The Trip Home With Your Puppy

The puppy settles down in the crate, happily chewing on the toy his new owner brought for him. For the first few miles the pup occasionally gets restless, stops chewing his new toy, and whines. After he gets used to the movement and sound of the car, he settles back down and naps for about half an hour. When he wakes he starts to whine again, and the new owner realizes the pup probably needs a potty break. She pulls into a rest stop and dips a lightweight leash to the pup's collar because it would be too dangerous to walk him off-leash here, so close to traffic.

The owner carries her pup to a likely spot and sets him on the ground. The puppy sits for a moment and scratches at the unfamiliar new collar, then gets up, sniffs the ground, turns half a circle, and urinates. Success! The owner waits a few minutes more, just in case the pup isn't finished. Sure enough, he goes again. Then they hit the road. The car's movement lulls the pup and he soon falls asleep in his crate again and doesn't wake up until they pull into the driveway at home.

While you're at the breeder's home (or the shelter, if that's where you will get your new dog), take a paper towel and blot up some urine from your pup or his littermates. Put this into a plastic bag and take it home. Place the soiled paper towel on the ground in the area where you'll be taking your pup to eliminate. Pour about half a cup of lukewarm water through the towel onto the ground to scent the new potty area with puppy urine, then dispose of the paper towel. The scent will give your pup the clue he needs to understand where he's supposed to eliminate at his new home.

Anton Mihailescu is a Romanian dog trainer that writes on dog training techniques on his blog - caini de rasa.