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Housebreaking Your New Puppy Veterinarians are frequently asked questions about housebreaking a dog. Probably the best way is to feed the dog what it will eat in 15-20 minutes, take all food away, then put your pet outside for 15-20 minutes. Food consumption stimulates bowel movement and most dogs will eliminate at that time and not need to go again until after being fed again. This method is especially good when started as a puppy. Puppies should be fed four times a day until they are three months old, three times a day until six months old, then twice daily. We used to recommend once daily feeding after six months, but due to complications seen in some older dogs with once-daily feeding, we not recommend always feeding twice daily. An added benefit of this method of housebreaking is that taking the food away from the animal after 15 minutes, and not allowing other food, helps keep your dog from becoming obese. The other most popular method of housebreaking is crate training. This is most effective in the dog that has never been put in its crate as punishment. Most dogs do not like to be around animal waste any more than we do so they do not normally soil where they will spend time. To be effective the crate should be just big enough for the dog to turn around and lie down comfortably. If necessary you can block off part of the crate to this size and let the puppy have more room as it grows to still maintain enough space for it to turn around and lie in comfortably. The puppy should be in the crate during nap time, nighttime, mealtime and any time you are too busy to monitor his activities, such as times when you are watching TV, conversing with others, or other times you may be distracted and allow him to have an accident on the floor. This also helps prevent the unhealthy habit of begging, thereby lessening his probability of getting fat. These are the most common methods of housebreaking your dog. If you have further questions, or want more specific information, your veterinarian is trained and will be glad to help you with them.
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article has been provided courtesy of Howard County Veterinary Service.
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