Dogs, like most people, are creatures of habit, so that can be used too. Set up a watering schedule that will contribute to success. Also don't try to housebreak a puppy before it's old enough to have adequate bladder control. Still, you can make it to that point without too many accidents. The book details all this.

Finally, remember Pavlov's dog. Dogs respond directly - they don't understand abstract thoughts. Start by repeating a word like "potty" over and over quietly while your puppy is relieving herself, then praise her. This will associate the word with the feeling of relief. DON'T USE THE WORD ABSTRACTLY like asking "do you want to go out and potty?" when you're in the house! (You can say "do you want to go outside?"). After "programming" your puppy about 100 times, she will pee on command when she hears the word. This will really pay off later when you're travelling, etc. The important thing is to understand that dogs take everything literally and directly and really only understand a few key words, your tone of voice, and your body language.

Try to think like a dog - it will change your whole view of the world!


This is ALL you need to housetrain your pup or dog!!   August 31, 2000
 163 out of 168 found this review helpful

If you can make it through the first 24 hours, freedom from an unhousetrained dog will be yours! It REALLY DOES WORK! I had a dog that was a 1.5 year old, I mistakingly paper trained her first and she never stopped doing what she was taught- going inside on the paper! NOT A GOOD IDEA! A family friend recommended this book and within about twenty four hours she was house trained!!! Most people would have said that I would always have a problem with her, NO way! Two years later, she's remains PERFECTLY HOUSETRAINED! In addition to this amaziing success story, I recently loaned the book to someone who was having trouble house training her new puppy; within a few days- no problem at all! Buy it, it really is well worth the money!


Taking the Heartbreak out of Housebreaking!   January 24, 1999
 77 out of 78 found this review helpful

This book offers concise, yet thorough instruction and information on the best method to housebreak your pooch. Kalstone even includes information on paper-training, though she makes it clear that this is not the best method, and should not be considered as an intermediate step if one expects a dog to use the bathroom exclusively outside at any point in its life.

The thing I like most about the little book, aside from the completely reasonable price (truly one of the best deals for your dollar in the world of dog-training books), is that she includes several sample feeding/exercise/elimination schedules that a person can tailor to one's own schedule. She also strongly advises and gives solid training information about crate-training, which when done properly, is one of the most humane and best gifts a human could possibly bestow upon a canine companion.

If you're having a problem with "accidents" in the house, *this* is the book you've been looking for! And what a bargain! :)


This Book Is Fantastic!   May 4, 1999
 40 out of 42 found this review helpful

This book describes why most known methods of housebreaking are ineffective and unnecessary. It describes the psychology behind the method. I trained my dog by this method and must say it worked almost too well. My dog is now 8 years old and has had an "accident" in the house only once in that time due to an illness. I attribute this success to the method discussed in this book as well as to the intelligence of my dog :) . I will say that the first two days are difficult, but after that the dog will understand the 'pen". Try it, it is far less cruel than other methods.


A Must for All Puppy Owners   September 7, 2005
 40 out of 40 found this review helpful


First of all I have to respond to an earlier reviewer who says that Shirlee Kalstone doesn't know anything about dogs and suggests that people should instead read a book by someone who does -- namely, Stanley Coren. I'm still laughing over that. Stanley Coren!? It's widely known in dog circles that Coren gets almost everything about dogs exactly backwards (read my review of THE INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS for further elucidation)! It seems to me, from reading this person's review, that she somehow misunderstood the simple information in Kalstone's book and instead of admitting her own inability to follow instructions, she blames the author.

Okay, now to my review of this very useful housebreaking guide, one that I recommend to all my clients with new puppies. I have to say that except for Kalstone's occasional forays into punishment, via the alpha theory (which we now know is totally false), this book gives you almost everything you need to know about housetraining. The fact that she's broken-down the various schedules any dog owner might need, allowing for various work schedules and life-styles, makes this book a must-have for every owner of a new puppy. (It's why I recommend it to all my clients -- it saves them and me the time of sitting down and writing up a schedule of their own.)

She also gives good advice on how to acquaint any puppy with a crate, and gives the info (that most other books don't) that a puppy's emotional and physical development prevent him (or her) from really learning this stuff before about 3 1/2 to 4 months of age. Just please, please, ignore everything she says about being the pack leader, being alpha, etc., and you and your puppy will do just fine.

By the way, most of the information in this book (and a little more) is also contained in Kevin Behan's NATURAL DOG TRAINING, with just one omission: Kevin doesn't include the actual training schedules that you can rip out of the Kalstone book and paste on to your refrigerator door!

I rarely give ANY training book 4 stars. Yay, Shirlee Kalstone!