Housebreaking is the most important parts of training your best friend to be a family member. The best way to housebreak your dog is to take advantage of the dogs instincts. Dogs are instinctively clean. Thus, house training is easier than you think. Dogs do not want to mess up the areas where they sleep and eat. Also, dogs develop habits regarding where they like to urinate and defecate. For example, dogs that are used to defecating on concrete or gravel will prefer to do their business on the grave and not on the grass or dirt. The dogs instincts for cleanliness can be used for your advantage.

The first step in house training your dog is to set up your training area. A small, confined space such as a bathroom, or part of a kitchen or garage, works best as a training area. This method of training differs from crate training. Crate training is great for puppies and small dogs, but many larger dogs find a crate too confining.

It is important for the owner to spend as much time in the training area with his or her dog as possible. It is important for the owner to play with the dog in the training area, and to let the dog eat and sleep in that area. The dog should be provided with a special bed in the training area, anything from a store bought bed to a large towel to a large box. At first, the dog may eliminate in this area, but once the dog has recognized it as his or her own space, he or she will be reluctant to soil it.

After the dog has gotten used to sleeping in the bed, the owner can move it around the house, relocating it from room to room. When you are not with your dog, the dog should be confined to the training area.

Setting up the potty area is the second party of potty training. The dog must have access to this place every time nature calls. It is also necessary for the owner to accompany the dog each time until he or she get into the habits of eliminating into the toilet area. This will ensure that the dog only uses his established toilet area.

A set feeding schedule makes the house training process a lot easier for both the owner and the dog. Feeding the dog on a regular basis will also create a regular schedule for the dog's toilet habits. Once you know when your dog is likely to need to eliminate, it will be simple to guide the dog to the established toilet area.

When your dog has established a toilet area, and he uses that toilet area on a regular basis, it is very important that your dog has access to his area. If he is unable to get to his potty area he may have an accident and this will make house training much more difficult.

After the dog is consistently using his toilet area and not soiling the training area it is then time to expand his training area to the rest of the home. This process should be done slowly. First start with one room and expand to the rest of the house. The area should only be expanded when you are sure of the dog's capability to control his bladder.

You must first expand the dogs training area to a single room. You need to let the dog eat, play and sleep in that room. But, you need to supervise your dog. When it is not possible to supervise the dog you should place the dog back to the original training area. Then when the dog has accepted the area as an extension of the original training area you can then extend this area if needed.

If this process is too lengthy for your needs, it can be speeded up, but it is important to proceed cautiously. It is easier to take your time up front than to retrain a problem dog later. One way to successfully speed up house training is to praise and reward the dog each and every time it uses the established toilet area. It is also important not to punish the dog for mistakes. Punishment will only confuse the dog and slow down the house training process.