Dogs Worldwide

Proper housebreaking should start with using a crate. A crate is the easiest way to teach your dog that he needs to wait to use the bathroom until you let him out to do so. Crate training will also allow your puppy to learn to keep his space clean.

Once your puppy shows consistent potty training in his crate, it is then time to extend his living area. A simple and effective way to do this is to confine him to the same room where his crate was by using baby gates to block off the hallways and other rooms of the house.

Take Him Outside Often

The ultimate goal is to train your puppy to respect the cleanliness of your entire home, including every room. This is best done by exposing him to the outside environment as frequently as possible. There is something about nature that helps speed up the process of potty training your puppy. Every dog that I have trained seemed to progress at a rapid speed as soon as I introduced them to the outside. Nature somehow gives them an instinct to know that using the bathroom in patches of dirt and grass is where they should be going.

Lots Of Praise Is Essential

Any type of dog training is much more positive when you use plenty of loving praise. Each time your puppy successfully uses the bathroom outside, or other appropriate area you are training him to go in, be sure to praise him enthusiastically and shower the little guy with love and affection. It cannot be stressed enough just how important it is to praise lovingly in order to keep your dog practicing the same positive training habits that he is learning from you.

Don’t Be Hard On Mistakes

Too many dog owners become extremely frustrated when their new puppies urinate or poop inside the house and on the carpet. The sooner you realize that there are going to be times when you must clean up your dog’s mess, the better off your attitude will be. And this is important because when your puppy does make a mistake, you must remain positive and not schooled him harshly.

This is the number one mistake many pet owners make. They end up yelling and at times even hitting their dog when he uses the bathroom on the carpet. Unfortunately, this will only set back housebreaking training. Psychologically, your dog’s mind will start to relate going to the bathroom to something bad, even if he goes outside. Please avoid this negative training habit at all costs.

Tags: housebreaking your dog

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 25th, 2009 at 08:00 and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.