posted 07-30-2003 07:14 AM         

Pupppies are warm, fuzzy creatures that grow up to be man's, as well as woman's, best friend. While they are still young, they must be trained to do, and not do, some things. One of their needs is to be paper-trained. You can start to train them when they reach six to eight weeks of age. When a puppy is paper-trained, it knows to potty on a certain spot which is covered with newspapers. The newspapers can then be picked up and discarded.

To start paper-training your puppy, pick a spot away from his or her food and water dishes. You want your puppy to not associate eating and drinking with pottying. Lay down several layers of newspaper on the designated spot. Your puppy, at least at this stage, should not be left to roam the entire house. He or she should be confined to a large-enough space to play in and run around in unless you let him or her out to play.

Next, place your puppy on the newspapers and tell him or her to go potty. Granted, they are not going to understand what you are saying at first. But, keep doing this every couple of hours or so,and especially place them on the newspapers after they have eaten or drank water. As much as puppies tend to eat and drink, and if you place them on the newspapers often enough,sooner or later her or she will catch on to what you want and potty on the paper. Praise your puppy and maybe even give them a treat when this happens.

In the mean time, your puppy will still be pottying at various other places. Scold him or her and them "No". If they are out of their area playing, for example, you can put them back into their confined area as a kind of puppy time out to help teach them that they did wrong. Never rub your puppy's nose in their mess. This definitely does not teach them anything. Never hit a puppy either. When a mess is made, be surre to clean it up thoroughly. If there is any scent left behind, your puppy will find that spot again and will want to potty there again. And, if your puppy isout of its space, running around, and you suddenly see him or her squat, grab them and immediately place them on the newspapers in their potty place. This will help to reinforce the idea that they should potty on the newspapers.

Keep placing your puppy on the designated newspaper and telling them to potty there. Have your family members help you in doing this. In time, your puppy will catch on to what you want him or her to do, and will do it! pAPER training a puppy takes plenty of time and patience, but it is well worth the effort. You alos have to keep in mind that puppies are like any baby in that their little systems are still very small, and they cannot hold much food and water for very long. Therefore, they need to potty very often until they grow up and become full-sized dogs.

Once your puppy learns about paper training, he or she will remember it from then on.

Title: How do I potty train my new puppy?
Description: Potty train your new puppy by using the newspaper method.