Housebreaking Your Dog in 3-5 Days

Here is our way of housebreaking a dog, proven effective many times:

First, be aware that you have three excellent opportunities when it comes to a dog needing to “go.”

  1. within 20 minutes of waking from a nap
  2. within 20 minutes of eating   Note: Always feed on a schedule.
  3. during vigorous exercising (running and playing inside or outside).

You will need a pet carrier (only large enough for the dog to enter, turn around inside and stand up completely).

Procedure:

  1. Feed the dog. When it’s finished, put it in the pet carrier for one hour.
  2. After one hour, take the dog outside. As you are walking toward the door, keep repeating to the dog, “you wanna go potty, let’s go potty” or something to that effect.
  3. Give the dog ONLY 1 MINUTE to do its business.
    1. If it doesn’t relieve itself within 1 minute, take it back inside and put it back into the pet carrier for another hour.
    2. If it does relieve itself within a minute, do not let it stay out a second longer. Praise the dog, take it back inside and give it the freedom of the house for up to an hour, then repeat steps 2 and 3 above.
  4. Any time the dog wakes up from a nap, whether in the carrier or lying on the floor, perform steps 2 and 3.
  5. The same goes for running and playing throughout the house or outdoors. If the dog has been outside for a while, he must go into the crate immediately upon coming inside the house, for one hour
  6. After the 3-5 day training period, if you followed the directions above, your dog should clearly understand where to relieve itself.

If you have deviated from the instructions, you may need to repeat some or all of the steps.

How do you know you’ve been successful? You’ll know your dog is housebroken if:

  • It “goes potty” immediately after being taken outside then heads for the door to go back in
  • It goes to the door to indicate it needs to “go potty”
  • “Accidents” are few and far between

If your dog has an “accident,” clean the area as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Be especially alert any time the dog sniffs at that spot later—this is a likely indication that the dog is about to potty. Say “No!” and take it outside immediately. Follow steps 2 and 3 above