I will advise the reader to buy the book before getting the puppy. READ IT!!! and think if you are ready to do what its needed... if you are still COOL with the idea.
This is the BEST 7.99 you have spent in a long time. Adopt the schedule that best suits your style and star doing in it from day one. The schedule will help you and the puppy to get ready for the paper training, out door o whatever you decide.
I have trained TWO shelties using this book, and on the first day. I GOT POSITIVE RESULTS, becuase I adopted a schedule from day one.
Shelties are very easy to train, but getting them on the schedule from the start help to make it easier on you and them.
The book gives you different choices depending on your life style, and it makes you feel good if you work all day (YES!!! THERE IS A SCHEDULE FOR YOU TOO)
It is a quick read, no more than 30 minutes to a fast reader, around an hour for a slow.. it is easy to follow and you can skip a chapter depending on what you need.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!

This is a most confusing and contradictory book. In the first few chapters, it states never paper train if your intention is to have the dog "go" outdoors. Then if you dog is very young put plenty of layers of newspapers on the floor. It says not to confine the puppy in the crate, let him come and go. Then it says to confine the puppy in the crate.

I think it would have been beneficial to chapter each method and be consistant within each chapter. Our new puppy is primarily my 10 year old son's dog. However I am reading the material too. He has informed me that this book isn't vey good, and has found another that is better. I hope Amazon prints all of the reviews.

This approach really works. Our pup is only 11 weeks old and is already well on his way to being fully house trained.

This has been the most useful book I've seen so far, and I have 3 other books on this topic. Unlike a lot of reviewers here who talk about "common sense," this is my first dog ever, so I have no prior experience to apply.

I found the information very specific and helpful. My puppy is 11 weeks old and had already apparently had some kind of housetraining at the shelter. My attempts to blindly "guess" his needs seemed to make things worse rather than better. I was taking him outside constantly - a waste of time for us both. This book was very useful in helping me establish a reasonable schedule for him (I work outside the home, but nearby). Because he's little younger than the book covers, I adapted it slightly to include a couple of extra potty breaks. Taking him outside has been much more productive and less stressful on us both.

Shirlee Kalstone's book LITERALLY changed my life. I had skimmed over this book at the pet supply store but thought, "Very interesting...but surely I'LL never need it because teaching MY puppy to 'go' outside will be a snap." Two weeks, one wet, yellow floor, and two peed-on couch cushions later, I was at wit's end, finally admitting to myself I needed help (BADLY), as it seemed that my 18-week-old miniature dachshund boy would never have ANY interest in outdoor urination.

This book was truly the answer to my prayers - I was AMAZED by it and the great results it produced! It really did change my entire life, as well as my dogs'. The book emphasizes sticking to a schedule, which created a challenge for me initially since I am the "creative sort" (read: TERRIBLE at time management, being on time, sticking to schedules, etc.) but I really made a point of sticking to it as closely as possible (for me) and once he became reliable, I was able to relax it some. Another thing I liked about this book is that there are two different time schedules, depending on whether or not you work outside the home. Most housebreaking books assume that there is at least one person at home at all times to help with the housebreaking but, for those of us who actually have to work for a living (quelle horreur!), this offers an excellent alternative schedule that is very easy to comply with.

Summarily, this is an INCREDIBLY worthwhile read and one of the few books that I would recommend - and give as a gift!- to ANYONE getting a new puppy. I devoured everything I could on puppy housebreaking when my dog was learning, both in print and on the Internet, and "How To Housebreak Your Dog in Seven Days" was by FAR the best, fastest, and most effective. In only two weeks' time, my dog went from seemingly SMILING at me while copping a squat on my bath rug to peeing outside on command whenever he hears the phrase "HURRY UP" (in fact, he's so reliable about it, I'm almost afraid to say those words indoors, even in other contexts!). This book is destined to become a classic and one I would recommend over and over to ANYONE who would prefer their dogs pee on their front lawn and not their carpet.

