Things You'll Need:
- A dog crate for your pet which gives him/her just enough room to turn around in
- A collar and leash
- A predeterminined place you have chosen for the dog to relieve him or herself
- Patience, patience, patience
- Lots of love
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Step 1
* Before the dog comes into the home for the first time ( if it is a new pet) take it to the predetermined place you have chosen for it to relieve itself. Encourage the dog to "go potty", "go poop" or whatever term you want to associate with the process but do chose a one or two word command.
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Step 2
* Once the dog is inside the home if no one is going to playing with him or her the dog needs to go directly to it's crate. This should be done in an encouraging manner since this will be where the dog will spend most of it's time while inside the home. Dogs are pack animals and like to have dens. A crate is a natural and comfortable setting for a dog. Do not look at it as caging your pet. It is not. Let me repeat myself. It is not caging your pet. It is much better for the dog to have positive reinforcement. By being in his crate he will not relieve himself and in turn prevent negative human reaction.
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Step 3
* As soon as someone takes the dog out of his crate immediately put on his collar and leash (just attach his leash if the collar is always worn) and take the dog outside to his own private area. This should be an area that you are not concerned with about grass or plants of any kind. Dog urine kills everything. This is why it is important to teach the dog from the beginning to go to a specific area. You want it large enough for him to feel comfortable in but not so big you have to wait a long time so he can smell any and everything that has visited the area since he was last there. Once a dog, male or female claims a spot they make sure they keep it marked. They do that by urinating on the area to cover any other smells left behind by other animals.
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Step 4
* From my own experience, if you work consistently with your pet with positive reinforcement it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks for the dog to learn that outside is where his potty area is. This doesn't mean he will automatically go to the door and sit there to let you know he needs to go out he just most likely will not eliminate on the floor. He will still need to have supervision. In my opinion, any dog which stays in the house needs his own space to call his own; his crate. With a little encouragement he will automatically go into it all on his own. There is no need to close the cage door when you are in the house with him but I would encourage him to stay in his area. That is strictly my opinion though. It makes for a better mannered dog. When you have company over you don't have to worry about your pet jumping all over everyone because he already knows he should stay in his crate until he is invited out.
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Step 5
* Be sure to give your best friend lots of attention and love and the return will be more than you ever hoped for. Just remember, he is a dog and not a human. So many times we try to make our pets into our kids and that just confuses the animal. He has no problem being a dog. So do your best to let him be a dog. He doesn't reason like a human as so many of us think he does. He doesn't get his feelings hurt and he doesn't hold a grudge. All he needs is love, shelter, food, water, and a nice 20 to 30 minute walk every day.
Comments
virgorising said
on 9/12/2009 This only works with puppies. If you get an adult dog from a shelter and don't know it's history, the crate may be a place where it's been punished and it will go IN the crate. I know this from experience.
buddysMom said
on 10/18/2007 I guess I had the format of the way the eHow instructional training article needed to be presented. As I read the step by step process, I understood the "steps" to mean the items you would need to accomplish your eHow goal in the most efficient manner. My appologies for any confusion I may have caused.
Lung said
on 10/18/2007 Your steps do not instruct.