House Training Your Dog

Dogs have an innate instinct to keep their living space clean. Starting at around 3 weeks of age, puppies naturally attempt to move away from their nest to relieve themselves. At this early stage, they may only take a few steps, but as they grow, they gradually seek out more distant and appropriate areas for elimination. This natural cleanliness instinct works in our favor, but it’s important to understand how to make the most of it. Taking both your puppy’s biological and behavioral development into account is key to successful house training.

First, let's look at the puppy's development schedule:

3 to 4 weeks: Spontaneous reflex

• Pressure in the bladder
• Restlessness and moving away from the nest
• Crouching position
• Elimination
• Move away from elimination site
• Return to nest

After 4 weeks: Spontaneous reflex and onset of conditioning

• Pressure in the bladder
• Search for previous odors of elimination (smells the ground and turns in circles)
• Assume squatting position
• Elimination
• Move away from elimination site
• Return to nest

After 8 weeks: Conditioned reflex

• Pressure in the bladder
• More elaborate search for elimination site (feels the ground longer and looks for the right place)
• Assumption of squatting position
• Elimination
• Move away from elimination site
• Return to yard activity