No matter how careful you are, occasionally inappropriate elimination happens. If your puppy has an accident do the following:

• Never correct the puppy after the fact. Do scold yourself by saying, “How could I have let that happen?”

• If you catch him in the act, startle him by saying “Ach” loudly or picking him up in midstream and carrying him outside to stop him.

• Clean up messes immediately. Remove debris and blot up any moisture, then use a cleaning solution, and finally treat the soiled area with an odor neutralizer.

Until your puppy is perfectly potty trained, remember:

• Puppies who can hold it for long periods while they're in their cage or at night are not necessarily well on their way to being housebroken. Don't judge his capacity and trustworthiness by his behavior while crated. Metabolism slows down with inactivity, so even a totally untrained puppy may not soil for up to twelve hours when he's crated. Puppies aren't trained until they understand it's okay to move about, explore, and go potty outdoors, but must hold it as they move about and explore indoors.

• Puppies enjoy playing, observing, and investigating, and 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. Even if your puppy has just spent a lot of time outdoors, he may mess soon after he comes back inside.

• 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 will indicate frequently and always eliminate when taken to the potty area. This causes bladder and bowel capacity and control to be underdeveloped. So, if he's used to going out on demand to go potty, he may have to relieve himself immediately whether you're available or not.