Using "The Puppy Airlift" to Prevent
Housebreaking and Paper Training Problems

The biggest mistake new puppy owners make is allowing their puppy too much freedom in the house. Puppies need to go potty frequently... in some cases it seems they need to go constantly! When they're young and in a new environment, they're utterly clueless about where they should do it, so they just squat down and take care of business wherever the mood strikes them. When a puppy has too much freedom and the mood starts striking him on your kitchen floor, your expensive carpeting, your antique rug and your bed, you're going to have big problems.

Using the basic housetraining methods like crate training and umbilical cord training are a great start for preventing these problems. For owners with very young puppies or small dogs, adding the "puppy airlift" will make the early stages of all housetraining methods easier and even more effective. This technique works great on puppies under 10 weeks of age and on calm puppies and dogs of any age as long as they are small enough to carry easily. It will not work well on most energetic older puppies as they will wiggle too much and resist being held.

Of course, when you get a new puppy, all you want to do is watch his cute, roly-poly little butt waddle around the house, but if Fido's just a baby and has just come home to you, he's very likely to try to go potty any time his feet touch the ground. So, for the first few days, you might want to try having his feet touch the ground in his potty area only. We want his feet on the ground only in areas where it's okay for him to pee and poo. If you're teaching Fido to go potty outside, you can play with him and let him walk around outside only.

If you're doing indoor potty training, this can be a little trickier. Ideally, Fido's little feet will only touch the ground in his indoor potty area. Since this won't allow him a lot of opportunities to move around, you may only be able to do the airlift for the first day, especially if he's an active little guy.

In the house, you must keep Fido's feet off the ground. You can hold him, have him in your lap or carry him. When you're indoors and unable to do any of those things (overnight or when you can't supervise him), he can stay in his crate or confinement area. Remember, poor little Fido can't live in his crate, so be sure to make sure he spends more time out with you than he spends in his crate.

Using the puppy airlift to avoid giving baby Fido the chance to make mistakes assures you of getting him off to a good start. After a few days of being airlifted, you can start allowing him supervised time to be on the floor in the house, but only after he's pottied outside and you're sure he's empty. Start with 5 to 10 minutes of floor time, then increase the length of time as Fido gets older and more responsible.