There are as many ways to raise a puppy as there are to raising a child. In fact, one way per family in general! But most of us agree that when it comes to children, certain things are universal and undisputed. Here are three things that a lot of people just do not think of when it comes to raising their dogs, however. How many times have we heard, “My dog just won’t listen to me”, or “He just won’t behave!”

1. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.

The thing we all love about puppies the most is the way they live for us, the way they focus all they have on us, the way our lives become theirs. in the beginning, they study us to learn our body language, our facial expressions and our language. Until we teach them the English language, it’s all they have. If we say, “Wanna go out?” one day, “Have to go potty?” the next day, and, “Hafta pee?” the third day, if they DO figure out what we want, it is because we have picked up the leash and moved toward the door with a happy face! If you want to speed up his training by three-fold, teach him YOUR language. Pick a command for EACH behavior and stick with it. Tell all in your family to use the same words and commands, and your puppy will amaze you at how much faster he learns.

2. A young puppy’s metabolism is racing along faster than we think.

The younger your puppy is, the faster he is growing, the more food and water he needs to fuel his metabolism, and the more often he has to go potty. Do not punish your puppy when he makes a house-breaking mistake. These are YOUR fault. Your puppy’s age in weeks and his breed size determine how often he must go out. Once an hour is not too often for a large 6-week old puppy, especially if it is summertime. Dogs love the exciting smells outdoors, so there is no excuse to not have him housebroken by 7-8 weeks of age. Right after a nap, after he eats and after grooming are the key times, and he will signal you. If he is happily chewing a toy and gets up suddenly with his nose to the floor, move quickly! And every time he goes potty outside, praise him to high heaven! “What a good BOYY!”, “GOOD go potty!” and the like. Dogs love our happy faces, and they will do anything to get it.

3. Dogs live for our facial expressions and body language.

Because of this, the worst punishment you ever need to give your dog is a scowl and to turn away from him. You can see his tail fall down and his face get so sad. He will learn the lesson, I guarantee it. But his attention span is only 3-5 minutes, so do not scorn him any longer. Love him up and give him your happy face again. Physical punishment is never necessary. Use consistent commands and loving praise and he will know what you want of him before you know. He will become a master of your body language and facial expressions in no time at all.

Naturally there are many aspects of training your puppy well. Loving kindness works just as well for puppies as it does with children, creating a happy, well-adjusted and obedient dog for life. These three important tips, used consistently with confidence, will start him well on his way.

Are you ready to wrap up our easy and easy to follow 7-step dog housetraining guide? These last few steps are crucial, so pay care.

Step Five: Look For Cues, Give One Back

Now that you know how toinstruct your pup when and wherever to potty, you need to know what to do when it actually eliminates. Once your at the potty spot, you’ll see your little doggie sniff the ground intently, perhaps pace or circle, or maybe come to a sudden halt. All of these behaviors are cues that in just a few seconds, your puppy will either generate a puddle or make a poop .

No matter what your puppy’s pre-potty sign is, you need to give it a cue in return as soon as it starts to eliminate. This cue, or potty prompt, should be something like ìdo your businessî or ìgo potty now.î Use the same phrase each time your pup goes, and keep the following point in mind: Make sure you can say the phrase in public.

(Sure, it might be amusing to teach your puppy to pee when you say “take a leak’ or ‘take a whiz,’ but do you really want to say that out loud in front of strangers? You be the judge.)

It’s important to limit your use of the potty cue only to the times you want your puppy to do its business. Some people use a more general phrase, such as ‘hurry up ,” but such a choice can backfire. If, for example, your dog hears you tell your child to “hurry up” and get out the door to school, your dog may present you with a most unwelcome gift.

Eventually, your puppy may associate the phrase with the deed, and potty exactly when you tell it to. Such skills come in handy on cold or showery nights when you have to take your puppy out for a potty break, but you don’t want to have to wait too long for it to unload.

In any case, once your puppy finishes its business, praise the pup lavishly and give it a pocket-size treat. Then, bring it back inside. Potty time shouldn’t turn into play time.

Step Six: Be Vigilant

While your puppy is still learning the dog housebreaking basics, your job is to make sure that it doesn’t have the opportunity to make mistakes (or at least as few as possible). For this reason, when your pup is not in its crate, you must watch it carefully. In fact, don’t take your eyes off it.

If your pup shows any signs that it needs to potty, scoop it up into your arms and get it outside. Then, when your puppy eliminates, praise it enthusiastically. If you’re too late, and your puppy graces your carpeting with a puddle or deposit, put your puppy in its crate and clean up the mess without comment.

Use an enzymatic cleaner designed specifically for pet stains to eliminate the odors that might farther your dog to potty at that spot again. Then, promise yourself and your puppy that you’ll keep a closer eye on it in the future to prevent such an fortuity from occurrence again.

Step Seven: Be Patient

And finally, have patience. Don’t expect your puppy to learn its bathroom manners overnight. Puppy Housetraining takes time, patience and understanding. Your puppy needs time not only to figure out what you want it to do, but also to acquire the physical power to master its urges to poop or pee until it gets to the potty place.

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I’m planning on adopting a chihuahua soon and she will be able to come home with me in February. I will be going to school three days a week for a few hours. I understand that a chihuahua is okay for a few hours on it’s own, but is it any different when it is a puppy of 12 weeks? Will there have to be someone there with it ALL the time until it is older or will it be okay? Also if anyone has any experiences with raising a puppy i would appreciate advice. Thanks!
I really appreciate the advice i’m getting, but if anyone could i’d appreciate more on the main question. Would a young puppy of 12 weeks be able to be alone while i’m at school? I’ve heard they need to be taken out to pee almost every hour.

- i have a 3 year old dog and he makes my house his bathroom, can I still train him how to pee and poop outside my house

I have a 10 month old male shih-tzu named Bentley. He’s a great dog, and was housebroken by the age of 3 or 4 months. He relieves himself on a "potty pad" that stays on the screened-in back porch.

Just recently, he has started a problem that we consider very serious. Instead of going to the door so that we will let him out, he has decided that he can just pee on our couch or in the bed.

He is crate trained, so leaving him in his crate close to all the time isn’t a problem, but he’s been so good for so long that we can’t understand the relapse (and WHY he only desires to pee on the couch and in our bed).

He doesn’t sleep with us except for "special occassions" (usually when my husband is out of town), but why not just pee on the floor? We have a high bed, so it’s a big jump to make JUST to pee there. He’s done it several times in the past month or so, and the same goes for the couch as well.

Does anyone have any tips for our semi-relapsed pup?