Toilet Training

In this day and age the majority of dogs spend most of their time indoors, making toilet training a big priority.
 
If you are currently having difficulty toilet training your dog, it is important to rule out any potential medical cause for the behaviour by taking him to be examined by your vet, as certain health issues may undermine your training.
 
To teach your dog what is required, start by taking him to the appropriate toileting area every two hours throughout the day. Once there, gently praise for pre-toileting behaviours such as sniffing or circling, and increase your praise as he begins to eliminate. As soon as toileting is complete (within 1 second), provide him with a very tasty food reward.

You should also try to prevent your dog from getting into the habit of going to the toilet inside your home too. To do this, he needs be supervised at all times when indoors, until four consecutive weeks have passed without any toileting accidents (baby gates can come in very handy during this time!).
 
If you happen to catch your dog toileting in the house you should make a sudden (not scary!) noise in order to interrupt him, quickly followed by gently taking him outside in order to finish his business. It is important to realise that if your dog has toileted in the house but you did not witness it, then any reprimands you make will not be associated with the mistake because dogs only live in the ‘here and now’.
 
It is important to stress that successful toilet training does not require punishment and that dogs do not toilet in the house out of any malice. Also, old-fashioned methods such as ‘rubbing the dog’s nose in it’ should be avoided as they are unjust, ineffective, and will damage the bond between you and your dog.
 
Finally, any areas within the house that have been used for toileting need to be thoroughly soaked with an enzymatic cleaner such as ‘Simple Solution®’ in order to prevent the dog from being encouraged to use the area again. ©