Puppies are prone to making mistakes while they are undergoing potty and house training. Be patient, keeping in mind that it is a natural part of learning. As puppies are young and still unsure, leaving him alone will increase the chances of him committing errors. Constant monitoring is necessary so try to have someone stay with him as much as possible. A puppy isn't fully house-trained until he has gone past 4 weeks of not soiling the home. If you are attempting to teach an older dog, it could take longer before he fully learns all the rules.



Until then, you should keep a constant vigil over him, set up baby gates to control his movements in the house and confine him to his crate when unsupervised. Take note that if your puppy squats and urinates when he greets you, he may probably suffer from submissive urination. These types of dogs are very high-strung and you should refrain from reprimanding his actions as such scoldings exacerbates the issue. However, as he grows older, he will no longer do this if you are calm and quiet. Or you could ask him to sit down for a tasty treat till someone greets him.

Try to get rid of the smell of urine or defecation to reduce the chances of your puppy going back to the exact spot to conduct his business and this will reduce the occurrence of committing the same mistake. Dogs tend to return to the same spot they have targeted earlier.

To completely remove the odor, use a good deodorizer for doggy odors. If he urinated on a carpet, saturate it with a cleaning agent. Shut off all those rooms in your house where your puppy has made frequent mistakes. Let him enter here only when accompanied by a family member.

An extra tip to remove urine from carpet is to use black lights to find the exact urine spot to make cleaning more efficient. You can use commercial or create a homemade deodorizer by mixing 50% water and 50% white vinegar. Take note that you should never use ammonia on a urine spot. It will encourage your dog to return to the same spot.

Remember, dogs will make mistakes during the period of house-training and it is part of the learning process. This is the reason for being prepared to deal with such issues.

a. Don't punish him when he makes a mistake already as this only delays training.

b. Be patient. Like any training endeavor, potty training requires a lot of patience. Don't rub his nose into his mess. This will not teach him not to repeat it and will only end up making him frightened of you.

c. If you catch him while he is in the midst of doing, stop him with a quick grab of his collar and pull him up while making a startling sound, a sharp noise or say "No" using your deep, stern tone loudly. Do this only when you catch him red-handed, but be sure not to be too loud or he will eliminate in front of you or perhaps even outdoors.

d. Bring him out to the gardens to let him complete his business. Lastly, pat him on his head while saying "Good boy!" or praising him. It is important to show your dog praises whenever he does something correct. Giving him food as a reward when he does his business in the appropriate spot can help too.

During potty training, the use of common sense will aid you big time in dealing with your puppy's housebreaking endeavor. Logical thinking should inform you not to give your dog too much water before bedtime if his tendency is to pee often at night. It will be useful to try to suit his timing initially before trying to get the dog to adjust to your timing.

Aside from patience and common sense, consistency is also one of the important factors of this dog training activity. If you suddenly forget about the routines yourself, don't blame if your dog if he starts committing accidents more often.

Remember that the stakes are high ? a dirty and malodorous house. If you would like to succeed in this potty training feat or just about in any other training drills, don't treat it as a game. Allot enough time and commitment on your part.