So, you've got a new puppy. Congratulations! Now comes the fun part -- house training. There are many misconceptions floating around about how to accomplish this, so in this article I am going to share what is probably the easiest and most effective way to house train your new puppy.

As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time. Crate training is essentially the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you're not actively supervising her.

Crate training is based on all dogs' inherent dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you're restricting your puppy's movement to her sleeping space, she'll instinctively "hold it in" until she's let out of the crate (provided you don't leave her in there too long, of course!) This is why it's important that the crate is sized properly: if it's too big, she'll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!

As a general guideline, it's more cost-effective for you to choose a crate that's big enough for her to grow into. It should be big enough for the adult dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out - but no bigger (so that she doesn't choose one part as her bed, and one part as her toilet!)

Because the adult dog is likely to be considerably larger than the puppy, it'll most likely be necessary for you to use a barrier to reduce the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine. Alternatively, you can use a cheap crate (or even make one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your puppy grows.

The process of crate training is actually more difficult for the new owner than it is for the new puppy. You will be required to keep the puppy in her crate at all times, literally, except for the times when she will be placed outside to go to the bathroom (and taken for walks), eating, and having supervised playtime with you inside the house. This may seem like cruel and unusual punishment, but it isn't. It is actually crucial to the well-being of puppy as she continues to grow to become an integral part of your family. Be consistent this, and don't give in.

The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at one time is figured out using the following equation: her age in months, plus one. So, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours. However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for her (not to mention hard on her emotionally and psychologically: it's tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should really take her out at least once every two hours during the day. If she's sleeping, of course, just let her sleep until she wakes up naturally.

Crate training generally takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate - but beware of doing this too soon! And when she's not in her kennel, be sure to keep a constant eye on her so that she doesn't revert back to any bad bathroom habits.