Housebreaking Tips for Your Puppy
Jeff and Katherine Fuller 01.11.13
The first major hurdle in a young pup’s life begins with housebreaking. There’s nothing more stressful for the pup and the new owner than having to keep a constant eye on a bounding floppy-eared ball of energy to insure that carpets and floors are safe from foul secretions.
Crate training Floppy Ears gives a great boost to propelling him/her onto the path to potty freedom. Start Floppy out with its crate as a home base of operation. Floppy will soon learn that the crate is his or her safe zone, and will respect their new house by not soiling it. Keep Floppy in the crate for periods of time when he or she isn’t being closely watched. When it’s time for Floppy Ears to emerge, take him or her immediately outside to perform their duty. Praise Floppy Ears for a job well done when you get the desired result. Then take Floppy back inside with the family for a romp around the house.
After enjoying his freedom outside of the crate for an hour or so, have Floppy again retreat to the crate. Repeat this sequence for several weeks and you will be well on your way to having Floppy Ears house trained.
Another helpful tip would be to take Floppy to the same area in your yard for his or her duty. The scent of yesterday’s work shows Floppy that this is an acceptable location. With that in mind, remember to clean accident locations in your house. The scent of past misdeeds could cause a similar failure in your training process.
Using these techniques consistently should help ease the stress of housebreaking your new pup.
This article is brought to you by Loyall Pet Food.
Jeff Fuller, Host and Executive Producer of SportingDog Adventures, always loved dogs and hunting, but never expected to make a career out of it. Jeff followed his college career and time in the Army Reserve with a career in law enforcement, until a squad accident ended his career in 2005. Looking for a new path, Jeff began to expand his Labrador breeding program and incorporated Soggy Acres Retrievers. Appearances on local television shows inspired him to aim higher, and SportingDog Adventures was created to provide wholesome, family entertainment geared towards those with an interest in dogs and the outdoors. The show is now in its 4th season, with new episodes beginning each July on the Pursuit Channel, as well as several other networks including The Walk, Tuff TV, and Wild TV Canada. The show is also available year-round online at www.carbontv.com.
Katherine Fuller, wife of Jeff Fuller, came from a dog-loving family with a history of hunting that goes all the way back to her European roots. Still, she never expected to end up using her years of accounting experience and her marketing degree in support of a Labrador breeding program and a hunting show. In addition to her accounting and PR duties with Soggy Acres Retrievers kennel and SportingDog Adventures TV, Kate also appears on many of the episodes, and has also formed a marketing company, Brown Dog Communications, offering the outdoors industry media kits, press releases, web content, social media management, and more. Her contributions to OutdoorHub and other samples of her work can be found at www.browndogco.com. When she’s not writing or chasing after the dogs or the kids, she enjoys researching recipes and natural products, as well as organizing the family’s extensive photo collection.
