My dog was adorable during his days as a puppy, but of course, there were some moments when I didn't think the same way. I remember perfectly how much I hated to discover that he was having his potty accidents in the living room, right on the carpet. Yelling or punishing him would have been useless so, instead of doing any of that, I have decided that it was about time to train him to "go" outside. What I had to do first was to clean after my puppy and finding the product who would remove 100% the smell hasn't been easy. Why this has to be the first step? Because when dogs pee on one spot on the carpet, next times they feel like doing that, it will happen at the exactly same place.
Their sense of smell is well developed and it's the smell which tells them to "go" there. Using this tip when taking the puppy outside to pee or to poop is very important, because you have to take it at the same place every time. Do not forget to say "go potty" before and while he is "going" and to praise him afterwards. However, even after he learned to associate "go potty" with "going", accidents happened and I even caught him in the act a few times. Punishing was out of the question because this only scares the puppy and he will get the message that is wrong for him to "go" in front of you. In this situation there is only one thing to be done: distract his attention by clapping your hands or doing any other noise.
He will stop going and this way you can quickly take him outside. After he had finished up, he must be rewarded. That is why puppies need to be supervised! But what was in fact causing him to "go" at night? In a way, puppies are just like kids, therefore they need a schedule when it comes to eating, drinking water, sleeping.
Once I've stopped giving water to my puppy a few hours before his bedtime, he stopped peeing at night. Taking your puppy out after a nap - no matter the duration of it, or before playing with him it's mandatory! Puppies also need to "go" 5 or 10 minutes after eating and drinking. In order to prevent accidents from happening, it's better to establish a feeding schedule and this way I knew exactly when he needed to potty. Personally, I think that everything gets a lot easier when you train him to do some kind of signal whenever he needs to go out. I have heard that some pet owners use bells or other stuff similar to that, but I have trained my puppy to scratch at the door - and this is the most common signal. Another option, however not always possible, is a dog door, that way the puppy can go outside whenever he feels like it.
And one last thing: don't forget to take your puppy outside first thing in the morning! He will not be able to hold all night.
Terence Young - For more dog obedience and training tips and ideas visit: http://www.obediencedoggytraining.com
