What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom? Do you sniff around the house looking for a spot then shamelessly relieve yourself. Gee I sure hope not...and if you do, don't expect company coming to your house. If you don't train your dog, then you might as well label your house a toilet. This sounds disgusting, but everything I write uses a disgusting analogy to make a strong point. Potty train your dog -- it's positivitely easy. This works for wee wee pad training and outdoor training. There are two things to consider when choosing the method by which you want to train your dog. Wee wee pad training is harder than outdoor training because it trains a dog to go inside....which is not a bad idea if it's too cold out, raining or snowing. I have yorkies and they are particular about when they want to use the outside bathroom. Step 1 is to rid your house of any residual urine smells from floors and carpets. This step is the most critical because if you don't remove the urine smells, your dog will be attracted to it and top it off...guaranteed. There are so many products that will do this for you..but the one that has absolutely worked for me is odorcide. It bonds to the urine and permanently removes the odor -- forever! Okay, now that your house is smelling spiffy, put your wee wee pads near a door. There are obvious times when you should expect your dog to relieve himself. About 15 minutes after eating, or drinking, and just before bed and the absolute first thing in the morning. At these times, take your dog over to the wee wee pad and don't let him get away from it until he goes. Tell him "Fido, do your duty". When he does, praise him. (Note, if Fido is a male, turn up part of the wee wee pad to protect your door (or wall). If he has an accident, clean it up and permanently remove the odor. If you see Fido sniffing around and walking in circles, pick him up and get him over to the wee wee pad. After a few days, he will know about the wee wee pad. Also, don't throw away the used wee wee pad, put a new one over it and next time remove the bottom one....so you don't get a pee pee pad pile up. You can then add taking him outside for duty....this gives your dog the best of both worlds. If you are gone out of the house, don't give your dog the run of the house...it's too tempting and you never know what they can get into. Keep your dog in the kitchen, or buy a big play pen for dogs....put a bed, toys, water and of ours wee wee pads in it. I do not recommend a crate...the only thing it's good for is to put inside the play pen (and leave the door open!) It is unhealthy to force your dog to "hold it". If a dog has to hold urine it can poison itself....waste matter has to go when it has to go. Okay. Don't forget this....it's gotta go, when it's gotta go. A good practice is to take your dog out when you have to go too! Under no circumstance should you rub your dogs nose in it's accident, or become physical. Dogs have a natural tendency to please you, so you just have to make sure that you acknowledge them with praise when they please you. If you are the type of person that believes punishment is a way to train a dog, then please don't have a dog. Most dogs are not trained because people don't train them - beating them is not the way. You have to understand that when a dog relieves itself where it's not supposed to, it's your fault, not theres. So, get up and take care of your dog, otherwise the next time you sit down the couch might be wet.