As a first time dog owner this book is helpful in guiding training, I am paper training my dog poodle and the information was very helpful.

Nothing more than commmon sense. All the old same old same old ideas. Nothing really new for potty training to a litter box for small dogs.

We were given this book at the shelter where we adopted our 10-week old retriever mix. It gives programs for both people who are at home during the day and those who work, and also a part for older dogs. The premise is "what goes in must come out" and that by keeping a journal and keeping a strict feeding and watering schedule you can do a good job of anticipating when it's going to happen. The idea is if you set your puppy up for success he will succeed. The only thing we did differently was set an alarm for 2am to go out so that in the morning it wasn't such a mad dash to the door. We never had a single accident in the house and he really was trained in about 7 days.

The book offers a great basic understanding and scheduling for training. The most valuable part of the book is the schedules the author offers for various working/non-working owners.

we used this book seven years ago to train our mutt. we did it in conjuction with an obedience class - it really worked for us. rarely do we have a mishap (usually caused by excitement) - our dog is just amazing and we feel like this book helped. you must follow what it says - and be on top of the situation for the 7 days. getting a dog is fun, but it is work work work. you must have the time for your pet to train it. its is worthwhile and wonderful.

I was kind of disappointed by this book because it didnt tell me anything that I didnt know already. The one thing that I did learn was that you cant really potty train a dog until its 4 months old because it doesnt have bladder control...which I actually read in another book later. Honestly, the best way to potty train your dog is to leave him/her for a weekend with a friends dog that is already potty trained. They learn things from a pack so much more quickly then they do from you. My dog used to go in the house at least 2 times a day, I went out of town and left her with my friend who also has a dog and she came back scratching the door when she needed to go. That following week she only went one time in the house, it was AMAZING. Sorry...a bit of a tangent, but thought some people may find it helpful. All in all...skip the book and just google your info youll learn everything thats in this book.

I did like this book but I just wasn't able to housebreak my puppy in 7 days. My puppy had already been trained to urinate on potty papers in the house and it was going to take some time to re-train him to go outside. Plus it would be a lot of work on my part. I read through the whole book in about an hour and it has a lot of good advice on how to train and re-train your puppy to be housebroken.

Angela M. Horton

I have had many dogs, but never a puppy, so I was worried about the housebreaking process. If you follow this book, your puppy will be housebroken! I highly recommend this to any dog owner that needs help in housebreaking!

My wife and I decided we'd like to have a dog (neither of us had had one before). We researched breeds and a training and settled on a Bishon Frise (playful, great family dogs, but a little stubborn to train) and this book. WOW!!! That's all I have to say.

We followed this book to the T, waited and waited and waited and then all of a sudden it just clicked... Our little man was peeing on his paper. The only thing I'd say is that we'd intermittently walk him outside and now he goes outside if we're walking him, or goes all-day inside on his paper if we need to leave him for a few hours to run errands. We'll even bring him to our friend's house, drop down a newspaper and he'll play all day and when he's ready do his business on the paper. In fact, most of our friends ask (if not encourage us) to bring our little man! I'd highly recommend this book to first-timers.

Follow it to the T, have faith in the system, and you'll see it click. Good luck!!!

Although the summary and reviews said that this book was good for puppies, it is really meant for older pups (4 months and up). For anyone housebreaking a puppy, most of the puppy books have better information for the younger puppies (8-12 weeks).

It is a good book to read has alot of good info.

Calling this a pamphlet might be generous. The real "Information" you need for a new puppy is about 5 pages. Other sections cover older dogs, etc...

I have lived with and trained dogs all my life. My wife hadn't. I got this book for her since she never listens to a thing I say anyway. The concise, correct advice is easy to read, it just relies on the owner to follow through.

