Before your new puppy arrives to your home, you should decide how you are going to housetrain her/her.
There are several ways to housetrain your puppy. It is important to decide on a method and then stick with it for the duration of your dogs life. Changing methods will confuse your dog and will ultimately cause accidents.
It's worthwhile to learn about several of the potty training methods available so you can choose the best one for you. For example if you live in an apartment you may need to learn about paper training, and if you travel a lot with your pet, litter box training may be useful for you to learn about.
This article is unable to go into all the methods available, so again, a good dog training book or other resource is worth its weight in gold! Recommended training book: http://largedogbreedz.com/housetrain.htm
How to Housetrain to Go Outside
Housetraining is teaching your dog to eliminate outside only she is never allowed to eliminate indoors. From the moment you bring your new puppy or dog home, you want to take her immediately to the spot you want to designate as the elimination area.
Use your command phrase “go outside” or “go potty”. As soon as she eliminates, immediately give her verbal praise and a reward.
Anticipate her future needs to go outside by tracking her cycle as mentioned earlier. Whenever it is time to eliminate, take her outside and once again give the command phrase go outside or go potty.
If your yard does not have a fence, or you live in an apartment, you will want to take your dog out on a leash. Attach the leash to the collar and say “Rover come” in an upbeat tone.
When she begins to walk, praise her. Lead the puppy directly to where you want her to eliminate, and say use your command phrase. Otherwise, he may be confused and think you are taking her out for a walk.
He won't always eliminate on cue. In fact, you could spend several minutes outside waiting for her to eliminate. But until she is fully housetrained, you need to be there with her. Once he finally eliminates, give her immediate praise and a reward.
If you are taking your puppy to eliminate other than your own yard, make sure that you keep her from going on your neighbor's lawn, in public recreational areas, or children's playgrounds.
Always take a plastic bag with you so you can pick up his feces and throw it away immediately into an outdoor trash can.
Female dogs squat to urinate, however, male dogs raise their hind legs and aim at vertical objects, or targets. So, be aware of where your male dog chooses to urinate.
Curbs, phone poles, and fire hydrants are acceptable locations. However, automobiles, bicycles, mailboxes, young trees, fences, plants, and shrubbery are not. If you see your dog striking the pose, gently tug on the leash and keep walking until you find an appropriate object.
Consistency is very important with housetraining. If you are not consistent with when you take her out and where you take her out, it will be hard for your dog to know what is right and what is wrong.
