Rockwall Vet says, when it comes to house training a dog, pet owners can often feel like they have all the wrong ideas. Sometimes they seem to resist house training to the point where you wonder if you’ll ever break them of the habit of going to the bathroom in the house. But there are secrets of house training a dog.
One great method is associating a word, such as “potty” or “outside”, with your trips out. If you get the dog used to hearing one particular word and go to the door that you would like for them to use at the same time, they will learn. Every dog loves association and when they can associate a task with a command you’re teaching them.
Some people use the kenneling method to train. This is where you put the dog in a confined area until it is time to go out. The dog will instinctively not want to go in their home so they will be forced to hold it. But be careful with this technique. A dog does not know that you are taking them out soon so you have to start out with frequent trips and slowly increase the time in between trips.
Another way the dog will learn to go to the bathroom outside is by using certain verbal commands or even a clicker to signal them when it is time to go out. For example, taking the dog out and using the word “potty” will allow the dog to start to associate that word with the need to go outside. You can even walk them over to the door that you want to use for this purpose so that they know where to stand when they need to alert someone.
These are some of the secrets of house training a dog. The important thing to remember is that they have to learn the same way each of us learned everything we know- by repetition and patience.