House Training a Dog in 3 Easy Steps

By Sarah Barker

House training a dog doesn't have to be hard. It can be daunting to get a new puppy or dog that isn't house trained and have them doing their business all over your brand new carpet, but don't worry - it normally doesn't take long to house train a dog into good habits. To speed up the process, follow these three simple steps and you'll have a well behaved dog in no time.

#1 - Take him out a lot. In the early stages of house training, before you've established a routine and started setting ground rules and consequences for doing it indoors, take your new dog outside a lot. Let him play around outside and get used to naturally doing his business there, simply because he's already outside when he needs to go.

This is an important first step - it might sound silly, but if a dog has never done it outdoors, they might get nervous or shy, so start this step straight away.

#2 - He'll tell you when he needs to go. Dogs instinctively know they want to do their business away from where they live or play. So, they'll look for corners, under sofas, behind chairs or in cupboards when they need to go. They'll probably also scratch to try and dig a hole to go in. Watch out for these telltale signs when you're house training your dog, because they mean he's about to make a mess!

As in step one, take him outside as soon as you see any sign of needing to use the toilet, so he gets used to the idea. Eventually he'll start scratching at the door to let you know, and then you're halfway there.

#3 - Tell him off, but not too much. If he does go inside, don't boot him around as punishment. Instead, take him over to where he went, show it to him, give him a firm "No", then take him outside. Consistency is key here - you're building a pattern of association, and hopefully he'll remember that next time, and want to avoid doing his business inside.

It's important that you don't tell him off too much, or he may become shy about his toilet habits and start really hiding it around the house, and that's when you get mysterious unpleasant smells which take weeks to track down!

House training a dog is simple in theory, but can be hard to follow through if your dog is particularly stubborn. Don't worry though, if you keep it up, he'll keep it outside.

House training dogs can seem like an uphill struggle, but if you've got professional advice from the start and a properly designed behavior strategy, it's actually a breeze to get through. I've successfully trained my dogs out of their bad habits (barking, chewing and scratching) thanks to the advice of the "Sit, Stay, Fetch!" course. Learn more about dog behaviour training today, and get a free 6 part sample from the "Sit, Stay, Fetch!" course at EasyDogObedience.com. I'll see you there, and wish you the best of luck with your pets.