Dog Potty Training - Teaching Your Pet The Right Place To Go

Perhaps one of the more common mistakes when potty training a dog is just letting your pet know when he's done something wrong. Perhaps even more important is letting him know when he's done right. In other words, it's not enough to tell your dog "no" when he goes in the house. The training is exponential better when you show him where he should be going.

Obviously you don't want a house filled with ruined furniture and a bad odor, so you job is to teach Fido exactly where you want him to go. This means frequent walks if you goal is simply to teach him to go outside. And make sure you encourage your dog to do his business while you are out. In most cases, a dog will want to relieve himself early in the morning, after eating, after exercise, and before going to bed. Schedule you walks at these times. You want to go for walks when you are sure your pet will want to go. We've talked in other posts about how dogs love schedules.

Of course while training you will keep an eye on your pet at all times (or at least as much as is feasible). Look for signs that he wants to go. These signs are different for each dog but usually fall into a variation of a few old standards. He'll become restless, start sniffing around, and maybe walk around in circles. If you've done well in your training, he may even go to the door and scratch. If you notice him doing any of the above, take him outside immediately to the place where you want him to go.

One thing we haven't talked about yet is submissive urination. In other words, you may notice your dog pee as he gets excited, perhaps because you've just come home from work. You may also notice him urinating if he knows you are upset with him or are scolding him. This form of social anxiety should not be punished. Any scolding from you will simply make the problem worse as your dog becomes even more emotional.

So how do you stop submissive urination? Well start by communicating with your dog. Remember you are the master in this relationship and you'll need to build a good relationship. Your dog must trust you. Once this relationship is solid, the problem should gradually go away. He'll be less anxious when he sees you. Things become more familiar and slowly the social nervousness will go away.

True dog potty training is not hard, but it's not completely simple either. You need to follow a few simple rules. They are:
1. Confine your pet to an area where you can watch him
2. Be consistent and persistent. You do need to stick with it.
3. Repetition is key. Dogs learn through repetition.
4. Lots of praise or a reward when he does things correctly.

Finally, you need to keep your emotions in check and not get overly frustrated. Be patient and allow your dog the time he needs to learn the right way and place to relieve himself.

Follow these steps, and you will quickly have a potty trained dog.

Of course a well trained dog is simply a joy. And if you want to train your pet not just to potty but to obey commands and do tricks, the best course on the market is Daniel Stevens' SitStayFetch. Stevens is a professional dog trainer who shares all his secrets in an easy to understand book that you can have in you hands just minutes from now. That's because it is downloaded on to your computer. To see everything the book has to offer, check out his website now.

One other great resource is Dove Cresswell's Dog Training Online. If you prefer watching videos as opposed to reading a book, this is definitely the way to go. You can even view a free sample lesson to be sure this is the right program for you.

Which ever program you choose (and you really need to pick one), you will have a well trained pet who will be a loyal friend for years to come.