If you have a dog that seems to think that the world is his own personal toilet bowl, you better start some training and fast. It is typically easier for dog owners to teach their pooches their proper potty manners if they are still puppies, but no matter how old your dog is, if he's not potty trained, he needs to be. Chances are you'll have more difficulty teaching your older dogs new (potty) tricks, but keep at it, and you'll soon see some results, no matter how long it may take you.

You also need a considerable amount of patience and understanding when it comes to puppies. Very young puppies, like babies, most often do not have complete control of their bladders yet, so it's your job to keep your pock off the couch or the carpet if you do not want to keep cleaning up every time your lovable little canine makes a booboo.

For an easier clean up you can keep your puppy in rooms with tiled or other type of washable flooring. You can expect your puppies to commit a few ?accidents? the first few months, so exercise a lot of patience and understanding. When he does pees and poops where he's not supposed to, quietly clean up the mess. Punishing your puppy each time he poops or pees will give him the impression that this is activity is punishable and he'll equate this with something painful or unpleasant. On the other hand if he does his thing in the right place, praise him in a cheery voice, or better yet, reward him with a treat.

You can help your puppy get used to doing his business on a set time of the day by keeping a regular training schedule yourself. You can take him out right after he takes his breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or right after his nap. You can also use this time to do a little bit of brisk walking, that way both you and your dog get to do a bit of exercise at the same time.

An important thing to remember when it comes to potty training your pup is the IN and OUT. Puppies usually pee or poop 15 minutes after drinking water or eating, so you already have a pretty good idea of when to get your puppy to a place where he can properly do his business. Luckily, dogs send out unmistakable signals when they're about to pee, like circling a place over and over again while sniffing or arching their backs. When you see these signs scoop him up and take him out.

When you are potty training outside it is better to choose a particular landmark, preferably a tree, where he can freely do this business. That way he'll get used to the idea that the tree is where he's supposed to do this thing, and once he gets used to this, making him go every time you take him to the tree will be a cinch.