Housebreaking is the most important parts of training your best friend to be a family member. The best way to housebreak your dog is to take advantage of the dogs instincts. Dogs are instinctively clean. Thus, house training is easier than you think. Dogs do not want to mess up the areas where they sleep and eat. Also, dogs develop habits regarding where they like to urinate and defecate. For example, dogs that are used to defecating on concrete or gravel will prefer to do their business on the grave and not on the grass or dirt. The dogs instincts for cleanliness can be used for your advantage.

The first thing you need to do to begin house training your dog is to set up the training area. A small space that is confined is best for this purpose. For example, a bathroom or a part of the kitchen or garage will work best. Please do not confuse this with crate training. Crate training is great for both puppies and small dogs. However, many larger dogs will find a crate to confining.

It is important for the owner to spend as much time in the training area with his or her dog as possible. It is important for the owner to play with the dog in the training area, and to let the dog eat and sleep in that area. The dog should be provided with a special bed in the training area, anything from a store bought bed to a large towel to a large box. At first, the dog may eliminate in this area, but once the dog has recognized it as his or her own space, he or she will be reluctant to soil it.

When the dog is used to sleeping in the bed the owner can move it around the house and relocate the bed from room to room. When you are not with your dog; the dog should be confined to the training area.

Setting up the potty area is the second party of potty training. The dog must have access to this place every time nature calls. It is also necessary for the owner to accompany the dog each time until he or she get into the habits of eliminating into the toilet area. This will ensure that the dog only uses his established toilet area.

Giving your dog a set feeding schedule will make the house training process a lot easier for both the owner and the dog. Also, feeding the dog on a regular basis will help create a regular schedule for the dogs toilet habits. Once you know when your dog is likely to need to eliminate, it is will be easy to take your dog to the established toilet area.

Once the dog has established a toilet area and is using it on a regular basis, it is very important to not confine the dog without access to the toilet area for long periods of time. That is because if the dog is unable to hold it, he or she may be forced to eliminate in the training area. This habit can make house training much more difficult.

You can expand the dog's training area when he consistently used his training area. This process needs to be done slowly. First you need to start with one room and then expand to the rest of the house. You should only expand this area when you are sure that that the dog is able to control his own bladder.

First, expand the dogs training area to a single room. You need to let the dog eat, play and sleep in that room. But, you need to supervise that dog. When it is not possible to supervise the dog place the dog back in the original training area. Then when the dog has accepted the area as an extension of the original training area you can then extend this area.

In order to speed up this process you must be cautious. It is easier to take your time at first than to to retrain a dog that has learned bad habits. You can speed up house training by rewarding the dog each time it goes where it was supposed to go. Also, you should not punish the dog for his mistakes. Punishing, your dog, will confuse your pet and further slow down the house breaking process.

Posted under Dogs