Most puppies leave their litter to enter their new home at about two months of age. At this age, the pups eat a lot, drink a lot, and have limited ability to control their elimination and no comprehension that that might be important. Feeding and potty times should be adjusted to help puppy reach her potential in the house-training department as quickly as possible.

At two to four months of age most pups need to relieve themselves after waking up, eating, playing, sleeping, and drinking. At four months, the puppy may be developed like an adult internally, but you should expect her to behave like a puppy.

To housetrain effectively, you need to establish a schedule that works for your family and will help your puppy learn the rules quickly. You will be amazed at how quickly your puppy learns if you stick to a schedule that has fixed times for eating, sleeping, and exercising. Here's a sample schedule:

Using the previous sample as a model, create a housetraining schedule that works for you. Once you've finalized the schedule, make a copy and post it in a visible area, such as on the refrigerator. This way, everyone can refer to it during those first weeks of housetraining time.