The book tells you how to housetrain a dog. The people who said this book didn't teach them anything.... Did they already know how? Then why buy this book? I've seen too many owners not want to crate their puppies, and refuse to discipline them, if you're not up for being your puppies warden, then you won't like the advice presented within. If you plan to have a long-time companion who is well-adjusted, this book also has great general training tips.

Frankly, I was overjoyed by the book's brevity. I want the info, not fluff and filler. It was very easy to say "Honey, that's 5 pages of instructions that are clearer than what I can tell you, just read it."

A year later, my Dog Ruckus is accident free, I have no fear walking into another person's home, and he pees on command if needed. I only hope Ms. Kalstone writes a book on child rearing sometime soon.

Calling this a pamphlet might be generous. The real "Information" you need for a new puppy is about 5 pages. Other sections cover older dogs, etc...

I have lived with and trained dogs all my life. My wife hadn't. I got this book for her since she never listens to a thing I say anyway. The concise, correct advice is easy to read, it just relies on the owner to follow through.

The book tells you how to housetrain a dog. The people who said this book didn't teach them anything.... Did they already know how? Then why buy this book? I've seen too many owners not want to crate their puppies, and refuse to discipline them, if you're not up for being your puppies warden, then you won't like the advice presented within. If you plan to have a long-time companion who is well-adjusted, this book also has great general training tips.

Frankly, I was overjoyed by the book's brevity. I want the info, not fluff and filler. It was very easy to say "Honey, that's 5 pages of instructions that are clearer than what I can tell you, just read it."

A year later, my Dog Ruckus is accident free, I have no fear walking into another person's home, and he pees on command if needed. I only hope Ms. Kalstone writes a book on child rearing sometime soon.

Ummm-I think the dog just has to want to do the correct thing. Good ideas in the book but it didn't work for us, but we have 7 dogs.

I bought this book over 14 years ago along with a cocker spaniel. It helped me, a novice dog owner, train my puppy. After reading the book and employing the techniques, I am an advocate of crate training and adhering to schedules (even if you work all day) during the training period. My dog passed away last summer and I'm contemplating bringing another puppy home. In need of a refresher, I purchased this book again and would still recommend it to others for common sense approaches and tips.

It truly is. There are no big tips, no clear instructions. It's a complete waste. Go with anything else before you buy this book.

Every once in awhile I buy something online that is a total waste of money and this is one of them. I can't say I learned one thing from this book (pamphlet) and it is way overpriced.

I was a first-time dog owner, mother of five children. This book was my life guide for seven days, and for the subsequent eight lovely years I've had a PERFECTLY trained dog! Thank you, Shirlee Kalstone!

This is a great system only if you're disciplined enough to follow it. It worked for my family. The book is very short and the instructions are very clear and easy to understand. If you're not willing to follow a strict schedule though, this book/method is not for you.

This book didn't tell me anything I didn't know already.

I read this book before I got my puppy. I used some of the advice given for training puppies under 16 weeks, because that is when the author says you can officially traing your dog. I learned how to read my dogs signals on when he had to go, and he is 13 weeks now and is pretty much trained. He knows outside is for going and he goes to the door and whines, etc. He has had a few accidents in the house, maybe once a week since we got him at 7 weeks. Overall, good advice for someone who has no idea on what to do about potty-training a puppy or older dog.

I love this book. My puppy was only 8 weeks when I received the book and most of it already worked. It is a very informative book and details many different ideas of how to housebreak your dog. The best part about the book is that it is not too long. It is a quick read and interesting to learn about dog behavior, so that the training program makes sense.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a new dog or trouble with training an older dog. The program really works.

We purchased this book a few weeks before we got our first dog, an 8-week-old Boston Terrier puppy. The guidelines in this book were really helpful to us as first-time dog owners. Our puppy is now a little over 12-weeks-old and she is already close to being fully house trained. Even though this book and other books say puppies don't have full control over their bladder/bowels until they are 16-weeks, we have followed the steps in the book since the day we got the puppy. And now she is almost fully house trained a month early.

