Best Dog Potty Training

So you just brought your beautiful puppy home and now its time to potty train them, but wait, how do I do that? How do I let my dog know that she is supposed to go potty outside?

At first this may seem like a daunting task but have no fear I am here to help you understand your dog so that you can communicate to her that she is supposed to go potty outside and not inside on your brand new rug.

Dog potty training is not as complicated as you might think it is. Basically it boils down to understand a little bit how dogs think and most importantly being consistent. 

When training your dog you must remember that most dogs want to please you. They want to do what you tell them, but they are not going to understand exactly what you want right away. A cheery high pitched voice saying just about anything is going to get them excited and happy. So when you dog does go potty outside like she is supposed to then be sure to congratulate her with this voice, and say something like "good girl" or whatever phrase you choose.

When she does mess up and goes potty in the house use a deep, stern voice to scold the dog. Dogs can sense your disappointment, anger, and frustration in your voice, so be sure to convey it when you tell them, "bad girl" or whatever you want to say. There is absolutely no reason to hit, kick or otherwise cause any harm to your dog when they potty in the house or behave badly any other time.

Now this is the most important thing to remember when you are potty training your dog. CONSISTENCY! I can not stress enough how important it is to be consistent with you dog when potty training, or any other kind of training for that matter. This is especially important when they are first learning. Always take them out as soon as you get home, always take them out 20 minutes after eating, etc.

Alright now that you understand your puppy it's time to get started. First off you need to go buy a crate for your puppy. Be sure to buy one that is big enough for you puppy to stand up, and turn around in. You don't want to get one too small because that is just mean. I know it is tempting to buy a big one right from the beginning because they are going to be growing so quickly, but you can't do this. Try to borrow a small crate from a friend or look for one on craigslist.

The reason you can't buy a big crate from the beginning is because if they are too big your dog will still go potty in the crate. The whole point of the crate training your dog is based on the fact that you dog is not going to go potty in the same place that she sleeps. So the space in the crate needs to be small enough that she will not have room to go potty on one side and then sleep on the other.

Now when you take your dog outside to go potty you should pick a phrase to use, I use "go potty bailey." It is good for her to associate a phrase with what she is doing. So walk outside with your dog when you think she needs to go and continually say whatever phrase you are using until she goes. When she does finally go, immediately start praising her in a high cheerful voice. You will have to do this dozens of times before she will really get the hang of it but she will learn it.

Once you believe she has learned what your chosen phrase means then you need to start using before you go outside. I just use mine in a question. "Bailey, do you need to go potty?" Keep doing this until she walks towards the door and then praise her. Let her outside and then use your phrase and praise her again when she goes.

You see it's just baby steps. Teach them one thing at a time and then slowly put it all together. Eventually she will understand it all by herself and she will wait by the door when she knows that she has to go potty.

When first starting training your dog will not know how to tell you when she needs to go potty so it is up to you to take her out when you know she needs to go.

When should you take your dog outside to go potty?

• Right after she eats.
• As soon as you take her out of the crate.
• Every 2 hours if you are just at the house with her.
• As soon as she wakes up from sleeping (even naps)
• After a play session. This one is important because when puppies get excited they lose control of their bladder.

Just use your best judgment and take her out as often as you need to, and remember that this training process is not going to happen overnight. You need to be very patient. Every dog is different and each one will learn in their own time. Some will learn in just a few weeks, but it's definitely possible that your dog will take several months. Don't get discouraged. She will learn and you can do it.