The fastest possible learning method is to set the dog up for continual success and reinforce this success. This applies to house training (’house-breaking’ or ‘toilet training’) the same way that it applies to tricks and manners. “Errorless Learning” has been shown time and time again to be the most efficient form of learning. But how do you actually achieve this?

In this two part article you will learn the tricks of the trade for house training your new pet in the fastest possible time! The first trick of the trade is our ’secret weapon’ for teaching pup to hold on all night:

Crate Training

It is difficult if not impossible to house train a puppy or dog errorlessly without using a crate at night, unless your new pet sleeps outside. Dogs are happiest when they are with their family, and less prone to nuisance barking at night if they are kept inside. What’s more, many of us don’t have the luxury of a secure yard these days.

A crate gives a puppy a ’safe place’ to hang out and rest. Dogs will generally not soil their sleeping quarters, so a crate of the right size will really help your pet to hang on.

A crate needs to be only just big enough for your pet to stand up and turn around in comfortably. If it is too big it will not help. If it is too small it will be uncomfortable for your pet to sleep in.

Wire crates are improved by covering the top and sides with an old towel or sheet, forming a cosy ‘den’ for your pet.

New puppies can be introduced to the crate fairly easily. Toss a small treat into the crate and have them go in after it. Don’t shut the door just yet, let them explore freely. When they come out of the crate, toss another treat in. When pup seems comfortable with the crate, shut the door but don’t lock it. Toss a treat in while the door is shut. We’re trying to form a positive association with the crate at this stage.

Pretty soon you’ll be able to shut and lock the door. If puppy whines or scratches at the door, do not let her out until the whining has stopped. We do not want to reinforce unwanted behavior this way. Remember - dogs do what works for them.

If you have an older dog, I would recommend you follow the plan laid out by Susan Ailsby in her free e-book, “The Book of Training Levels” available on-line (more information at the end of this article).

Before you go to bed, take puppy outside for a toilet break and make sure puppy has done her business before you come back inside.

Just before lights out, place puppy in the crate with a treat, close the door and lock it. A young puppy will be most comfortable in your bedroom if that suits you.

Set your alarm clock for 2:00am. A puppy should be able to hang on for about 4 or 5 hours at night if sleeping.

When the alarm goes off, let puppy out of the crate and take her straight outside. The walk from the crate to the outside is when you are most likely to have an accident, so don’t dawdle!

The next night, set your alarm for 2:10am. The night after, 2:20am and so on in 10 minute increments until puppy can last all night.

Don’t let puppy drink just before bed. Try to maintain a consistent routine from dinner onwards each night. Changing the routine is inviting accidents and disruptions, puppy may not be able to hang on. Worst case scenario is soiling in the crate, but this is unlikely to become a habit if it only happens once or twice. Having to clean up the mess will teach you the hard way not to mess with pup’s routine!

If pup learns that whining or scratching in the crate leads to being let out, then you will have a little problem on your hands. You need to wait out the whining before letting pup out. If whining is reinforced a couple of times it will take a while to retrain. So it’s better not to put pup in a situation where she may have to whine - maintain a consistent routine of food, drink, play and bed-time. The only variable that should change is that you get up 10 minutes later each night.

This approach should teach pup how to ‘hold on’ all night without any mistakes. By following this simple plan, pup will learn in the shortest possible amount of time how to hold-on all night. In the next part of this two part series we will discuss how to house train pup during the day in the shortest possible time.

Aidan Bindoff is editor of Positive Petzine, a free ezine for anyone training their own dog. Join now, and for a limited time, all back issues will be available for free download.

The Book of Training Levels by Susan Ailsby is available at http://www.dragonflyllama.com in the Dogs section of the website. It is a step-by-step plan for people training their own dog.

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In this article we look at how to avoid daytime accidents when house training your new puppy or dog (in Part I we looked at totally eliminating night-time accidents). Avoiding accidents is very important, because the fastest possible learning is errorless learning.

In Part I of this article series we discussed crate training to eliminate night-time accidents. During the day, it is ok to crate puppy when you can’t supervise. At those times, any accidents are avoided by use of the crate, however we can’t (nor would we want to) crate puppy all day!

Puppies need to be taken outside to toilet after every meal, every drink, immediately upon waking, and immediately after play. It is not uncommon to take a new puppy outside to toilet every hour or even more! Just remember, you won’t need to do this for ever and the more disciplined you are, the less accidents you will have, and the faster puppy will learn to go to the toilet outside only.

If puppy does have an accident, relax. It’s not the end of the world. If you catch puppy (or dog) in the act, then give a quick “no!” to interrupt and quickly lead puppy or dog outside to finish his business. Clean up the mess with an enzyme-based cleaner to remove the smell entirely. Puppies and dogs tend to go where they can smell previous urinations, enzyme cleaner is the only effective way to remove these odours.

Ignore the old advice about rubbing a dog’s nose in it. It doesn’t work at all, it is cruel, and it will only confuse your dog. Invest your time in the more effective techniques outlined in this article. If you have successfully house trained a dog this way in the past, I can assure you it was other factors which eventually got the dog house-trained.

When your puppy or dog does toilet outside, tell them how good they are. You can even give a little treat at the end, or play a game to reward such good behavior.

If you know that puppy or dog is about to go to the toilet outside, try to put the behavior on cue. Say “do wee” or “do your business”. With repetition and reward, puppy or dog will learn to go to the toilet on cue, which is very handy particularly if you are house-training an older dog.

If you have this behavior on cue, you can use planned toilet breaks and ask for the behavior. That way you will know when your dog last went to the toilet, rather than making assumptions or guessing. Older dogs with reduced bladder capacity may need to go on a schedule to avoid accidents. Puppies who are crated need to empty their bladders before being crated.

Dogs Who Live in Apartments

Some dogs will need to learn to use a litterbox as outside access is not always convenient. The instructions are exactly the same, but instead of taking puppy outside, place puppy in the litter tray.

Really Tough Cases

Some dogs, through prior learning, are more difficult to house train. I would always suggest a vet check to rule out medical causes, there are many medical reasons why a puppy or dog is difficult to house train.

If you have an older dog, perhaps a rescue, who is difficult to toilet train, it might be appropriate to tether your dog to you during the day using a leash tied to your belt. That way, your dog is always with you and you will pick up the signs that he or she needs to go to the toilet.

The Waiting Game

Some dogs or puppies, when taken outside to go to the toilet, will procrastinate. They will want to check everything out, or will just lay around and not go. You can avoid this by giving only a set amount of time to go to the toilet. Wait a maximum of 60 seconds, if your dog hasn’t done his business, come back inside. Wait 3 or 4 minutes, then try again (if you are sure a toilet break is due). Consistency and discipline early in the game will pay big dividends later.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, and for a limited time you can download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) for free!

If you are having toilet training difficulties, it is definitely worth joining for more information.

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