Potty Training A Great Dane Is Important

What some people failed to realize is that potty training is an important part in the life of a Great Dane or any other dog regardless of breed. While agility or obedience training prepares your Great Dane for dog shows, potty training is important in order for them to establish regular urinating and defecating and to minimize accidents that often times cause you to punish your adorable Great Dane.

There may be some owners who are excited in having their pets star in dog shows that they sometimes overlook the importance of potty training. Potty training or housetraining as some may call it is a process wherein dogs are being trained to urinate or defecate regularly at the place specified by the owner. The goal of this training is to prevent accident from happening rather than waiting for it to happen. Naturally you do not want to see piles of feces in your living room or urine stains in your new carpet, don't you? By training your dog at the right time, accidents will be minimized if not totally prevented.

Probably you already knew but if in case you are wondering when is the right time to housetrain your dog, the right time is when your Great Dane hasn't turned into a giant dog yet. If you do not want to see huge pile of feces scattering around the house, better start training when your dog is still a puppy. Puppies are easier to train given the fact that they haven't learned undesirable habits yet. But if you have an adult dog with housetraining problems, do not assume that correcting the problem is impossible. You can train an adult dog as you would train a puppy. Just be patient, determined and believe that there is nothing you and your dog can't do as long as you can communicate with each other.

A dog need not talk (since they could not talk) in order for you to grasp his urge to eliminate. However, there are signs to watch out when there is a need to eliminate. When a dog exhibits behaviors such as pacing, sniffing the ground, turning in circle or scratching the floor, no doubt he is trying to tell you something. Those behaviors are his ways of saying something like, "Take me out! I'm gonna pee!". That is why dog owners should learn to understand their dog's body language. It is their only way to communicate.

Getting a dog master what is being taught to him may take time. Perhaps even days or weeks depending on how the animal respond to the training procedures. You have to identify what training procedure works best for your pet. The best and commonly used so far is positive reinforcement training wherein you are using something, a treat or his favorite toy, to increase the chance of the behavior being exhibited again. A gentle stroke, loving praise or a treat or a toy may be given to your dog to let him know that you like what he did and you are expecting him to do it again.

Not all dogs respond well to positive reinforcement training. But regardless of the training procedures used, you should always remember that training based on punishment is not an ideal one to use. Rubbing his nose on the area where the accident happened will not help you achieve the things that you desire for your dog to do.

Potty training can be a daunting task but remember that your dog depends on you in order to become successful. Just be patient for you and your dog will reap your reward in due time.

Richard Cussons knows much about Great Dane breed. Learn more Great Dane training tips here!