I would recommend this book to any new dog owner.

I purchased this book (and three others) to prepare myself and my fiance' for the arrival of our new puppy. This is the only book of the four I purchased that actually directly addressed how you are supposed to housetrain a puppy when you work and are not home with the dog all day. All the other books assumed you would be available every two to three hours to take the dog outside, which is, in my opinoin, very unrealistic for most people who work 8 hour or more days and can't hire a pet sitter to stay home with the puppy in their absence. This book provides detailed schedules for people who are able to be home all day as well as people who can't be with the puppy all day long, allowing you to develop a consistent, realistic program for your puppy regardless of your schedule. The book was a very quick read (I read it cover to cover in less than a hour), straight-forward, simple to read, and very understandable. The concepts and principles in this book seem as if they will be easy to implement. This book made me feel more confident that we will be able to work the puppy into our lifestyle (with a few minor changes) instead of having to overhaul our entire lives to be slaves to the puppy's bowel and bladder. I strongly recommend this book to other first-time puppy owners who, like us, want to "do it right" and are looking for strategies and solutions they can implement to raise their puppy to be a well-mannered, obedient, and loving dog.

Easy to read and concise. Can be read in about an hour. Sets forth good recommendations and sample schedules that can be adjusted to suit individual needs. Although title suggests success in seven days, book admits that all dogs are different and that the seven day period is to be viewed as a "foundation period." Gave it four stars because I would have liked a few more pages.

This is the best potty training book out there. If you only buy one book when training your dog, buy this one. Follow it to the last letter, and you will have your dog training in a few weeks tops.

It works!

This book is a very easy read, and is straightforward in approach. I have a new puppy in my house, and the tips given here are working to this point. Although not completely housetrained, I'm making progress with my energetic houseguest who at times lacks self-restraint. This book separates the truth from the myths when it comes to housebreaking dogs!

First of all I have to respond to an earlier reviewer who says that Shirlee Kalstone doesn't know anything about dogs and suggests that people should instead read a book by someone who does -- namely, Stanley Coren. I'm still laughing over that. Stanley Coren!? It's widely known in dog circles that Coren gets almost everything about dogs exactly backwards (read my review of THE INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS for further elucidation)! It seems to me, from reading this person's review, that she somehow misunderstood the simple information in Kalstone's book and instead of admitting her own inability to follow instructions, she blames the author.

Okay, now to my review of this very useful housebreaking guide, one that I recommend to all my clients with new puppies. I have to say that except for Kalstone's occasional forays into punishment, via the alpha theory (which we now know is totally false), this book gives you almost everything you need to know about housetraining. The fact that she's broken-down the various schedules any dog owner might need, allowing for various work schedules and life-styles, makes this book a must-have for every owner of a new puppy. (It's why I recommend it to all my clients -- it saves them and me the time of sitting down and writing up a schedule of their own.)

She also gives good advice on how to acquaint any puppy with a crate, and gives the info (that most other books don't) that a puppy's emotional and physical development prevent him (or her) from really learning this stuff before about 3 1/2 to 4 months of age. Just please, please, ignore everything she says about being the pack leader, being alpha, etc., and you and your puppy will do just fine.

By the way, most of the information in this book (and a little more) is also contained in Kevin Behan's NATURAL DOG TRAINING, with just one omission: Kevin doesn't include the actual training schedules that you can rip out of the Kalstone book and paste on to your refrigerator door!

I rarely give ANY training book 4 stars. Yay, Shirlee Kalstone!

This is our third Basset Hound, a breed notoriously difficult to housebreak. With the help of this book, we got it done in about 2 weeks. With the other two dogs, it took months. The book is very specific and detailed. The process requires discipline and adherence to a rigorous schedule, which you can modify to fit your needs. After a few days, we modified the schedule in the book to better suit our dog's habits, posted it on the refrigerator, and STUCK TO IT. Our dog was 7 months old when we got him so he was ready for it in terms of maturity -- dogs under 4 months old can't be reliably housebroken according to the book. Highly recommended.

