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Attempting to potty train an adult rescue dog yourself can be a challenging task. Imagine the nightmare of coming home to find one or more messes on the floor. Perhaps on your new carpet. The last thing you feel like doing after coming home from a day at work or night out is getting the cleaning materials out and having to clean the mess up and make everywhere smell nice again.

The problem is carpets don't easily recover from this kind of soiling too easily.

We had this problem with our rescue dog, a great Dane. The difficulty we had is that this dog was used to being outside. Well after a bit of head scratching we came up with a solution of our own.

Crate training. The basics are that you buy a crate bigger in size than your dog, bring it home and let your dog get used to it for a few days. You want the dog to get used to being in the crate, and there are a variety of ways you can go about doing this. It is a stage by stage process of acclimatising your dog to her new home so you need to be patient at all times.

When the dog is in the crate you need to learn to spot the signs that the dog needs the toilet. You take her out of the crate at regular intervals for a potty break. The goal is to help the dog hold it for longer when out of the crate.

Rewards are important in teaching her this behavior, and always be patient with your dog.

For more information on dogs, visit: Foods To Avoid Giving Your Dog

How to House Train a Dog : Have Reasonable Expectations for Housebreaking a Dog: Part 1

What is the best way to potty train a dog while I am gone through the day?

I work from about 7:30 - 4:00 through out the day. I might be able to have my neighbor let her out around noon everyday. Is the crate training the best way to go in this situation? Should I get another dog to keep her company?

Crate training is definantly best. They will learn that they cannot poop and pee where they sleep, so they will hold it until they are out of the crate and you get them outside.

Dog Training Tips : How to Potty Train a Dog

If you just got a puppy, the first thing you need to do is get it a place it can relax. A crate specially designed for a puppy is the most appropriate. The crate need not be too big or too spacious; it should be just big enough for it lay on and maybe extra space to turn. If the crate has too much extra space, the puppy will turn other sections to bathroom and lie on another spot. A crate is often very affordable, depending on where you buy it, its specifications and size. An average crate should cost around $15 in a local retail store.

To train a dog not to chew on furniture and other items, you should get it chewing toys. Chewing is a natural instinct for the dog and they do it to help with teething or when it is bored. To prevent destruction of property, never allow the puppy to have free reign of the house. Whenever it moves around, it should always be under constant and watchful eye of the owner. If they need to defecate, you will always know because dogs return to the same spot when they need to defecate. From here, you will then introduce the puppy to a housebreak.

Another very important accessory for a puppy is a puppy pad. You can get this from a discount store. Some puppy pads have a special scent that attracts puppies on a certain spot to relieve themselves. When the puppy relieves itself at the exact point you wanted, it is important to notice that and make sure that the puppy knows you liked it, either by rewarding it with edibles or by giving it a treat it fancies most. A dog will always be trying to impress its owner and it will take it a good sign whenever you give it attention after it does something good. If you plan to have the puppy relieving itself outside, it is not advisable to get a puppy pad.

The puppy should sleep in its crate every night. Before tucking them in, make sure that they have used the bathroom. Keep a consistent schedule as far as sleeping is concerned in order to teach them how to have a better control. Depending on the dog breed, the level of understanding how and where to relieve itself may range between three weeks and three months. If after this period accidents still happen, you may need to find an alternative training program on housebreaking.

After the dog is fully trained on where and how to defecate, it may now be comfortable to let it sleep where you want, but not where it wants. If the dog is trustworthy and cannot break things, you may even leave it free in the house. However, it is advisable to have a puppy proofed area where the puppy can spend its time when you are not around or are not paying close attention to it. Cordon off an area or a room for this and you will notice how the happy the puppy will be.

House Training a Dog