Housebreaking a Puppy - Or an Older Dog Housebreaking is one of the very first training exercises you will want to work on when moving a new puppy or adult dog into your home. This will be a real test of your patience, but you are going to get a nice time to bond with your new little fellow!
One important thing to remember is that dogs are not able to control their bladder and bowel movements for long periods of time due to not having full sphincter muscle control. A young puppy should be let out every 1-2 hours due to the small bladder. An older dog can wait up to 6 hours at a time, some even up to 8. No matter the age, a dog who has been exercising a lot, eating, drinking, playing, etc. will have to go more frequently. One thing to remember is that you need to stay consistent with house training. Take them outside at the same time every single day and don't even switch it once. Also, you will have to set an eating schedule, and take them outside a little while after.
Supervise your dog. The more you supervise, the less accidents there will be, PERIOD. You will be able to spot clues such as them sniffing around or walking in circles. My good friend Sharda Baker has written a GREAT book on the topic of housebreaking and there's a ton more information in there too. She will teach you more tips on how to housebreak, and there's 160 more pages of great stuff! Visit her site now and soon your dog will be rolling over, playing dead, getting you the newspaper or a drink, and much more!
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A lot of manual labor and hard work is required to finish the task of house training. When it comes to house training, every dog does it at a different rate. You will have to remember this when doing all of the hard work! It pays off, believe me. 
You must thing of a nice command phrase that the dog will answer to when taking them out. Every time you're taking them out, ask them, "Do you want to go outside" or "Do you want to go potty?" Make sure you say this in a very upbeat, positive tone. You want your puppy to think that going outside is a very exciting activity.