Owners of Pets Articles about dogs, cats, birds and all other pets!

House Training a Dog is such an important issue for a dog owner that every little tip is viewed to be extremely helpful.

The first step in dog training is to potty train him. Some pet owners see this training as a hassle and some accept it as a challenge. I have come to accept it as just a part of having a pet. Remember though, until your Dog has been fully potty trained keep him under a strict watch. Do not let him roam around the house unattended.

There are some very important things you need to know before you actually start house training a dog. I will elaborate on these below:

You need to understand your dog’s body language. Watch for signs that will indicate to you when your pet wants to eliminate. If you own puppies, remember that they need to go potty at fairly frequent intervals such as; as soon as they wake up, after short naps, after play-time, after meals, before and after being crated and finally, before going to bed for the night.

Take your Dog for walks at the time that he usually does his potty. Take him out to the yard in the place that you desire he answers nature’s call. Praise your Dog after he eliminates in the desired location. Some Dog owners even give treats to their dogs. If you do this, remember to give the treat every time he does it right. He will relate the rewards to his having “done it right” and zero in on the spot where you want him to defecate regularly.

With time, you can try signal training. This is so that you know when your doggie wants to go. You can hang a bell at his level near the door and teach him to push it with his nose or pat it with his paw on his way out.

Use a crate. A crate-trained Dog is usually very happy to get his own den. The advantage of crating is that dogs do not usually soil the place where they sleep. So, he will naturally not eliminate inside the crate.

Use positive reinforcements while house training a dog. Do not scold or hit them as you will gain nothing by this action. Your pet will only associate punishment with your return from outside. If you catch him in the act, a stern ‘NO’ or ‘FREEZE’ will do.

Be prepared to return to a soiled home if you are keeping your Dog home alone for more than 4 hours as separation anxiety is quite common among home – alone dogs.

Accidents will happen. It is unusual for a trained adult Dog to work against its house training. But medical problems or health disorders may lead to sudden accidents.

If you are patient and are ready to accept that house training a dog takes time, even months sometimes, you will end up having a good housetrained Dog.