Here is the process of using Crate Training as an aide in housebreaking. This article will focus on how to crate train a dog from a small puppy. You are asked to draw your own conclusions and schedule, as all dogs are not the same will work in their own timeframe. Crate training uses your dog's natural cleanliness as a tool. Even the youngest pups frown at the thought of eliminating in their own den. The crate should be shown to a pup as his small place where he can retreat to if he wants. The crate ideally should not be used as a punishment tool. It is recommended that you only use the crate for moments when you can't see your pup at all times, for example, when you are at work, or when you are sleeping.

Puppy Stage of Crate Training:
Age: 6 weeks - 5 months

In the first stage, leave the puppy in the crate when you can not see him constantly. Before you leave for work, take him out for a long walk so he can empty his bowels and then put him in the crate. At mid-day, have someone come home and take him out for another bathroom break. At this point he will have spent around 4 hours in the crate alone and he shouldn't have soiled his crate the whole time. Praise him when he uses the bathroom out doors and not in his crate. In the evening after work, take him out right away for another bathroom break. Follow this with a session of playtime and a walk where he can do his business and maybe play with other friendly neighborhood dogs. After that let him sleep where you can see him at all times. When you are ready to go to bed, tell him, "crate," and he should go to his crate and sleep there. Repeat this procedure on all weekdays. On weekends you should only crate him for the night but keep a close watch on him at all times. Follow this procedure until he is around 5 months old.

Crate Training in adolescents:
Age: 5 - 9 months

During this stage, make some changes to your crate training technique based on your pup's progress. At this stage, still crate him when you are not home to watch him, but let him sleep outside the crate at night when you are home. At this age he should have already learned to ask you to let him outside so your shouldn't have to worry about him having an accident while you are at home. Now when you come home from lunch he probably won't want to go outside as often. At this stage, you should experiment with leaving him home without your supervision to see how he would do. Make sure to puppy proof your house before you leave him alone, so it is very safe for him to stay home alone.

Final Stage of Crate Training:
Age: 9 months +

By the time your dog is 9 months old he should be 100% housebroken and could safely be left in the house without supervision during the night and the day. Your patience with crate training will pay off and save you the headache and money associated with puppies destroying your house. By his 1 year birthday, you should be able to remove the crate altogether.

Most dogs, no matter their eventual advanced training or intended purpose, live with people who want them to behave in a way that makes them pleasant to be around, keeps them safe, and provides for the safety of other people and pets. Dogs do not figure out basic obedience on their own; they must be trained. The hardest part of training is communicating with the dog in a humane way that he understands. However, the underlying principle of all communication is simple: reward desired behavior while ignoring or correcting undesired behavior. Basic pet obedience training usually consists of 5 behaviors: Sit Down Stay Recall ("come" or "here") Close (or loose-leash walking) Heel "Corrections" should never include harmful physical force or violence. Using force while training is controversial and should not be taken lightly, because even if it ends the behavior, when applied inappropriately with some dogs it may lead to a loss of drive (enthusiasm for the given task), stress, and in some cases even aggression. A handler may decide to use force, however the standard used by most trainers is the minimum amount necessary to inhibit the unwanted behavior.

Dog Training Errors

While training a dog, the handler can make a number of different mistakes.

First and most important mistakes new dog trainers make is that they think that a dog, like a human, can effectively respond to their words. They can sometimes start to try to talk the dog into doing something or to scare the dog into doing a command. In reality these things only slow down the speed of dog training. Dogs can't understand many words, and majority of what people say flies around their ears. What their can understand is dog trainers tone of voice, and mood.

There is a good saying, that mood of the dog flows directly through leash from his handler. If the handler is thinking about quickly finishing the exercise and getting to do something he likes, the dog will not be a willing trainee at all. One needs to think of the result of training that you want out of your dog, and then slowly move toward those set goals with good speed, not rushing the dog.

If a trainer works by scaring the dog into doing every command, what you will end with is a scared, shy animal that will shake from every quick move by his handler. This is very ineffective because the dog will have no loyalty to the handler, and will do anyone's command due to fear of punishment.

Another common mistake is that most dog trainers don't pay enough attention to their tone of voice while working with the dog. As said before, dogs don't understand words, they associate them with things, and tone of voice is the best tool to help the dog associate. For example "No" or "Off" should be told in deep tone of voice that shows disappointment in the dog. While a command that requires the dog to do something like "Sit" or "Heel" should always be said in high pitch happy tone of voice. If a trainer uses the same tone of voice for all commands, then the dog will have extremely hard time knowing what the trainer wants.

One more mistake new owners often make is to repeat the command multiple times thinking it will make the dog comply. In reality it only reduces the ability of dog to learn the command. Repeating the command multiple times in order for the dog to do it is very counter productive. Try your best from the first training session to teach your dog to do a command from the first try.