Because your long-term confinement area is sparsely furnished by necessity, it may be boring to your poodle. Provide him with at least one treat stuffed Kong toy and plenty of other safe chew toys so when he is awake he has something to do. Rotate the toys to keep things interesting.

Create An Indoor Potty Spot

For a Toy Poodle, you can consider using a litter box designed for dogs, or special pee pads. Some dog experts recommend that the indoor potty area should mimic what you want him to use outside. If he will be going on grass outside use a patch of sod.

When you return home, take your poodle outside and reward him when he goes. If your puppy has used his indoor potty area, clean it up, but don’t worry about trying to eliminate the urine odor. You want him to be attracted to that area.

Try to monitor how much he eliminates while you’re gone. You should find less and less mess as your poodle gets bigger and begins to understand that eliminating outside earns him rewards.

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Providing your poodle with an indoor crate can satisfy a dog’s need for a den-like enclosure. Dogs like a place they can curl up in and feel secure. Most dogs who have been introduced to a crate while they are young, grow up to prefer their crate for sleeping or relaxing in.

Crates can help reduce separation anxiety, prevent destructive behavior, such as chewing, and keep your puppy away from dangerous household items like electrical wires. You can leave your puppy home alone with peace of mind. He is comfortable and not forming bad habits.

Getting Your Poodle Used To The Crate

• From the first day home your poodles new life with you should include her crate. But if your poodle isn’t thrilled with the crate you can take some steps to make her more comfortable with it.
• Leave the crate door open when she isn’t in it. Every so often toss a treat inside, so that when she walks by she’ll smell the treat, go in and get rewarded. If that’s not enough to make her feel better about the crate, feed her in the crate to change her associations with it.
• Provide safe toys and occasional treats while your puppy is confined in the crate. Your puppy should have a wide variety of toys for chewing, distraction, and comfort.
• Put the crate in a place where you spend most of your time. This will encourage your puppy to go inside the crate without feeling lonely.

If your poodle whines and cries in the crate, ignore her objections. Don’t yell at her or whack the top of the crate! You should not let her out of the crate while she’s complaining. any of these reactions will promote future complaining. Only let your poodle out of the crate when she’s being quiet.

Using The Crate

When you are gone, or when you are busy and cannot watch your puppy, you should keep him confined to his crate. Be sure your puppy has eliminated before placing him in his crate, and take him to his designated area as soon as you take him out of his crate.

Be sure to give him something to do when he’s in the crate. Give your pup a kong toy stuffed with his food or peanut butter, he’ll spend a happy hour or so cleaning it out and then will settle in for a nap. If your poodle has a favorite toy he likes to sleep with, put it in there with him.

Bedtime Crating

Until your poodle is house trained, keep him in his crate in your bedroom, while you sleep. Ignore any protestations on his part. Be sure to take him out to potty right before bed and take him out again the instant you get up in the morning.

If your puppy cries at night and you think he needs to go out, respond quickly. Carry him outside to potty, praise him after he goes and bring him right back to his crate.

Nighttime breaks should be about going to the bathroom and nothing else. If he cries after you’ve just taken him out and you’re sure that’s not the reason for his crying, ignore him. He will settle back down.

How Long Is Too Long?

Don’t crate a very young puppy for more than a couple of hours. A rule of thumb is that a dog can be crated for one hour per month of age.

Between 7 and 16 weeks of age is when a puppy learns to eliminate outside his sleeping area. It’s imperative not to leave your pup in the crate so long, she’s forced to soil it. Being confined with their waste products retards the housebreaking process. That’s why puppies who have been purchased from a pet store, or were kept solely in small cages may be harder to crate train. In some cases, this problem will continue throughout the dog’s life.

If your puppy does have an accident in his crate, do not punish him. Wash it out with a pet odor neutralizer.

If you must leave your poodle for more than a few hours, you’ll need to put him in a long-term confinement area, rather than a crate.

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Depending on the age and size of the puppy, you’ll probably feed him three times a day, or perhaps four if he’s very young. After 5 months of age, two meals a day are usually appropriate.

Offer your puppy water three to five times a day. Puppies need about one cup if water for every eight pounds of body weight per day. If the weather is hot, allow him free access to water and take him out accordingly.

