You might dream of having he best trained dog in the world, but it all begins with house training your dog or puppy. When your dog can let you know that it’s time to relieve himself, you know you’ve done your job. So how do you house train your puppy or dog? Here are 20 helpful tips:

• Be patient with your puppy. Most puppies do not have bladder or bowel control until they are about 6 months old.
• Start house training your puppy as soon early in his life as possible
• Until your puppy know that outside is the expected place to go potty, provide an inside potty area covered with newspaper or some type of absorbent materials. When your puppy soils the paper, always replace it as soon as possible.
• If you can not supervise your puppy, keep him confined to the potty area, which should be a small room completely covered with the newspaper material.
• When your puppy starts to get older, make the newspaper area smaller. He will realize that the newspaper is the area to soil in.
• It’s important to always provide easy access for your puppy to get to the potty area.
• While at home, take your puppy to the potty area often – about every 45 minutes.
• While not at home, keep the puppy confined in his puppy-safe area. Remember, puppies like to chew things, so remove any tempting items from the room.
• When your puppy pees or poops in the designated area, always praise and reward him.
• Establish a regular feeding schedule for your puppy. Do not provide a non-stop supply of food. This will assist in developing regular bowel habits.
• When just beginning, your puppy will not be on a peeing or pooping schedule, so don’t expect him to have one immediately. It takes time. It may even seem like he never stops!
• Consider crate training your puppy.
• Never punish your puppy if he has an accident. This will only make him afraid and he will not understand. Never put your puppies nose in his pee or poop. Sniffing pee and poop is how dogs recognize their scent. Don’t make it a punishment.
• Don’t let your puppy have free reign in your house until he is properly house trained.
• Be consistent with taking your dog outside to pee or poop regularly.
• Eventually, you will be able to remove the paper potty area from your house, and your puppy will understand that outside is the only acceptable place to pee or poop.
• Don’t be discouraged if your puppy seems to be making progress, then seems to suddenly forget what you’ve taught him. Minor setbacks are expected.

Above all, remember that your puppy does not want to make you made by urinating or pooping in your house. If he does, it’s only because he doesn’t understand. As his master and friend, he is expecting you to train him on what is acceptable and what is not.