We believe that the less stress you have in teaching your puppy to potty train the better it is for you & your puppy.  So we start them out the natural way.

We do not force wean our puppies.  This means we let momma decide when to wean the puppies.  This way she can teach them all they need to know before they get to you.

Once the puppies are trying to walk and nibble on dog food (about 3 to 4 weeks) they are moved with their momma from a crate to an X-pen.  This way the little guys can have a little more room to move around in & momma can teach them about good house keeping. 

Note in the first picture we do not open the x-pen completely because then momma is going crazy trying to keep every one close enough to her (with-in her comfort zone).

These pups are a little older they are 5 weeks & we have taken mom out so you can see the setup.

Be sure to set up this way: with the bed at one end along with the food & water close to it.  Then place the paper or wewe pad on the other end. Be sure to place 1 or 2 toys in with them as well.

We start out with news paper because it has a strong smell & just like when you smell popcorn you want popcorn this same type of trigger goes off  in their minds, when they smell the paper they want to go potty (just see what happens when you put a new piece of paper down). 

If you want to change over to a litter box or wewe pads just place the news paper in the litter box or cover 1/2 of the wewe pad with the news paper for a week or so.  Then they should change over with no problem.

In this picture we have opened the xpen up all the way ( they are 24W by 24H ) these pups are 10 weeks old & mom no longer feed them, & they should have been away from her for about 2 weeks this is when you will be taking them home. SHE has already potty trained them.  We have give them the full run of the xpen when we are unable to watch them loose in the house this way, they can play & it gives them the chance to prove that mom knows what she is doing.  When some one is watching them we take them out and let them run around the house leaving the door open so they can still have access to their food & water.  But naps & eating need to be dune in the xpen because after that they will most likely poop.

"Keys to Success at Your House"

Yes every once in a while some one will wewe off the paper so we clean it up ASAP!  But this does not mean we just put out more paper to cover a larger portion of the xpen with paper.  NO! That will only make things worse. 

Keep the potty area small, & keep it clean if they potty 2 to 3 times pick up the paper, if there is to much potty on the pad or paper they will not go there because they don't want to step in it. 

Before you bring him home.

Set up the xpen as we did in this picture (not to big) this way they feel secure.  Keep it this way for the first 3 to 5 days.

Place about 6 pieces of news paper one on top of the other.  This way you have a thick wewe pad.  And once they wewe you take up the first layer.  (NOT all of the papers just the top one), because you wan to leave their sent there so they can remember this is where they went last time.  They like to go in the same area.

Every time you see them go where they should praise them, let them know they did good. 

Remember when a puppy first wakes up & shortly after he eats he will need to potty so don't take him out of his xpen for about 10 minutes after he wakes up or eats.  The xpen has a door so when your puppy is out of the xpen leave it open so he can go back in to potty & drink or eat. 

If you are not playing with or watching your puppy place him in the xpen because if you let him make a mistake on the carpet the smell is there & chances are he will go there again. 

One way you can tell he may need to go potty is if he is sniffing the ground & running around in a circle & some times they cry.  Get them & place them on the paper.

After they have had all their shots you can start taking them outside to potty.  First thing in the morning & after they eat or wake up from a nap take them out, place them in their xpen on the ground & they will learn to go in that spot so you don't have potty all over your yard. 

Rather you keep them in the house or teach them to go out side once they are consistent with the training you can do away with the xpen.  But they are so nice to have to keep your puppy safe if you have to go out for a while.  And you can take them on trips or to other family member homes and you baby will feel safe in his space.

The most important things to remember are to be consistent, praise them when they do go and remember;

 "Rome was not built in a day."