Housebreaking a Dog
Housebreaking a dog can be a frustrating task and it isn’t made easier by the fact that many people are unaware how to do it properly. In this article I’ll give you a few tips on making sure you are training your puppy the right way so that you can avoid some of the most common problems that people find when they try to housebreak their dog.
- Don’t be impatient! Most people don’t realise the potty training a dog can take a long time, so you need to be patient in the process. If you get angry and frustrated the dog will be able to sense this and it will make your job harder.
- Using dog training pads is a great way of making sure that the dog knows where to go and can also help you to see that you are making progress each day. Read our article on dog training pads for more information about how to do them.
- Always use positive dog training and not negative. This means that when your dog does something right you should praise him but you shouldn’t try and punish him if he makes a mistake. This can really harm your relationship with the dog and make house training more difficult than it would have been if you’d had a bit more patience. Especially make sure that you don’t physically punish your dog for mistakes as this won’t help – dogs have a long memory.
- If your dog has an accident make sure you clean it up thoroughly. Dogs like to go in the same place and they find that place via smell so you need to make sure that dog can’t smell anything on the floor where it has been previously.
These are just the basics of getting your dog to be potty trained but you should contact a professional if you don’t start to see results within a reasonable amount of time. Housebreaking a dog isn’t easy but it is essential if you are going to enjoy having your dog.