House Training a Dog

The best method of house training a dog is to prevent “accidents”. This applies whether you are house training a puppy or an older dog.

Your goal is to regularly make it easy for your dog to do the right thing. In the beginning and particularly when training puppies who cannot hold on long, it will take some effort on your part.

If you consistently put in the hard work at the beginning you will be quickly rewarded with not have to clean up any mess.

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Work with your dog instincts, dogs to not soil the area where they sleep and eat. So initially confining your dog or puppy to a small area in the house,where they will eat and sleep puts nature on your side in house training a dog.

Some people like to use a crate but it’s not a necessary to use one as long as you can confine the dog to a small area near where they sleep.

Establishing a routine is also very helpful in house training a dog. Feeding times and toilet brakes should be kept as routine as possible.

Dogs need to be relieve themselves:

▪    when they wake up in the morning or after a nap.
▪    within 30 minutes after eating’
▪    at least every couple of hours for a puppy
▪    at least every 3 to 4 hours for an adult dog
▪    Before they go to sleep

In the beginning don’t wait for the dog to indicate that it needs to go outside. Take your dog out at all the the times listed above as well as any time you notice that your dog is sniffing around or circling a particular place.

Typically dogs will have a bowel movement within 30 minutes after eating. This is a prime time to take your dog outside and wait for him to get the job done. If your puppy is being slow, you will need to be patient. A bit of a walk around can get things moving.

It’s a good idea to choose a specific toilet area and always take your dog to toilet in the same place. Watch you dogs behavior when they toilet, that way you will know what warning signs to watch for inside.

I also recommend that you carry a puppy outside first thing in the morning, before you have your coffee. He probably wont be able to wait until you finish your coffee. Carrying him out will mean that he makes it all the way outside before he starts to pee.

To read more about house training a dog, see Toilet Training Dogs (page 2)

Click here for the Ultimate House Training Guide