How To House Train A Dog: The Basics Of Potty Training

If there is one thing that every dog needs to learn it is house training. House training a dog is not that hard, but it does take patience. When a puppy comes to live with you, he has no idea what house training means. He doesn’t know the rules and he doesn’t know how to tell you he needs to potty. It’s up to you to teach him everything he needs to know. Keep reading for more information about how to house train a dog.

1. Put your puppy on a good schedule

If you want to know how to house train a dog, the first thing you need to do is put your puppy on a good schedule. Puppies are creatures of habit, just like other animals (and humans). If you can train your puppy to follow a routine, he is halfway to being house trained. This means that you should take your puppy outside as soon as you wake up in the morning. This should be bright and early if you have a puppy because puppies don’t sleep late. You should take your puppy out right after he eats, after every meal, no matter how many meals he has during the day. You should take your puppy out when he wakes up from naps. You should take your puppy out after he has a big play session. Playing and running makes a puppy need to potty. And, you should take a puppy out before bedtime. If you think that’s a lot of trips outside, you’re right, it is. But your puppy is very young and he has a very small bladder. He needs to relieve himself often when he’s small. As he gets older you will be able to combine some of these trips. Your puppy will also get much better at letting you know when he needs to go outside. But in the beginning, take your puppy outside at all these times and it will help your puppy get the hang of going out to potty.

2. Look for your puppy’s signals

When considering how to house train a dog, it becomes much easier when you look for your puppy’s signals. As your puppy starts to learn what you expect from him, and understands that he’s supposed to relieve himself outdoors, he will probably start to give you some signals when he needs to go out. However, you may have to help him out by looking for the signals. The signals may include your puppy sniffing the floor, going back to a place where he’s had an accident, glancing at you, looking at the door, and looking for a private place such as behind a piece of furniture. If you notice your puppy doing some of these things you need to take him out right away. As your puppy gets older and better at communicating with you he can give you better signals that he needs to go out, but as a puppy who is just learning his house training, these are early signals that he needs to go out right away.

3. Use a crate for house training a dog

If you are interested in how to house train a dog, then consider using a crate, especially at night. Using a crate helps your puppy learn to control himself until you take him outside in the morning. Dogs don’t like to potty where they sleep so your puppy will have an incentive to keep his crate dry during the night. However, keep in mind that your puppy has a very small bladder and he can’t stay in the crate forever. As a rule, a puppy can stay in the crate about two hours for each month of age. So a two month old puppy can stay in the crate about four hours. If you are just starting out with crating your puppy at night you may need to take him outside during the night at first, but as he gets older he should be able to make it through the entire night without needing to go outside. Feed your puppy his dinner no later than about 7 pm and remove his water about an hour before bedtime. This will help your puppy make it through the night without soiling his crate.

4. Use praise and rewards to house train your puppy

Many people fuss at their puppy when he has an accident, but they forget to praise and reward their puppy when he potties where they want him to and when house training is going well. Remember to praise your puppy and reward him every single time you take him outside and he potties where you want him to. Let him know that he’s doing what you want him to do. Make a big, happy fuss about his success. Your puppy needs to know that he’s doing it right! And remember that punishment really doesn’t help a puppy learn his house training, especially if you don’t catch the puppy in the act. If you punish a puppy for an accident, he usually has no idea why you are punishing him.

You can use these same principles if you are house training a dog to use papers or a pad. The important thing to remember when it comes to how to house train a dog is to keep your puppy on a schedule, watch for your puppy’s signals, and use a crate to help house train your puppy at night. And don’t forget the praise and rewards! If you follow these suggestions then you should have your puppy house trained in just a few weeks.

Related Articles:

How To Train A Dog: What You Need To Know

Agility Training For Dogs: Something Fun For Both Of You!

Clicker Training For Dogs: A Fun Way To Train

Dog Training Methods Explained

Obedience Training For Dogs: What Every Dog Should Know