The term one uses to encourage his or her dog to relieve itself, whether it be "bathroom," "potty," "go wee wee," or any other term the owner wants, is not important. Performance of the desired action is what counts.

I never had trouble housebreaking my eight-week-old puppy. She only had three accidents in the house, and only one was large enough to be a job to clean. Here is what I did.

Well before the night I brought her home, I understood what I would be getting into. So that night, I placed my puppy in a comfortable, confined space (using a towel-lined crate at first, a playpen and kennel later), for instinctively, animals do not want to mess where they sleep.

Then I set my alarm. Every two hours she had to go, so I kept setting my alarm and whisking her out automatically when it went off. I praised her well when she promptly relieved herself on the grass. After about four days, she caught on and started whimpering when she needed to go out.

You should be prepared to get up on "baby's" schedule, which generally means about every 2 hours at 2 months of age, every 3 hours at 3 months, then increasing to about 6 hours by the end of 4 months. If you are lucky, you may have a pup who essentially sleeps through the night by then.

You have to keep this schedule up during the daytime as well. If you work during the day, then someone needs to come let the little guy out. NEWS FLASH! Puppies, like toddlers, cannot hold it! How can you expect success in house training a dog if you do not give the poor thing the opportunity to go in the right place at the time of need?

It is no wonder to me that many owners have trouble with puppy potty training, because they take them out during the day but leave them through the night . . . until they can clean up the mess in the morning. The puppy gets mixed messages. They are creatures of habit and INSTINCTIVELY use the same spot again!

If you are over-worked and cannot handle the physical stress of getting up throughout the night as any new pet owner or new parent must, then get an older, trained dog. It's much better to save your money to buy a dog who is professionally trained already, both to save your carpets and to save yourself from great frustration!

A question I am frequently asked is: "Should I spank my puppy when he has an accident?" My answer is, "ABSOLUTELY!" . . .He needs to know there are consequences. BUT, here is HOW.

Puppy squats – Grab him up gently and whisk him out. Do not be scolding him then. When he finishes his business outside, express your pleasure, such as "Good potty!" and bring him back inside.

Next, walk up to the soiled spot and hit the ground right by it, sternly saying something such as: "WHAT IS THIS? . . . BAD POTTY!" You are yelling at the accident itself, not even looking at the puppy. Keep repeating this until the pup comes over to see what the fuss is all about. Then swat his rear or nose with one hand firmly, but NOT hard. He will understand what he did wrong.

The pup will slink away. Be sure he is out of sight, then blot up the urine. Next take white vinegar and water and clean up the accident spot. The vinegar both removes stains and kills odor. It is especially important that a male dog not see you cleaning up the spot. They do not need to see you as a personal maid!

If you also have an older dog in the house, it can be a helper or a distraction in puppy potty training. If the older one helps, that's great. However, if he is a distraction, here is what to do: Take the pup out separately for 3 days to a week, then try letting the two dogs out together.

Still distracted? Keep trying. With patience and persistence, your puppy potty training efforts WILL WORK!