Dogs want to please, so your puppy will learn the housebreaking lessons quickly. But your dog will also have to relieve itself at times when you don’t expect it. Training it to hold it until it is outdoors is the core of potty training a puppy. There are several things you can do to make it easy on both your dog and yourself. You will need to watch for the situations where your dog might need to go, and be proactive to help it succeed.

Pay attention to your pet and take your puppy out quickly when it starts signaling that it is about to go. This behavior is different for each dog, and is something you will need to learn. Your puppy may may circle, start walking with an arched back or go into a closet. It might whine or bark uncharacteristically at you. While you are still potty training a puppy, it is safer to take it outside than take the risk of ignoring it.

At times your pet doesn’t give any sign that it needs to go. If it is playing hard, it probably won’t pause to signal that it needs to go until it is too late. You should interrupt the action frequently to take it outside.

Remember that what goes into your puppy must come out sometime, so if it has snacks of any kind, whether treats or a bit of greasy paper towel, add more trips outside. Likewise, if you change its diet, particularly when changing from puppy food to dog food, be attentive to its reaction.

Realistically, you can’t watch your puppys behavior constantly. When you have to leave your dog at home alone, it is natural for your puppy to go potty anywhere in the space where you leave it. But fortunately, a puppy won’t go potty in the space where it sleeps. This is why crate training is an important part of potty training a puppy. If you have the right size dog crate, experience proves that your puppy won’t go to the bathroom there unless it is desperate.

When your puppy has an accident in the house, don’t be shocked. Accidents do happen, sometimes even a long time after you thought your dog had mastered potty training. Remember that you play an important part in successfully potty training a puppy. Still, a puppy won’t be perfect right away, but the results from potty training a puppy will get more predictable with time.

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Take this cue and after it naps, eats or plays, place your pup on its papers, or outside in the yard. After your pup has successfully soiled where you have placed it, lavish it with sincere praise. A puppy will respond to sincere praise and will not be fooled if you do not mean it. Apartment dwellers who are away at work all day, are generally more successful at paper-training a puppy until it is old enough to have considerable control. It doesn’t matter where you live though, the same rules apply to your dogs potty training.

Supervising your puppy at all times is required if you let it have the freedom of the whole house. Taking your pup out to the yard, or onto its papers has to be quick, if you see it lowering its head, sniffing and circling. When it relieves itself, praise is in order. Should you miss your pup’s signals and it soils inside, do not spank or rub its nose in it because it was your fault. A pup has a memory of a couple of seconds and if it soiled ten minutes before, it cannot relate your anger to its action that long ago and will not be able to understand why you are angry.

Such punishment does not fit the crime and will only encourage bad habits such as stool eating and thereby re-infestation with parasites. By all means show your pup what it has done, scold it and place it on the papers. By you not being vigilant and consistent, an accident occurred. Clean and disinfect the soiled area thoroughly to remove any odour, otherwise your pup will seek out this spot again. Having the freedom of the whole house is the biggest disadvantage you have in teaching your puppy potty habits and you could end up with real housetraining problems.

For the older dog, paper training is generally superfluous. Regular outings, timed to coincide with its peak urgency periods, after meals, naps and play periods should accomplish this in short order. No matter what age your dog is, praise should never be forgotten when it does the right thing. These are the simple rules to puppy housetraining as your dog only wants to please you, its leader, and you show how pleased you are with praise, love and affection.

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