House training a puppy should start with the breeder very early in life. It is very important at 3 to 3.5 weeks old, when the pups become mobile and start to go to the washroom on their own, to start house training. It is not really a natural thing for a dog to go to the washroom in their crate. It is our job as Breeders to keep our puppies whelping boxes clean, which will in turn cause an aversion to going to the washroom where they sleep and play. When this is done right, by the time the buyer purchases the pup, they will already be ready to not go to the washroom in their crate or bed. Believe it or not, what goes on from the time of birth to the time you take your puppy home plays a big role on the young life and what a buyer will be faced with. With this in mind, Firestone Staffords is dedicated to this early training and conditioning of pups to only go to the washroom in their designated potty area, purposefully giving them a concept of housetraining at an early age. Commonly referred to as Paper Training, we see our pups leaving their sleeping area and making the 2-5′ journey (depending on which whelping box they’re in) to the newspaper to relieve themselves as early as 4 weeks old. This in return not only helps us keep the whelping area clean, it makes puppies easier to housebreak once they go to their new homes.
(Firestone pup leaving the bed to pee on the paper at 4 weeks old)
Firestone Staffords 