House Training
House Training & New Puppy Care


Congratulations on the addition of your new
puppy to your family. To help you and your new
puppy adjust to life together, we have provided
some helpful hints and information.
Introducing the puppy to its new home:
A new puppy is a source of cheer and warmth
everywhere. It is well documented that the
companionship of a puppy has positive benefits
for people. Even older dogs and cats seem to perk
up when a pup is introduced into the household.
Puppies give unqualified love, affection, and
devotion.

The following are suggested as “essential” items
for the new puppy:

Health records, including dates of vaccinations
and dewormings

High quality food
Food and water bowls that can be sanitized easily
and the appropriate size for your puppy

Shipping crate for a bed
Shampoo and proper grooming tools
A collar, leash and appropriate chew toys
The change of environment can cause many stress-
related problems:
Coccidiosis (a type of intestinal infection)
Tracheobronchitis (a relatively minor upper
respiratory problem)
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar from a poor
appetite or poor diet)
Dehydration (usually from not drinking enough
water)
The physical problems are often brought on by
unavoidable stress, and are similar to problems
you might have if you were moving to a new area.
Just like you, the puppy may not sleep or eat as
regularly as it would in more familiar
surroundings.Some puppies ease through the
transition to their new homes, while others may
have a harder time. If stress-related problems are
ignored, secondary problems can become serious,
even life-threatening.
Call your vet for advice ANYTIME the puppy
seems lethargic or loses its appetite. The most
important objective is to get the puppy to EAT.
Small breeds are more susceptible to
hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and may need
additional feedings in small quantities. Some
puppies require privacy, coaxing, or
companionship to eat. Every puppy is different.
The puppy’s diet should NEVER be changed
rapidly. The puppy might not eat the strange new
food, or if it does eat, develop diarrhea leading to
dehydration and other complications.
Diet changes should be made over a 1-2 week
period to prevent digestive upsets.

WATER IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT
THAN FOOD IN THE PUPPY’S EXCITED
FIRST FEW HOURS IN ITS NEW HOME.
To encourage the pup to drink and reduce the
risk of low blood sugar, you might put some
honey in its mouth or on a dish. (Too much
honey, however, will depress the appetite.) If the
puppy does not eat after these methods have been
tried, you might try:
Warming the food. Many foods are coated with
an outside “flavor” layer that enhances its appeal
when warmed. Most foods can be warmed in the
microwave, oven, or by adding warm water or
broth and soaking the food for a few minutes.

Rest is very important to the puppy.
Puppies generally sleep throughout the day,
waking only to play for a short time, eat, and
eliminate waste. Do not expect the puppy to run
and play all day. A human baby does not play all
day either. Treat your puppy just the same as if it
was a newborn infant being brought home from
the hospital, and you won’t go wrong.

Environment:
Protect the puppy from temperature variations.
Remember that it is 8-10° cooler on the floor than
it is at your eye level. Avoid drafty areas.
Completely DRY the puppy to prevent chilling
after each bath. A bath is OK whenever it is
needed, provided the puppy is thoroughly dried
to prevent chilling. A blow dryer is preferred to
insure complete drying. As a rule, puppies should
not be bathed more than once each week, unless
needed. The shampoo that is used should be pH
balanced to avoid irritation of the pet’s skin.
Portable airline shipping crates make excellent
beds for puppies, as well as aiding in
housetraining. We suggest confinement of the
puppy in a crate for the first 6-8 weeks at all
times the puppy is not closely supervised to
prevent housebreaking accidents. Puppies are
“den” animals and like the security of the crate.
Puppies are clean animals by nature. They do not
want to mess up where they stay. Cage
confinement encourages them to hold the
eliminations as long as feasible which greatly
enhances bladder and rectal tone.

