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The first thing that you want to teach any pet is to go potty outdoors. You can usually begin housebreaking a puppy when it is between six and eight weeks old. Some people try to teach dogs to go potty outside when they are as young as one month old, but few dogs have the physical control necessary to hold it at that young age.

The dog owner's patience is as important as the dog's temperament. This is typical in any dog training routine. Different behaviors like 'sit' or 'stay' can usually be learned quickly. Potty training, on the other hand, usually requires weeks and sometimes even a month or more to accomplish.

Like other taught behaviors, it is a good idea to look for signs of the intended behavior, then guide the puppy with a voice command and reward it with praise. This technique works to the pet owner's advantage as all pets have to eliminate waste sooner or later. The idea is to train the puppy to do their business at the appropriate time and place.

If you notice that your puppy is circling or squatting, then pick it up, say 'outside' and run outside. The puppy may continue to circle for some time, but mostly it will squat immediately. As it begins, clearly say 'go potty' (or any special phrase). Your tone has to be firm but not angry. Then, wait until it's finished and show your appreciation for what the puppy did.

Remember that it takes time for your dog to learn how to tell when it is time to go outside. It also takes time for the puppy to develop bladder and bowel control. You may not always be able to catch the dog before it tries to go potty, so you must take the time to train it and continue to be patient.

For the most part, elimination by young dogs is necessary every 2-3 hours. It is important to let the dog go outside within that time, even if you have not noticed pre-elimination behavior. Once you are outside, order the dog to 'go potty' and wait for the desired behavior.

Often, the dog will have no idea what you're asking. Wait for the behavior, and then say the command again. That way, the dog will learn to connect the two events. If you have no success after five or ten minutes and repeated commands, bring the dog back inside, but continue to monitor it for signs of needing to go potty.

Dogs can quickly pick up precisely what their alpha (or leader) would like. This usually happens when the dog owner helps the dog associate a spoken command with an action, and then praising the dog for doing the right thing. Punishment generally gets you nowhere and this is especially true when it comes to housebreaking a puppy. Do not physically harm your puppy when accidents happen and never put a dog's nose into its own mess.

Other housebreaking methods include paper training in which puppies can be taught to go on newspapers or on chemically treated housebreaking pads. If your dog is small enough or you do not have a yard, you may "paper train" your dog to eliminate indoors in these specific areas.

This process, however, has some negative aspects. Dogs, unlike cats, do not like to use scented litter boxes. The use of newspapers soon results in a bad odor, even when the "dirty" parts on top are regularly disposed of.

Dogs also recognize their own smell all too well. It makes them feel comfortable to be around it, so after being paper trained they often choose to continue going potty inside. Unfortunately, they may occasionally overshoot the paper by a wee bit and leave you a smelly mess to get rid of.

Dogs tend to seek the same spot after detecting its odor and consider that as the place where it is supposed to go potty. This makes it even more difficult to teach the dog to go potty outside. Rather than create a habit that is hard to break, it's better to suffer through a few accidents.

When training a dog, it is not only important to be patient. You also need to be consistent, as well as lavish your dog with praise. Housebreaking a puppy may be challenging, but if you follow the suggestions above, you will soon see results.

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