Ask A Vet: I Got A Puppy For Christmas, Now What?

My family got me a puppy for Christmas. She kept me up all night crying and barking. Now today, she’s been having a ton of accidents in the house. What do I do now? Help!

Oh goodness! What a challenging Christmas surprise! Don’t worry, it’ll get better!

Most puppies cry at night because they feel alone, particularly the first few days they’re away from their littermates and mother. You and your family are now your puppy’s pack members and she wants to be with you. At night, have her in a location where she can see and hear you. Make sure she has been well exercised and has eliminated just before bedtime. With a toy and a treat, place her in a crate and close the door. If she fusses, never go to her to calm her or let her out of the crate. Remember, all her needs have been satisfied. Any attention she receives (this includes talking to her, touching her, or even looking at her) will reinforce the crying and barking behavior because she will receive what she’s looking for—your attention. As difficult as it is, ignore her. She will eventually fall asleep.

As for the accidents, keep in mind that the predictable times puppies need to eliminate are after eating (including after treats or rawhides), drinking, resting, playing, coming out of the crate, and sleeping—usually between five and 45 minutes after one of these activities. There will be many other, less predictable times between. For these situations, look for cues from your puppy that she may need to go to the bathroom. Some of these include pacing, whining, circling, suddenly stopping other behavior, and sniffing the ground. If you find her giving one of these cues, calmly and swiftly take her out to an appropriate place to eliminate.

Most importantly, when your puppy does eliminate in the appropriate place, make sure to let her know by praising her quietly when she begins to eliminate. Praise her more exuberantly and offer a small treat after she eliminates quickly. This distinction between going to the bathroom in the right place and going to the bathroom in the right place quickly becomes important in the upcoming cold winter months. 

Anywhere your puppy has had an accident, clean the soiled area with an odor neutralizer such as Nature’s Miracle. This type of product is different from normal carpet cleaners. It neutralizes the smell of the accident to decrease the chances of your puppy returning to the same location to eliminate.  

What I’ve included above are the basics of housetraining. As with all training, consistency and patience are the keys to success. Accidents will happen, but you should continue to see improvement from your puppy each week. Talk to your veterinarian for more tips on housetraining, particularly if you don’t feel like you’re making progress. Puppies, with their immature immune systems are at risk for urinary tract infections, which can interfere with successful housetraining. Having a urine sample examined may reveal a reason for delayed improvement with housetraining.  

For more information on crate training, read an excerpt of the 120-page book I wrote for puppy owners.