Potty Training Your Dog

Do you dread having to leave your dog in your house or apartment for more than a couple of hours at a time? Don't you wish that your dog could just go to the toilet like you can? What is the first thing you want to see when you come home after a hard day at the office? Would it be a pile of dog poop in the middle of the kitchen floor? Potty training a dog is really quite simple if you know how to do it the right way. If done the wrong way, potty training can be a complete nightmare. In fact, if done the wrong way your dog will have you chasing your own tail.

The first thing you will want to remember when beginning to potty train your pet is, anger and punishment are counterproductive when dealing with your dog after it has done its "business" in an inappropriate area. Rewarding your pet for "going" in the right spot will work far better in reinforcing proper behavior, than punishing it will do for stopping improper behavior. In fact, punishing a dog long after the improper behavior occurs will often times just confuse the dog. The poor dog will not know what it's being punished for.

When first starting out in your training you must watch your pet very closely and look for signs that it needs to "go." Just keep an eye on your pet and look for common signs such as sniffing the floor, going in circles, half squatting and then getting up, and sometimes leaving you to go into a different room for no apparent reason. When you spot one of the telltale signs simply take your pet either outside or to your pre-determined "place" and wait patiently until it has finished its business. You may have to keep your fingers crossed, because your pet will not always cooperate with completing its task at that particular time. But when it does, give your pet much praise, stroking it, petting it and use the same phrase each and every time it "goes" where you want it to. Example: "Good boy! Good dog! You did your job! You did your good job! Good job!" In this case the key word phrase is, "good job" or simply "job."

Keep this in mind, your pet is not unlike yourself in that it will need to "go" in the morning when it wakes up, and at night before it goes to bed. So these times provide the perfect opportunity for you to train your pet. You should try to maintain a daily routine, where you take your pet out in the morning before you go to work, and again in the afternoon or at night when you get home from work. Then again before you go to bed at night.

Before long, your pet will become accustomed to this routine and begin to understand that the proper place for doing its "business" is either outside or the "place" designated by you. Your dog will even begin to go to the door to be let out, or to the "place" by itself to let you know that it is learning. Always praise your dog for positive behavior. Your dog loves you and wants to please you. Always return your dogs' love, and you will have many happy years together.