SUPPLIES
Overview
If you have adopted your dog from an animal shelter or bought your dog at a later age, it may not be potty trained. You will need to teach your dog how to go to the bathroom outside. This may sound like a daunting task, but it shouldn't take longer than one week to do. Just make sure you have the time set aside to train your dog during that week.
Step 1
Block out 7 days of your time to be home with your dog to teach it to go to the bathroom outside. Make sure that you can devote a full week to this task.
Step 2
Take your dog outside as soon as you wake up in the morning. Don't stop to make your coffee first. Get up and take the dog outside. Stay with the dog outside until the dog relieves itself. This will take longer at first, but the dog will quickly learn that it needs to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning.
Step 3
Praise your dog and give him some of his favorite treats every time he goes to the bathroom outside. The dog will then assume it is doing something good. Since a dog likes to please its owners, ity will want to repeat this behavior.
Step 4
Turn away from your dog if it has an accident in the house. When training your dog, this is bound to happen. Make sure you don't look at the dog or give it any form of attention. The dog will learn that this is not pleasing you and will stop doing it.
Step 5
Take your dog outside after each long nap and after each of its three daily meals. These are the times when dogs are most likely to have to relieve themselves. Make sure you remain outside until the dog does its business.
Step 6
Empty your dog's water bowl before you go to bed at night. You don't want your dog getting up and drinking so much water that it can't wait until the morning to go the bathroom. This is one way your dog is sure to have an accident. Don't worry, your dog won't get dehydrated over night.
Step 7
Keep to your schedule all week long. If you stray from the schedule, you will confuse your dog. This will cause you to have to start the training all over again.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : Dogs under the age of 6 months are hard to train unless they are very smart.
- WARNING : Do not hit your dog or yell at it if it has an accident. This will not teach the dog to go outside. It will only teach the dog that you are someone to be afraid of.
