House Training your Dog

Getting a dog should be like greeting a new member in the family: he brings a lot of joy and happiness in the house, means responsibility and also he must be acquainted with the way thing work around here. As opposite to a child, you can’t expect your dog to rationalize his acts so you have to train him. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t think dogs are stupid, it’s just it’s better to understand their instinctual rather than thinking ways.

What do you want him to learn? To have his own place where he sleeps and not in every room, to eliminate only where he should and at least try not to destroy the furniture – just to behave, I bet you’re thinking! Well it’s more than that for him because he doesn’t know what behaving is; he just is in it for the love, the food and playing. You must be the one that helps him behave so take patience in one hand and love in the other and brace yourself!

As a loving but instinctual creature, your dog has the need not to soil his eating place or where he sleeps. You surely noticed that dogs want to hide their eliminations; they do it on concrete, but on grass or soil too in order to be able to cover his mess. As soon as you will teach him where to eat and where to eliminate, he will follow his instincts.

The first thing he needs to learn is where his place is, where he sleeps and nothing more. For this you have to manage bed out of a blanket, a cardboard box or some other thing you like or think of that will suit. He will eliminate at first here but after getting used to the idea that he will sleep there and only there, he will look for another place to do that. In order for him to get attached to his sleeping place, you should let him stay there for some time and then move the bed in another room - he will surely look for it.

Regarding the place he must eliminate, you should get him used to one place – and place only and when he makes improvements to give him treats and praise him. He will understand that “this is place where if I do my business I will get a treat”. Treat your dog with love and understanding!