1. When your pup relieves itself, place it promptly on the sheets of paper that you will have placed on the kitchen floor.
2. Soon the pup will look for the newspaper when it needs to answer the call of nature.
3. Gradually decrease the amount of paper and leave a sheet or two by the back door.
4. Slowly begin opening the back door when the pup starts to head toward it, and encourage it to go outside.
5. Once you are outside with your puppy, give him a command that he will associate with relieving itself. Also try to take the puppy out to the same area and at the same time keep calling out the command so it makes the connection. I like to use “hurry up” some people like “go piddle”. Either one works providing you are consistent with your routine.

My recommendation to house breaking is to try and teach your puppy to go outdoors! A puppy should be let out first thing in the morning.

Rule 1: Once the puppy wakes up after each meal, after playing, after each nap and before bed, they usually want to relieve themselves. Once you have brought your pup home, take him outdoors so he can relieve himself. Wait until he does then take him indoors. Thereafter, when you let him out, take him back to the same spot and give him the command, “Hurry up”. Use the same word each time so that the puppy will associate the act with the words. If you notice your puppy circling and sniffing the floor, he probably wants to go out. If your puppy makes a mistake; be sure to clean the spot thoroughly with some all purpose cleaner. If he makes a mistake in the house, take him over to the spot, saying in a deep tone…What did you do? Go out. The puppy will also learn the go out command. It is also helpful to start taking his water away around 5pm. A very young puppy has a hard time holding it through the night. The average puppy is anywhere from twelve to fourteen weeks old before he can go from 10:00pm to 6:00am comfortably. For the older puppy who is slow in going through the whole night, tie him to the bed; if he has to relieve himself, he will whine and ask you to let him out.

Puppy Vaccinations
In most cases you will get your puppy around 8 weeks. The breeder or vet should have already given your puppy its first set of shots. Over the next month and a half your puppy will be vulnerable to infectious diseases than at any other time in its life. Therefore it is very important you keep your puppy isolated from other dogs.

Vaccination Schedule

6 Weeks:   Measles/Modified Live Distemper Vaccine
8 Weeks:   Parvovirus/ CAV 2
10 Weeks: Modified Live Distemper Vaccine
12 Weeks: Parvovirus/ CAV 2
16 Weeks: Intranasal Bordetella (kennel cough)/Parainfluenza
6 Months:  Killed Rabies Vaccine
1 Year Booster Modified Live Distemper/Parvovirus Vaccine

Rules of Vaccination

1. Do not inoculate your puppy when it is stressed as the vaccine won’t take. The most common cause of vaccine failure is poor nutrition.

2. Do not expose your puppy to other dogs or take it to the park, puppy kindergarten or other places dogs might be until the puppy has been completely vaccinated.

3. Be an informed consumer and do not “over vaccinate’ your puppy for diseases it will not be exposed to.

Neutering

Responsibilities as a pet owner / For Health and Well Being: Neutering, also called altering or sterilizing, refers to the surgical removal of an animal’s reproductive organs. A male dog’s testicles are removed in surgery called a gonadectomy, or castration. A female dog’s ovaries and uterus are removed in surgery called an ovariohysterectomy, or spay surgery. Controlling the dog population is one of the greatest benefits of neutering.

A female comes in season twice a year, and lasts three weeks. Spaying your puppy prevents pregnancy, aggravating blood stains, and the other  unwanted males on your front lawn.

Male dogs are able to breed from 5 to 9 months old depending on the breed. Intact males like to mark their territory i.e. bed–with urine. It is not uncommon for him to engage in a mounting session with your pillow. Roaming for receptive females Is also very common.

Why Neuter or Spay?

Neutering makes for a healthier pet. Castrated dogs have fewer fights. There aggression levels are reduced. Castration also eliminates any chance of testicular cancer, which research indicates accounts for up to 7 percent of all canine tumours. Prostate problems are suffered by more than 60 percent of sexually intact male dogs over the age of 5; neutering drastically reduces the chance of your dog ever having this problem. Spaying eliminates problems with serious uterine infections. It also reduces the chance of mammary cancer.

Myths

Breeding your dog is not “good for it,” and intact males have a much higher risk than those that are. Finally, it is not true that neutering makes your dog fat and lazy. Many experts believe that neutering makes your dog a better pet. Dogs should be neutered before they reach sexual maturity. 6 months of age is generally the optimum time. Healthy male dogs may be castrated at any time.

Follow up

Once the surgery is complete, your dog is moved from the surgery table to a recovery area where it is monitored as it wakes up from the anesthetic. Many veterinarians prefer to keep the dog overnight, while others may send them home the same day.
Spayed dogs must see the veterinarian for stitch removal seven to fourteen days after the surgery. Neutering is a safe, inexpensive and permanent means of prevention against certain behaviours and health problems, as well as eliminating the chance of unwanted puppies.