How to Reward a Dog When Housebreaking

Make housebreaking your dog a positive experience by focusing on reward training. Reward training is gaining more popularity with dog lovers everywhere since it encourages lots of praise and petting and discourages the unfriendly punishments of usual housebreaking techniques. This positive type of training can make housebreaking less stressful and yield real results.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Take your dog outside on a leash or confine him within a fenced in area. Keeping your dog on a leash prevents unwanted games of "chase" and keeps you beside your dog so you can be there to reward him when he goes potty.

2. Designate a specific area in your yard for your dog to go potty. Take your dog to this area every time you take him out to pee. This helps your dog learn what he is supposed to do in this area when you bring him outside.

3. Teach your dog a command word for peeing, such as "potty." Say your chosen command word as you walk to the spot you want your dog to use. Repeat the word over and over while you wait for your dog to pee.

4. Praise your dog as soon as she does pee/poop. Tell her how good she is and give her belly rubs. The key is to let your dog know you are happy with what she did. Let your dog play outside before taking her back inside as an additional reward.

Tips & Warnings

• Timing is very important in reward training. Make sure to praise your dog at the time he pees.
• Don't use food rewards--your approval and praise should be reward enough.