Ever had the experience of stepping on dog poop inside your house? Or slipping on puppy pee in your kitchen that caused you to drop that platter of spaghetti you were about to serve your family for dinner? Not a pretty sight and experience I assure you. This is a common problem for puppy owners, especially toy dogs that we keep indoors. Dogs have to be taught where to do their waste elimination process. There are number of ways to "housebreak" them and all the methods require your patience and commitment. This, after all, is for your convenience and your canine pal's behavioral plus points.

One of the most popular methods used is crate training. This method makes use of the dog's instinct of trying not to soil their own den or "space". This is a highly effective method because it uses the den instinct that is common to all canines. Having their own "den" also gives your puppy a feeling of security.

Find your puppy a comfortable "crate" (a plastic dog carrier or any small enclosure can be used). It must be big enough for the puppy to stand and comfortably turn around in but not big enough for the puppy to be too far from the other side of the crate. Otherwise the puppy would be able to use one end of the crate as a defecation area and the other end as their sleeping area which would defeat the purpose of the training. Introduce the puppy to the crate gradually and make sure you give the puppy lots of attention. Once the puppy gets accustomed to the crate you can be sure that he will not soil his own little space and you will see that they would actually grow fond of their crate. This is how puppies learn to delay the "call of nature" inside the home.

Of course during this training period a lot of "accidents" tend to happen. Bear in mind that you are dealing with a young dog with a small bladder, and these accidents should be expected until he is fully housebroken. When these accidents do happen, do not rub your puppy's nose in it or any other harsh punishment. Especially if not caught in the act. It is important to note that dogs do not have the capacity to associate punishment with earlier actions. They can only associate it with what they were doing at the time of the punishment. This will only cause the dog to be confused and possibly upset. Dogs have dignity too.

You should also be aware of messages that your puppy sends you during this period because some of them might be just to trick you into letting him out so that he could be with you or he may really need to unload some cargo. Read the signs, is he sniffing all around, turning in small circles or whining and barking. There is a lot to take into account when potty training you dog and there will be a lot of hit and miss situations. Remember, patience is a virtue that will bring dividends.

It is never easy training dogs but the pleasure it brings to all dog-owners after they have succeeded is beyond words. Potty training is the foundation of obedience training. After potty training, you can teach them anything you like (fetch, heel, stay, come, etc.) and because of the bond from the previous training, it would not be as hard. Have the patience to potty train your dogs and enjoy the benefits of being a dog owner for the rest of your canine best friend's life.

Here Fido. Fetch.Good dog..