A Guide to Potty Training Your Dog

Jordan Walker is an animal lover and is passionate to anything related about them. As the lead content curator for Coops And Cages, he has written several informative articles on pet care. In this post, he shares his expertise on how to potty train little Fido.

Having a pet dog in your home is quite a responsibility. Just like having a child, you’re the one responsible of giving them their basic needs. You need to feed, bathe and take care of them. You also need to play with them and train them. And among the most important house training regimens you should teach your pet dog is potty training. Without learning it, your furry pet might just poop and pee everywhere in your house. To potty train your pet dog, you may conduct the following steps: Having a pet dog in your home is quite a responsibility. Just like having a child, you’re the one responsible of giving them their basic needs. You need to feed, bathe and take care of them. You also need to play with them and train them.

And among the most important house training regimens you should teach your pet dog is potty training. Without learning it, your furry pet might just poop and pee everywhere in your house. To potty train your pet dog, you may conduct the following steps:
Establish a Routine. Dogs love routine; hence, it’s very important to establish a routine early on. Having a set schedule everyday teaches them that there is a time for eating, playing and going to the potty. Here are some techniques on how you can do this:

• Taking your dog outside. It is best to take your pet dog outside when establishing a routine for bathroom breaks. Do this frequently, at least every two hours. Do this as well after he woke up, ate, or played.
• Pick a potty spot outside. You can choose an area outside your home that can be his potty spot. Always take him there, and use a phrase like “go potty” so that he can be reminded of what he is supposed to do. Only take him to linger walks or allow him to play after he has eliminated.
• Rewarding your dogs. You can reward your pet dog by giving him treats or praising him immediately after he finished eliminating, not when you two are already back in the house. This is very important because rewarding him when he eliminated outdoors teaches him of what is expected of her. They can be easily distracted so make sure to only reward or praise him after he is done eliminating.
• Establish a regular feeding schedule. Make your pet dog’s potty time consistent by feeding him the same time each day. Dogs are usually fed three to four times a day, depending on their age and needs.
• Keeping away his water dish before bedtime. Pick his water dish two and a half hours before the two of you go to sleep. This reduces the likelihood of him of urinating at night.

Supervising Your Pet Dog. Do not give your dog an opportunity to soil in the house. You should always keep an eye on him when he is indoors. These are the measures that you can do:

• Tethering your dog. You can tether your dog to you or to a nearby furniture using a six-foot leash when you are not actively training him. You have to be familiar of the signs that he needs to urinate such as barking and scratching. When you see these signs, immediately take him outside.
• Keeping the leash while on the yard. During his training, the yard needs to be treated just like any other part of the house. Having said this, he should always be kept on a leash. Only give him some freedom until he is house trained reliably.

Confining Your Dog When You Can’t Supervise Him. You may not always be available to watch your dog at all times. During these instances, confine him in an area wherein he wouldn’t want to eliminate there. It should be a space just adequate for him to stand, turn around and lie down. You can make use a portion of your laundry room or bathroom for this. Just ensure that it is blocked with baby gates. After his confinement, you must take him immediately as soon as he is out.

Tethering your dog. You can tether your dog to you or to a nearby furniture using a six-foot leash when you are not actively training him. You have to be familiar of the signs that he needs to urinate such as barking and scratching. When you see these signs, immediately take him outside.

Author: Jordan Walker

Jordan a born dog lover, writer as well as a couple of other pet related blogs. His passion for animals is only matched by his love for ‘attempting’ to play the guitar. If you would like to catch him, you can via Google+ or Twitter