Potty accidents will happen and sometimes they happen because you didn’t stick to the housetraining schedule or weren’t watching your dog close enough. Maybe you allowed your puppy too much freedom and it snuck down the hallway to urinate in the guest bedroom. But your dog might also have had an accident because it didn’t understand what you wanted it to do ? or where.

It’s important to keep these accidents in perspective and to understand that they are not directed at you personally. They are simply part of the housetraining process and part of your dog’s learning curve.

When an accident happens, handle it carefully. After all, urination and defecation are not wrong; your dog must do these things! What is wrong is where the actions took place. If your dog senses that you are angry at the urination and defecation then it may become sneaky and never relieve itself in front of you.

You may then find puddles and piles in odd places, such as behind the sofa and under the bed. Instead, teach your dog the correct places to go and make sure you praise him enthusiastically when it cooperates.

If you find a pile or puddle in the house with the dog nowhere in sight, do not punish him, yell at the pup, hit him with a rolled-up newspaper, rub the pup’s nose in the pile or puddle, or otherwise reprimand the dog in any other way. Your puppy is not at fault here; the owner is ? because the owner, not the pup, has the ability and obligation to prevent accidents.

Successful housetraining is based on setting the pup up for success by limiting him to the fewest possible accidents, then praising the puppy whenever it has done the right thing. That means praising every single time the dog goes out to the correct spot ? every time!

Some accidents may happen because your dog doesn’t feel good. If your pup has diarrhea, for example, don’t treat this as a housetraining accident. Instead, call your veterinarian. If you begin finding several puddles of urine when your pup had been doing well with housetraining, again, call your veterinarian. If could be the sign of a serious health problem.

A Quick Word About Submissive Urination

Some puppies will pee a few drops when they become overly excited, most often when greeted by those he is close to, like family and friends. Many dog owners consider this a housetraining problem, but it really isn’t.

The urine that your dog is letting out is simply a matter of submissive urination. This is a reaction that is 100% physical and happens with both males and females. In time most puppies will grow out of it.

Get the FREE report about Potty Training Your Puppy. This information works because I used it myself on my stubborn pound puppy who was really an older dog.

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