My new Christmas puppy was a wonderful surprise, what I didn’t expect were the many unwanted surprises that followed. I’ve had dogs all my life but always my mom and dad had done the heavy lifting of potty training the dog. I remember it wasn’t always pleasant to be around as dad tried to make the dog bend to his will. When he was at work mom usually worked things out with the dog so at the end of a couple of weeks dad could be proud of him self for potty training dog.
Living on my own I had this mixed view of what needed to be done with a new puppy and as I tried to apply it things weren’t going well. Being an internet child I searched and found some online dog training videos that included a section on potty training dog. It was great training that not only handled the situation at hand but had other, far reaching, benefits.
As you potty train your dog you will learn positive reinforcement and you will learn to be persistant, patient, and consistant. Your dog will come to understand that the rules are always the same and she will appreciate that you let her know when she does something right. if your dog is older you will probably have to reverse some old habits. You need to become aware of what your dog does before relieveing herself. You have to do your homework and watch for the patterns and signals. When you see them let the take the dog out or to the place she should use. When the dog goes in the new place praise and reward her. It is that simple. Of course puppy potty training is a little easier since there is no behavior to unlearn.
As this process was getting the dog potty trianed I found an unexpected benefit. The positive reinforcement methods being used were becoming a part of my, a part of the way I acted in the world. Train the trainer as they say, as the dog was trained so was I. My relationships are working better, I find myself using positive reinforcement and patience with the people around me and they are responding. Not only are they more cooperative but they tell me of the nice transformation that I am going through. They don’t realize that the dog trainging has become second nature to me and that I am using it with them but that is what is happening. It’s true, dog potty training has changed me in a most unexpected but wonderful way.
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