Some dog breeds, such as the Shiba Inu, are naturally clean, and are relatively easier to potty train. My Shiba Inu was potty trained at 10 weeks old. He was pretty much potty trained when we got him. He does not even like to go potty in our backyard; rather, he waits until we go for a walk. In contrast, my Siberian Husky was more difficult to potty train because she did not mind frolicking close to her own waste products. It took a few months to potty train her.

Potty training also depends on your own temperament. If you are naturally calm, consistent, and patient, potty training will seem relatively easy. Whatever the case, always remember that you can successfully potty train a physically healthy dog, at whatever age, no matter the history

Potty training begins by setting up a schedule. Initially, you want to bring your dog out very often so that you reduce the chances of him making mistakes inside the house.

When my Siberian puppy was 8 weeks old I took her out about once every hour (if she was awake), and after every 10-15 minutes of play. Don't give your puppy any water 2-3 hours before sleep time and take him out right before you crate him for the night. If you need to treat him during that time, only use moist treats such as boiled chicken, so that he does not get thirsty after eating.

Fact: Dogs learn through a process called conditioning. They repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them bad results.

The more you reward your dog for pottying outside, the more he will potty outside. When your dog starts pottying outside, mark that behavior (Yes). Once your dog finishes pottying, treat him and give him some good attention and affection. Afterwards, play with him or walk him around outside for a while, before taking him inside.

The more your dog practices pottying inside on his own, the more he will just potty inside because it is convenient and nobody is teaching him that it is inappropriate behavior. What you want to do is not only maximize the number of successes, but also minimize the number of mistakes.

Any physically healthy dog can be potty trained. The key to potty training is patience and consistency. Always be around to supervise your dog when he is inside. If you do not have a time to supervise, then crate him or put him in a long term enclosure.

Myth: Screaming and hitting the dog will show him that I am boss and make him stop pottying inside the house.

Screaming and hitting your dogdoes not work well, and usually makes things worse. How well do you learn when somebody is screaming at you, or hitting you? It is the same way for your dog. The fastest way to teach your dog, is to remain calm, and consistently let him know that pottying inside is inappropriate (ack, ack), and pottying outside is appropriate (Yes).

There are three ways to prevent mistakes inside:

a) Be there to supervise. When your dog shows signs that he has to go potty, take him outside right away. If you don't catch it on time and he goes potty inside the house, non-mark him (ack, ack), and take him outside.

Myth: I can potty train my dog by rubbing his nose in it after the fact. He always looks sheepish and puts his head down when I shout at him afterwards. He knows he has done something wrong.

Dogs will only learn when you catch them in the act. If you are not around and your dog makes a mistake, then you have missed a learning opportunity. All you can do is clean up the mess and move on. It is important to prevent mistakes by always supervising your dog, and using a crate or long-term enclosure when you are not around, or too busy to supervise.

Note that your dog may look sheepish when you shout at him after the fact. This is because he knows that you are upset and he is using submissive gestures (e.g. putting his head down) to try and appease you. Your dog does not know what particular event has caused your anger, but just that you are angry. Shouting and rubbing your dog's nose in his own waste does not teach him anything. All it does is confuse your dog, and cause him to get stressed and fearful. This could make things worse by causing your dog to do submissive urination.

b) Crate train your dog. Dogs don't generally like to soil where they sleep. Keeping your dog in a crate will discourage him from pottying because he does not want to soil his sleeping area. If you are concerned about putting your dog in a crate, here is what the Humane Society of the United States and the American Dog Trainer's Network have to say about crate training

Myth: A crate will magically keep my dog from pottying for any period of time.

The crate is not some magical cure. A crate discourages a dog from pottying, but if a dog has to go, he has to go. Keeping a puppy for too long in a crate, will force him to potty in the crate, possibly traumatize him, and greatly set back your potty training.

As a general rule, the longest time you should keep your dog in a crate, during the day, is (age of dog in months + 1) hours. An 8 week old puppy can be kept a maximum of (2 month old + 1) = 3 hours in a crate. Note that this is just a general guideline for the maximum crate time. Most puppies need to go outside more frequent than that. Take your puppy outside as soon as he wakes up, and right after any heavy activity.

At night, I crate my dogs in my bedroom. Keeping your dogs with you in the bedroom will help with the bonding process and will show them that they are part of the pack. When puppies are really young, they may not be able to hold their bladder throughout the night. It may be necessary to make an extra trip outside during the night or really early in the morning. Once they get a bit older though, this will no longer be necessary.

c) Put Your Dog in a Long-Term Enclosure: If you will be gone for a long time put your puppy in a long-term enclosure. This can be a secure puppy pen or a secure and safe room (e.g. kitchen). Make sure there is nothing dangerous in the enclosure that your puppy can destroy and swallow. Put bedding, a water bowl, some puppy pads, safe chew toys and safe food toys in the enclosure. Put the pads in a corner as far away from the bedding as possible.

Note that instead of using puppy pads you can also consider using the Pet-a-potty system. Just using sod or grass does not work well because of drainage issues. The sod gets smelly very quickly because there isn't anywhere for the pee to go. When I tried using sod, I had to change it every other day, or my puppy refused to go onto it. This ended up being a lot more work than just using puppy pads.

Myth: You can't train your dog to go potty outside as well as go potty on pads. He will get confused and not know what to do.

Yes, it is true that if you can be around most of the time to supervise, it is better not to let your dog potty in the house at all. However, if you are going to be away for long periods of time, if your dog has separation anxiety issues (which may cause him to need to go potty when you leave), or if there are other medical issues (surgery) that make frequent trips outside unfeasible, then it is perfectly fine to train your dog to both go potty on pads as well as go potty outside. Reward your puppy for going on his pads, and reward your puppy a lot more for going outside.

During the dog potty training process, there will be some mistakes. When that happens, calmly non-mark your dog (ack, ack), and take him outside. Praise and reward him if he continues with his potty once you are outside. Then leave your dog outside, come in, and clean up the mess.

Use a cleaner that is made especially for pets. A popular pet odor cleaner is Nature's Miracle. Do not use ammonia based cleaners as the ammonia odor, which resembles urine, may attract your dog to urinate in the area.

Note that not all indoor urination is a result of potty training mistakes. Other reasons for indoor urination include:

1. Submissive or excitement urination.
2. Medical issues, e.g. urinary tract infection.
3. Marking objects or territory.
4. Stress or anxiety as a result of separation anxiety or other behavioral issues.