[milles2]

My two house trained pretty easy with very few accidents. Tuck and Lu are my 1st 2 dogs so no expert....

1)I went by the text book information that what goes in has to come out. So within 20-45 minutes after eating, drinking a lot (I keep water down all the time) I made sure they went outside and waited for them to potty. After they wake up from a nap, after vigerous play - they also will need to potty.

That being said, I leave mine for 8-9 hours while I go to work, so enter tip #2.

2) Confine them to a small area. Many people will advise you to crate. It's great advice but not right for me. I love X Pens (can be bought at any pet supply store). So mine were given their crate w/ an extended play yard. Theory is dogs won't soil their "space". So limitimg the area they have, don't allow them full access to your house. Use baby gates, small rooms like laundry rooms or bathrooms. Allow them to keep you company/play in other parts when you can watch them carefully.

3) That's how I managed to catch them in the act! Very effective. WHen I caught both in the act I screamed "Nooooooo", picked them up mid pee/poo, and ran them outside, put them down on the grass, and said "go potty". If they did, embarassed myself telling them how truly wonderful they were!

4) To this day, I say "good pee, good poo" every single time they go anywhere in the great outdoors. People probably think I am nuts when they hear me falling all over non-puppies for going potty. I once read that praise is always good.

5) X pen or gate any particular area you don't want them in. I have a formal living room and no one goes in there. It has a light carpet calling out nto be peed on!

6) patience!

Susan