Puppies are hard! However, if you put the time in now, you and your puppy will be so much happier! We recommend using a crate for house breaking. The crate should only be big enough for the puppy to stand up, turn around and lie down. If the crate is too big, the puppy will be able to pee and poop on one side, and sleep on the other. The idea is to make it uncomfortable for them if they do have an accident. If they have to lie in it, they won’t be happy. If you aren’t going to want to use wee wee pads forever, don’t start with them. It is ok to take your puppy out in your own backyard. Keep your puppy on a leash and take them to the same spot every time. Use the same words and commands every time, especially making sure to praise and reward them like crazy when they do go. Puppies are creatures of habit and puppies have to go out frequently. As soon as they wake up they should be taken outside. If they don’t pee, take them back inside and keep them in your sight. The puppy must stay in the room you are in. You can close the door, use a gate to block the doorway, or keep him on leash near to you, but he must be near to you. If you plan to leave the room for more than a minute (literally), the pup either comes with you on leash or goes into his safe confinement area. This will not only prevent mistakes from happening without your knowledge, it will keep him safe as well. Second, watch for signs of impending urination or defecation. These include wandering away from you, sniffing the floor, restlessness, whining, panting, and circling. Then take the puppy out every 5 or 10 minutes until he or she goes. Certain things frequently bring on a need to go, and they include chewing heavily on a toy, eating, ten minutes or so after a big drink, waking up from a nap, or after a heavy play. When you see any of these signs take your puppy outside and try again! It’s a process! However, the puppy will learn quickly as long as you are consistent and you will both get into a routine. It will also help to limit the puppy’s water intake to meal times and after exercise, don’t leave it down all day. Remember never use the crate as punishment. During the day, puppies spend a lot of time in their crate. There is nothing wrong with that. If you cannot directly supervise the puppy, it should be in its crate. Puppies like to eat anything and everything. They don’t know that shoes and socks aren’t toys or food! For more training tips, we recommend that you check out trainer Brian Kilcommon’s website www.greatpets.com. Play with your puppy’s feet, teeth and ears a lot. This gets them used to being handled. That way, when they come here or go for grooming they will be used to it. We will show you how to clean your puppy’s ears and clip its nails. Clipping nails can be tricky and we will always be available to you to do that. We will also go over teeth brushing. We also recommend socializing your puppy as much as you can, we just ask that you be careful. Your puppy is not fully vaccinated so we don’t recommend taking it to dog parks or pet stores but we DO recommend that you let your puppy play with dogs you know that are healthy and vaccinated. We do suggest that you wait 2 weeks for puppy play time- just in case your puppy breaks with anything like a cold and until we get the results of the fecal analysis. Also, make sure to bring the puppy with you to experience new situations and people so he or she feels comfortable with them.