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How to Potty Train Your Dog

If you’re a dog owner, you know that potty training can be one of the most challenging aspects of having a pet. Potty training involves teaching your dog how to appropriately relieve himself and where to do it in the house. There are several methods to potty train your dog, but when done correctly, it will make life much easier for both you and your pup.

Open Up Access to the Outdoors

The first step to potty training is setting up a screen door or an area where the dog will be able to go outside and relieve himself without being around people or other animals. This may require you to create a temporary partition between the house and yard, but it’s worth it for successful potty training. 

After the screen door is set up, it’s important to get your dog used to going outside. This can include feeding him only in the screen door area or taking him out for walks in the yard. It’s also helpful to start with a simple command like “outside” or “go potty” when you’re trying to train your dog, as this will help him understand what you want.

Indoor Training

Once your dog is comfortable going outside, it’s time to start potty training in the house. The best way to do this is by using a crate or crate-like environment. This is an area where your pup can sleep and feel safe without having access to other areas of the home.  If your pup has an accident in the house, make sure to clean it up immediately and not scold him. Instead, when you catch him in the act, say a firm “No!” and take him outside. This will help him associate going potty with going outdoors.

Once your pup is comfortable with the screen door or crate, you can start introducing him to other areas of the house. It’s important at this stage to keep an eye on your pup and take him outside more frequently than you would without potty training. This will help reinforce the idea that going potty is only done outdoors and not in the house. During this time, be sure to give your pup lots of praise for going potty outside. This will reinforce the idea that it’s a good thing to do and make him more likely to keep repeating the behavior in the future.

Here are some other tips on potty training your dog that can help you in the process:

Reward Good Behvaior

Make sure to reward your pup when they successfully go potty outside. This could be anything from a treat or toy to verbal praise and petting. Be sure to stock up on treats that you can give your dog when it does it right, so that they can learn that good behavior leads to happiness for them. It’s essentially what Pavlov did in his famous experiments, and they’re proven to work!

Crate Train

Crate training is an essential part of potty training. When you’re not home, it’s important to keep your dog in a crate so that he doesn’t have access to the house. Crate training is an essential way to make sure your dog will obey you, and offer both you and your pet a good precedent for authority and behavior.

Set a Schedule

Creating a regular schedule for potty breaks and meals will help your pup understand when he should be going outside. This will make the behavior more consistent and memorable over a longer period of time, ensuring the potty training lasts in the dog’s mind.

No Punishment 

It’s easy to get frustrated during potty training, but punishing your pup for accidents will only make things worse. Instead, focus on positive reinforcement and patience. Dogs don’t necessarily process and understand punishment in the same way that people do, so punishing negative behavior won’t have any positive impact.

Consistency

You need to be consistent with your potty training efforts in order for them to be successful. Make sure to take your pup out to go potty at the same time each day and stick with it until they get the hang of it. Make sure that all members of the household are using the same commands and methods to reinforce the ideas of potty training.

Conclusion

Potty training can be a long process, but with patience and consistency, you’ll soon have your pup trained successfully. Having screen doors or an area where your pup is restricted to will help him feel secure and understand the rules of going potty. With frequent trips outside and lots of praise, your dog should soon learn where it’s appropriate to relieve himself. Potty training can be a challenge, but with the right guidance, you can successfully potty train your dog in no time!