• At feeding time; leave food and water down for 20 minutes. Your pup will soon learn to eat when fed. The exception to this is if the puppy is tiny and under 5 pounds. Very small puppies may need food available to them at all times. Ask your veterinarian what he or she recommends.
• Do not add yummy extras to the food, if the puppy doesn’t eat. This is the road to picky eating and may upset his stomach. The occasional skipped meal, as long as the puppy is energetic, drinking normally and has normal stools, is usually nothing to worry about.
• Changing foods suddenly can upset his stomach and cause diarrhea. Find one food, preferably dry and stick to it. If you must change foods, do so over the period of a few days, adding in a bit of the new food every day.
• Some puppies always eat well, some never do, and some eat ravenously every few days, picking at their food in between. Unless your pup is losing weight and vet is concerned, don’t worry about it. All these patterns are normal.
• If your puppy is defecating five or more times a day and/or has soft stools, take a stool sample to your vet to be checked for worms.
• If your puppy consistently drinks large amounts of water or is urinating frequently (more than 10 or more times a day) or urinating tiny amounts all over the place, talk to your vet.

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General Housebreaking Rules

You will have to monitor your puppy at all times. Generally a new puppy will have to go to the bathroom every one to two hours. The younger the puppy is and the smaller the breed, the more often they will have to go. So be sure to give your poodle the chance to eliminate outdoors at least this frequency, no matter how inconvenient. Never rub his nose in it, yell, spank or swat him. He is a baby.

Prevention and Routine

The are certain times when your puppy will usually always have to go; when he first wakes up, a half hour after eating and drinking, after a play session and before bedtime. These potty preferences are individual. You will need to observe your poodle and figure out his unique schedule.

Monitor Your Puppy At All Times

Out of site is into trouble. If your pup likes to run out of site, keep a lead on him in the house. If your poodle makes a mistake in the house it’s really your mistake. You shouldn’t give your pup an opportunity to go in the house. Always watch him carefully so if he does start to go, you can scoop him up and take him to the spot where you want him to eliminate.

Give Your Pup A Safe Area

Your puppy will need a safe area he can rest and relax in when you are not home or cannot watch him. A crate, x-pen or other small confined area. Be sure to leave some toys so he doesn’t get bored when he’s alone and isn’t tired.

Feeding & Watering Schedule

What goes in on a schedule will come out on a schedule. Feed your puppy a healthy diet – in the same place and at the same times each day. During the training period, do not let your puppy have access to water at all times. Put out water when you feed him and offer him some several times a day before you take him to his potty area. Also, limit treats during the training period.

Designate A Potty Spot

Take your puppy to the same spot each time. This will stimulate him to go more quickly and will help him learn exactly why he’s there. Never send your puppy outside unsupervised to go potty. Stay with him and make sure he goes.

Use A Potty Command

Train your puppy to go to the bathroom on command by using on special phrase such as Go Potty! This way your puppy will learn it must stop fooling around and do it’s business. In the future, particularly when you are in a hurry or traveling, you’ll be glad to have a cue so that your poodle understands when it’s an appropriate time and place to go.

Praise Your Puppy

Just as your puppy finishes eliminating, in a quiet voice tell him what a good doggie he is. Dogs repeat activities that are rewarding to them, so let your puppy know when he has pleased you.

When Accidents Happen

Don’t get upset and don’t punish the puppy, it can set back the housebreaking process drastically, especially if your puppy is shy or nervous. It is important for the puppy to learn that the act of relieving itself is not wrong, it is the act of relieving itself in the house that is wrong. Make sure to clean the area with a pet odor neutralizer. NEVER use a product with ammonia in it. Ammonia is in urine and the smell will be an invitation to go there again.

Caught in the Act

If you catch your poodle making a mistake, make a startling sound by clapping your hands. This will often stop him mid pee. The scoop him up and take him to the right spot. When he finishes what he started, praise him.

Don’t Expect Too Much Too Soon

Please, don’t expect your puppy to be completely housebroken until six months of age. Even at 4 months old, puppies have little bladder or bowel control.

Housebreaking An Older Dog

The same methods for housebreaking a puppy can be used for an older dog as well. Establish your dog’s sleeping, eating, and elimination area. Spend as much time with your dog as possible and be patient. Give yourself and your new adult dog time to get to know each other.

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