Potty Training The Easy, Foolproof Method
House training is one of the first training jobs you’ll have to do as a dog owner. This is important because living with an animal that has not been trained to control her toilet habits, is both unpleasant and unhealthy.
Fortunately, house training is not that difficult. All it takes is a proper method, plus some patience and success is literally guaranteed.
Two aspects of dog behavior will help you in your training efforts. Firstly, contrary to what many people believe, dogs are inherently clean animals and will not soil their living area unless they have no other choice.
Secondly, dogs are born with an innate desire to please and will do whatever it takes to make their human companions happy.
These two principles are the secret to successful house training regardless of what training method you choose.
Here are the methods most commonly used for house training dogs;
Supervision
Crate Training
Paper Training
Litter Box Method
The method you choose is entirely up to you, but my favorite is crate training. I have trained many dogs using this method and I am always blown away at how easy it is. This is probably because it taps the two aspects of dog behavior I mentioned earlier.
With crate training your puppy you use these behavioral aspects to your advantage – a much better approach than chasing your dog and trying to haul him outdoors, or to the paper every time he squats down.
Don’t feel you have to go with crate training though, because the other methods also work. Just choose the one you feel comfortable with. Whichever method you choose though, you will need to remain consistent, patient and positive. Shouting will achieve nothing other than making the dog afraid of you.
Never forget that she’s just a baby. You wouldn’t punish a baby that messed her diaper, or scream at her and rub her nose in it. So why would you do that to a little dog?
Your puppy doesn’t understand what she’s done wrong (how could she?), but stick to your method consistently and she will soon ‘get it’. Dogs are intelligent animals, so your patience will pay off in the end.
Want to accelerate those results?
Then give your dog lots of praise.
Your dog is desperate for your approval. So praise her when she gets it right and she will want to repeat the action over and over again just to earn more praise.
And don’t be stingy with the praise either. You need to make it very obvious that you are pleased with her behavior, so be enthusiastic, be effusive, be downright over the top!
Later, when you move on to basic obedience training, your pup will already understand that when she does what you ask, she gets praise and rewards. So house training actually lays the groundwork for all your dog training efforts.
Find out more about dog training tips, puppy care, dog health and other helpful dog advice at dogsanddogtraining.com.
