Adopting Puppies - Puppy's Schedule

Adopting Puppies A Puppy Owner's Manual

Puppy's Schedule

The following is an example of a puppy schedule

Most important activities for puppies are:

eating
eliminating
exercising and playing
sleeping

You will find it helpful to create a schedule to organize puppy's activities, however, it fits into your 24 hours.

This is a day shift schedule

Morning:

6:30 Puppy's first meal
6:45 To the Housebreaking Spot
7:00 Allow Puppy to Play and Exercise, or have a training session of any kind with puppy, according to age and ability
8:00 Back to Crate

Afternoon:

12:00 to 12:15 Second Feeding
12:15 To the Housebreaking Spot
12:30 Allow puppy to play outside or inside or have a training session of any kind with puppy, according to age and ability
1:30 Back to the Housebreaking Crate

Evening:

5:00 to 5:15 Third Feeding
5:15 to 5:30 To the Housebreaking Spot
5:30 to 6:30 Allow puppy to play outside or inside, or have a training session of any kind with puppy
If there is someone to supervise puppy, leave he or she out of the crate until bedtime. Watch puppy closely for accidents in the house. When they occur, and they will, be ready to give puppy a stern "NO" and then lead puppy with collar and lead (once trained to this) to the housebreaking spot. If not trained to collar and lead, just pick up puppy and take to the spot. During this time, if puppy does not make mistakes, still take he or she to the housebreaking spot several times, giving your command, and if done appropriately give a treat and lots of praise.

In Summary

Dogs like routine and schedules. If you can stick to the same routine every day, you will have a housebroken puppy much quicker than you think. You can also have a better behaved puppy when you stick to routines of training every day. You cannot expect a perfect dog unless you put forth some effort to properly train the dog as well as being considerate of the animal's need for routine and schedules.

Don't give in to crying while puppy is in confinement. The confinement can only end when puppy is housebroken.

Don't be alarmed by accidents in the crate. Just clean them up and strive forward to a day when they will be no more!
Don't cry and mumble and grumble about it and say, Oh my God, there is a mess of poop in that crate.
That dog should know better than that. I thought dogs did not like to mess their crates.
This must not be a real "purebred" dog
or that breeder is the cause of this dog being like this.
If the dog was better taken care of, he would come to me in perfect shape, never making a poop mess anywhere!
That dog is probably the result of "inbreeding."

All the above is not necessary to chew upon. Stick to a schedule and your dog will soon be doing exactly as you want them to do. Don't create a schedule, don't teach your dog anything, and more than likely you will end up with a dog you cannot live with. Dogs have to be trained to do what you want them to do. They do not come from the breeder knowing all things to do to make you happy! If you bring in an 8 week old puppy, you have brought in an infant who knows very little about anything other than their needs to: