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One of the most frustrating aspects of owning a dog housebreaking the pet. 
A new pet owner can pick up ten different books or talk to ten different people and you will probably get ten different ways to housebreak your new pet.  Well it's time that you get the straight "poop" on housebreaking your pet.
 
1) Your pet needs to be put on a daily schedule to set up it's biological clock. This means that the dog get food and water at the same times throughout the day and he or she gets to go outside at the same time throughout the day. 
 
2)  Do not give your pet access to food throughout the day.  Split your pet's total food for the day into two meals, morning and late afternoon. Young dogs will always have to empty out their system to make room for food coming in, for this reason if you control when your pet takes in food you can usually control when that food comes out.  Put food down for your pet at these set meal times.  Give your dog a few minutes to eat.  If he or she walks away from the food then pick it up and don't give them anymore to eat until the next meal.  Most dogs will have to go outside anywhere fro 5 - 15 minutes after they eat.
 
3)  Take your pet outside on a leash to a spot in the yard that he or she has gone to before.  If your pet has an accident in the house take the paper towels that you use to clean up the mess and place them at this spot in your yard.  Why, you ask?  Dogs are driven by smell.  You dog smells where they have gone to the bathroom before and this let's them know that it is ok to go here again. In fact, in puppies the smell of a previous spot will start the elimination process in a puppy's body in motion so it won't take long for them to go once they smell a spot.  When you bring the "accident" towels into the yard you are seeding down a bathroom area with scent so there can be no doubt in your dog's mind where they are to go to the bathroom.   For this same reason it is extremely important to thoroughly clean up any accident spots in the house.  Over the years the best cleaners I have found for pet accidents on carpet work on an enzyme action .  These cleaners will tell you to soak the spot and let it dry.  Most products that come in a spray bottle or aerosol bottlet do not get to the root of the smell especially on carpet.  One of the best products I have used over the years is called Outright Pet Odor Eliminator.   By making sure that the only bathroom smells that your pet smells are outside and not inside will more than likely help you to solve many housebreaking problems.
 
One of the biggest things to remember is to be in touch with your pet's signals.  It would be nice if every dog would come up and bark when they needed to go outside but unfortunately this doesn't usually happen. It is your responsibility to know your pet's behavior and your pet's daily schedule to help keep accidents to a minimum.   While the above tips may not solve every problem they will solve the majority of them.  If you have tried this at home and nothing seems to work then you need to contact me so we can sit down and find out what is going on.
 
Good Luck
 
Robb