From housebreaking to socialization, puppies require lots of training time. Take as much time off from work as you can when you first bring your new puppy home.In addition to needing training and supervision, young puppies have small bladders and haven’t fully developed the muscles that control when it goes to the bathroom. In order to prevent accidents, it’s best to take your puppy out every one to two hours.;
, Dogs are den animals, so they find enclosed spaces comforting. Start crate training your pup the day you bring it home. It’ll be less likely to go to the bathroom in the crate, but do your best not to leave your puppy crated for more than a couple hours.Choose a crate that’s just a bit larger than a full grown Shih Tzu. Your dog should be able to turn around, but a crate any larger won’t offer a sense of security.
Place toys and objects that smell like you in the crate so your dog develops positive associations with it.
Avoid using a crate as a punishment. It should be a source of safety and comfort, not a means of punishing your dog.
 Sticking to regular mealtimes will help you potty train your puppy and avoid accidents as it matures. In general, you should choose a brand of food marked for small breed puppies and offer morning and evening servings of 1/4 to 1/2 a cup (60 to 120 g). Your puppy’s vet will help you decide how much food to feed your puppy., Puppies need to be let out frequently, especially smaller breed pups. Follow a fifteen minute rule when scheduling times to take your puppy out to potty. Take it to its potty area fifteen minutes after each meal, after playing, or after waking up from naps.In addition to following the fifteen minute rule, you should make sure your pup gets to its potty area every couple hours during the daytime.
 You’ll need to take your puppy out at least once or twice at night in order to avoid accidents. Set your alarm, get out of bed, and take your pup to its potty spot.Try to avoid playing or making overnight potty trips exciting in any way. Make it matter of fact and calm so your pup doesn’t think it’s playtime., Dogs instinctively like to mark one spot consistently. Designate one potty area when you start training so your pup understands where it’s appropriate to go to the bathroom.Your designated area could be an indoor potty pad or spot outside, but try to use pads in combination with outdoor training. Relying on pads alone makes it difficult to get your dog to go to the bathroom in unfamiliar locations in the future, for example when you’re at a friend’s home or on a trip., Training your puppy to use a potty pad or newspaper can be helpful if you live in a high rise or cold, snowy environment.However, keep in mind pads typically make the housebreaking process more complicated. You can start your puppy out by taking it to its pad to potty, but you should gradually incorporate outdoor training.When you want to start getting your pup used to going to the bathroom outside, start bringing the potty pad closer to your home’s exit. Then, if possible, position the pad just outside of your door or in a designated potty area outside. Once your pup gets used to pottying on the pad outside, remove it. Give it a “Go potty!” command when you take it outside and want it to go to the bathroom.
Take time off work to train your puppy.
Start crate training as soon as you bring your pup home.
Offer meals at the same times each day.
Take your puppy out fifteen minutes after any activity.
Take your puppy out at night.
Choose a consistent potty area.
Consider paper training your puppy.
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