No matter how careful you are, housetraining accidents will occasionally happen. If your pup does have an accident, do not correct him after the fact. Simply examine why the accident might have happened and correct possible mistakes for next time.

Clean up the mess immediately. Remove debris and blot up any moisture. Use a cleaning solution, and finally treat the soiled area with an odor neutralizer.

Until your puppy is perfectly potty-trained, remember these things:

• Puppies who can hold it for long periods while they're in their crate or at night are not necessarily well on their way to being housebroken. Don't judge his capacity by his behavior while crated. As a rule, the maximum time a dog should be left in a crate without a break is four to six hours.

• Puppies enjoy playing, observing, and investigating, and they often forget about going potty when they're left alone outdoors. Don't let your puppy out without supervision and assume that he did his business. Take him out on leash so you can make sure he eliminates -- praise him when he does so.

• Puppies often indicate when they want to go outdoors and play instead of when they need to potty. Don't rely on or encourage him to tell you he wants to go out. Many puppies that show the desire to go out frequently will always eliminate when taken to the potty area. This causes bladder and bowel capacity and control to be underdeveloped.