not say a word to your puppy, no matter what. Just walk on by, open your mail, hang up your coat or whatever you would normally do if you did not have the puppy. In a short while your puppy will give up and sit. Immediately say ‘Sit’ and calmly praise your puppy - even give him a treat. In due time your puppy will learn to associate sitting and being calm with getting the affection he wants. And he has also learned the ‘Sit’ command.

What just happened? Your puppy has learned that jumping on you (and other people) won’t get him anything. Remember, even a scolding at this point is a form of attention. You have trained your puppy instead of your puppy training you. You are the boss - the alpha. And this behavior will carry on into adulthood. Now you have a dog that, when a guest or other family member walks into the house, will sit and remain calm. Your friends will look forward to coming over, instead of dreading it because they know the dog is going to jump on them.

Teaching your puppy to sit is the beginning point for obedience training, or just teaching him tricks. He will look forward to learning from you because he has learned that he will receive the affection he craves.

For more information -
For further information on typical puppy behavior, including a fantastic resource for training how-to’s and loads of detailed information on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors, check out SitStayFetch. Written by a professional dog-trainer, it’s an absorbing guide that deals with all the subjects a responsible dog-owner could ever want to know about - well worth a look.

Here is the link to SitStayFetch - Just Click Here.