The number one main concern for nearly all new puppy owners is housetraining. Very few people are lucky enough to get a puppy that is already trained. There are two methods that are both very helpful for housetraining and you can use either of them or you can also use both of them simultaneously.

The first way you can get started training your puppy is by using vigilance and noticing his conduct. Puppies will hunker down to urinate or defecate. As soon as you see you puppy starting to change his posture and starting to hunker down you will need to scoop him up and take him out to his designated spot. If you happen to fail to spot the signs and he has an accident you should not scold him as he still does not know just what is expected of him and scolding will just terrify him.

Also, if you miss the signs completely and you find an mistake later it will not do you any good to scold him them. Dogs cannot rationalize and they do not comprehend what they are being scolded for after the fact. They can only relate to what is happening right now. If you rebuke your puppy it will just puzzle and startle him and cause you more effort in the future.

The newspaper method is the second way of housetraining your puppy. Cover the full floor where your puppy runs around. He will do his business on the newspaper and he will quickly learn that the paper is tolerable. You must then slowly but surely take away more and more newspaper until there is only a small piece left. Then you will be able to take the newspaper outside to the designated spot. He will then start going there where the paper is.

Both of these methods can be very successful. You may want to use the first method of vigilance during the day and the newspapers at night. If you are frequently on the go with other things you may want to use the newspaper method more regularly.

Infrequently a puppy will go through a juncture where he seems to “unlearn” all that you thought he already knew. This is a common event even though it can be very maddening. Do not chastise him for it.

You can use his own inborn dog behavior to get him back on track. A dog will not foul in his own space. Use a crate and make it comfy for him. Let him nap in his crate and when you let him out, straight away take him to his selected spot. He will have to alleviate himself right away and he will quickly learn that this is the only correct spot to do his business.

Housetraining does not need to be daunting or intimidating. Either or both of these two methods along with some persistence can have your new puppy housetrained before you know it.