Nutrition:
Feed high quality puppy foods. Avoid generic or
cheap brands!! Cheap brands of dog food
substitute low QUALITY protein sources, which
often cannot be utilized by the pup. We highly
recommend the premium, high quality foods.
These foods are much more concentrated that
typical grocery store brands. Even though these
foods cost a little more than commercial store
brands, over a month’s time, it really will not cost
you more to feed the pup, since you will be
feeding less food if you follow the chart on the
package. These foods greatly decrease stool
volume, making housetraining easier.
Feed puppies 3-4 times daily until 6 months of
age. Then feed twice daily until one year of age.
Adult dogs can be fed either once or twice daily.

Feed the puppy ALL IT WILL EAT IN 15
MINUTES each feeding. Do NOT leave the food
out continuously if you are trying to housetrain
the pup. Do not overfeed the puppy, if his belly
starts to swell, then that enough at that time.
We prefer to feed NO table scraps. These often
make the dog a “finicky eater” as well as cause
vomiting or diarrhea.
It is best to avoid milk. It is best to give no milk
since high quality commercial puppy food is
balanced to contain everything the puppy needs
for optimum growth.
The only real difference in canned and dry food is
the amount of water it contains. Canned food is
composed of 80% water. Therefore, we
recommend dry food because it is much more
economical - the nutritional content is the same.
A tablespoon of canned food can be mixed with
the dry food to enhance the flavor if you wish.
Simply warming dry food in the microwave or by
adding hot water enhances the flavor. Dry food is
also better for teeth care. Make any changes in
brands of food gradually by mixing the old food
with the new food to prevent diarrhea and
digestive upsets.
Vitamin supplementation is recommended to
increase the pet’s resistance and improve general
body health.

Housetraining:
Housetraining takes patience and persistence.
The secrets of optimum housetraining include
feeding high quality food, using a regular feeding
schedule, and confining the pet in a crate all the
time it is not under your DIRECT supervision for
the first few MONTHS as a family member.
Using these guidelines a puppy of 6-8 weeks can
be housebroken within a couple of weeks. Any
mistakes the dog makes after that will be your
mistakes, and you should consult your vet for
more information.
Housebreaking depends upon the instinct of dogs
to keep their bed clean. You can make use of this
instinct by creating a sort of home “den” for
them. Dogs are “den animals”. Their own private
place gives them a sense of security. Confinement
is NOT cruel unless abused.
Do this by constructing or obtaining a box that
will have a door or lid on it with adequate
ventilation holes. The box should be big enough
for the puppy to turn about in and even to lie at
full length, but no larger. The lid, or door, is
required to keep the puppy from climbing out.
Wire type crates with the adjustable divider  
work the best.

A puppy does not want a mess in his bed and
then sleep in it!

Now he might get caught the first night, but he
won’t the second. However, if the box is so large
that he can relieve himself in one end and sleep in
the other, he will do so. Bedding can be plain
newspaper laid out.
Remember that on the very first day it is
important to start giving the puppy all his naps in
the box. Puppies sleep 75% of the time. When
the puppy awakens from his nap, you
immediately lift him out of the box and carry him
outside to a spot that you previously have
selected.
You must take him to this spot before and after
play, always when he awakens from a nap, and
always the first thing in the morning and the last
thing at night. You must never “just put him
out”. Instead, you must take him to this spot,
urge him to go, and PRAISE him when he does.
Within a week, you’ll have him going on
command.

Points to Remember:
A dog can only understand scolding and praise if
it occurs within a half second of the event you are
trying to control.
Catching a puppy “in the act” is the best time to
scold or praise. After the event has occurred, it is
too late to scold, or praise, because the puppy
will associate your feedback with whatever he is
doing at the time, not ten minutes before.
Rubbing his nose in his mistakes is a worthless
technique and only confuses the dog.

Dogs need to relieve themselves after eating,
sleeping and playing
Feed your puppy the same time every day. This
will help keep the dog’s digestive system regular,
and it will be easier to predict when he needs to
go out.
Start housetraining on a weekend when everyone
will be home and able to help.
If a mistake happens, clean it up well and spray
an odor neutralizer on the wet spot and rub it in
well.

　

Good luck and be patient. You can train a
wonderful new friend and companion in a few
short weeks!!