A Guide on Housebreaking Your Canine

When you first take a dog or puppy home, you will most likely have to potty train your dog. There are a few people who are luck out and get an already potty trained dog, but this is pretty rare. The truth is, most new owners will have to train their dogs. This can be scary but it is a lot easier than it sounds.

Two traits that an individual must have when they potty train a dog are patience and consistency.  If you are inconsistant with your approach, it will take a while for your dog to learn the preferred behavior.  If you have the proper mindset and dedication, training a dog can be very enjoyable.  The first choice you must make in regards to training a dog is if it will use the bathroom indoors (pee pad/litter box) or your backyard.

Choosing a place for the pee pad and leaving it there can be one of the most important steps in training your dog.  He will usually adapt well to your choice.  If he decides that his pee pad should go somewhere else, then that is where the training should begin; learning to work with his current behavior will be the start of training him the way you want him to behave.

Do not shout about where the dog has done its business; just put the pee pad on that place.  This way, your dog will start to go on it and then you can give it praise.  After several days, move the pee pad several feet towards the preferred location for it.  Then, every few days, as the dog keeps using the pee pad, move the pad again in the direction of the place where you’d like it to be.  Sooner or later, you’ll have the dog going just where you would like it to go.

Learn more about how to Potty Train Dog here.

No matter whether indoor or out,  when you potty train a dog you should be careful to only give food and water during set meal times, so that there are less accidents. For outdoor training, wait about twenty minutes after eating, then put the leash on and take your dog outside, but do not let it just wander around as it pleases.  Instead, lead it directly to a designated spot, and when your dog does what it’s expected to,  give lots of acknowledgment along with a treat.

Continue to do this but you will need a plan of action for when you are not home. Unlike the dogs being trained for the pee pads, your dog will not have a means to properly relieve itself. How to potty train a dog for going to the bathroom outside also means teaching it how to hold its bladder. Crate training comes in handy here. If you place your dog in a safe crate while you are sleeping or away from the house, it will most likely not go to the bathroom. Once home though you will need to take it out right away.

Learn more about how to Potty Train Dog here.