This book gave me the absolutely WORST dog training advice I have ever gotten! The notion that you should not teach your pup to use pads in the house if you eventually want it to go outside is hideously ill advised! I took this to heart and my puppy now has a special area in the house that no matter how many times I clean and disinfect she comes right back to. I take her outside and she waits to come back in and use her spot. I put down pads and she thinks they are a toy made just for shredding. I now have a dog trainer coming to work with her at $50 an hour to try to help me solve this problem. The author is right about one thing - it is far easier to teach good habits from the beginning than to break bad ones. It's a shame her advice led me to allow my puppy to develop bad habits in the first place. Bypass this train wreck and think seriously about buying a book on dogs by someone who actually seems to know something about the subject... Stanley Coren, perhaps.

I'm a first time dog owner and very willing to learn the art of dog training. I bought a few highly recommended dog training books that were good for a general overview on how to train dogs, but many briefly touch on each aspect of the whole picture, housebreaking included.

This is a good book for those who would like more specific detail on this one part of dog training. It is a quick read and has very well layed out plans for those of us that own a dog and work all day, and those of you that have the luxury of being stay-home dog parents (lucky you!). Keep in mind that the author intends this book to be used to train puppies 12 weeks and older (after they have had all their shots).

I am still in the process of housebreaking my Boston Terrier (she's only 9.5 weeks old after all), but I find this book very good for laying out a plan that fits into my schedule for when the time comes.

Of course this book can't answer all your questions and be 100% full proof in 7 days. That would be unrealistic. All dogs are not the same. Dogs differ by breed, and general personality (much like people). This book also touches on the fundamentals of dog training (train with love, not anger).

If you love your dog and are new at this, and have the patience necessary for training your dog, this book is good for you and is one step of many in the process of dog training.

You know this book was well written it help us allot to understand a little more better our dog. The author gave options on how to housebreak our puppy with certain schedule for people that worked and did not work and for certain pup age group. We sadly failed in just two days our in-laws kept taking out the dog and feeding him. But we did stick with some useful tips and so far our puppy is doing well a few little accidents but that expected in a puppy.
At night we keep the puppy in the crate with a towel on it so he wont easily be distracted by light and so on. But first thing in the morning as the author says `take him out right away to hiss pissing area' as soon as I take him out I say time to go peepe and he has learn that word that now that when we say it he does outside, so watch out we said it while we were inside the house, and he pissed right at that moment. Well we knew then that he knew that word. I recommend this book to people that want to housebreak their dog and also have idea how to start train them.

This book provides a script and scenarios for housebreaking your puppy or adult dog. What I appreciated from this book was an equal amount of devotion to owner's who will paper train or train for the outdoors. It also takes into consideration owners who must leave dogs alone for long periods as well as owners who have access to their dog all day. I suggest purchasing a specialized breed book as well, such as a Complete Idiot's Guide..., for additional information about housebreaking your breed.

I recommend this book to everyone who gets a new puppy. Or even an older, non-housebroken dog. Neither my husband or I had ever housebroken a dog before. In my case, my family had only owned one, and she came to us trained. In his case, their family dogs just never got trained. So we were novices when we brought home our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I bought this book and read it before we got the dog, so we were ready to go. We got a late start in training, because we had to deal with an illness (in the dog) first. Even with waiting nearly two months to train her, I'd say we had her fairly reliable in a couple of months and completely accident free by one year, which is about right for a CKCS. She's now four and hasn't had an accident in three years. We can take her to visit friends, family and stay in hotels and not worry about a mess. The book is easy to read and offers advice for all types of situations: house dog, apartment dog, young puppy, older dog.

Trouble is ..it takes you seven days to read it, during which time the dog has chewed up your slippers, bitten the postman and vomitted on the carpet.

The dog has broken your house!!