How to Potty Train Your Dog

So many responsibilities come with owning a dog for the first time with house-training being one of them. Since puppies do not understand the boundaries, you have to take care of his elimination. House-training of a dog is not stressful and something which you should worry about; all you need is to make a good routine. If you own a dog of a particular breed, you should get complete information about the breed including its behavior, temperament, diet and digestive tract. The following guidelines can help you in minimizing the defecation by your dog in the house:

Set up a routine: Setting up a routine will help your dog to understand that there is a particular time to eat, drink, play and to defecate. Also, take your dog outside every two hours. Try to make a habit of taking your dog out every time he eats, drinks, and wakes up. Whenever you take him outside, select a proper bathroom spot where you should allow him to defecate. When your puppy is eliminating or trying to eliminate, use phrases such as “go potty” etc, so that your dog may relate these phrases with defecation process.

Make a proper feeding schedule: Feeding dogs at particular times will ensure that their potty times will be in accordance with the time they are eating. If you are feeding your dog randomly at any time, chances are thick that the dog will excrete at an unspecified time. Regulation of feeding time will make housetraining easier for you.

Supervise the dog: Keep an eye on your dog whenever he is indoors. It will require some dedication and time but you will not give your dog even a single chance to soil in the house. When you will be supervising your dog, you will come to know about the signs when he is about to defecate. After understanding these signs, you can immediately take the dog out whenever you see these signs.

Work on the words: As discussed above, certain phrases help dog to relate to certain activities. For example, whenever you are taking him outside for elimination, use the phrase “go outside”. When you use such phrases every time for a particular activity, dogs can relate them and understand what you are expecting from them.             

Confinement: It is one of the most important elements in the process of potty training a dog. A cage or crate will work best for confinement process. The confined space should be just enough so that the dog can easily sleep and play. A dog will not eliminate in his sleeping space which will eventually develop a habit of going outside for excretion.

Reward him: Reward your puppy every time whenever he sincerely goes out to excrete. Your dog can easily develop this habit by positive reinforcement. A little treat or a scratch in the head of your dog will work on sincere behavior of dog. Also, be consistent in rewarding him. This will encourage your dog to learn and quickly adopt the habit of excreting outside at the designated spot. 

Avoid these:

• Do not rub your puppy’s nose in his waste.
• Do not punish your dog for eliminating in the house. Take it as your mistake for being unaware about the signs when he is about to excrete.
• If your puppy loves outdoors, allow him to spend more time outside the house after excreting. If you take him home immediately after he eliminated, he may develop a habit of holding the urge to defecate.
• Clean with an enzymatic cleanser in spite of ammonia-based cleanser.
• And to finish, believe that “toilet training” is an easy task and do not take unnecessary stress if it is taking some time.