Suggested equipment:

• Puppy playpen. A large wire meshed (or similar) cage with no roof and no floor. The pen has eight sides/panels and can be shaped into different sizes and configurations. 

• Crate. Adjust crate size regularly so it is always just large enough for the dog to lay down and turn around. No extra room required ... the dog will not be entertaining in the crate. Give him several toys to chew on.

• Patience. Even if you do everything correctly, housebreaking a puppy can sometimes take a month. Remember, some dogs mature and learn faster than others.

Explanation: The problem is simple, yet exasperating. You want to teach the dog not to soil inside your home. Seems easy enough. You take the dog out seemingly hundreds of times and stand out there in the sun, rain and morning cold waiting for your dog to go to the bathroom. He doesn't go. You assume, logically, he doesn't have to. You bring him back inside the house and he pees on the floor. You take the dog out and he goes. You praise him, you bring him back inside the house. Two minutes later he goes again. You have the dog inside and you swear to yourself "I'm going to watch this dog and the instant he even looks like he has to go, I'm going to take him out." You take him out a ridiculous amount of times and inevitably you take your eye off the dog for a second and he goes in the house.

You come home and find the dog has gone to the bathroom in the house. Remembering what you think your parents did, you grasp the newspaper firmly in hand and chastise the dog. After two weeks of this, your dog screams everytime you pick up the paper and he still goes to the bathroom in the house.

These "methods" don't work because they are inconsistent. As a rule, you need to get 7 to 14 days in which the dog goes to the bathroom outside and gets praised for it. Remember, 90% of housebreaking is positive reinforcement of your dog's behavior when he goes in the appropriate place. When the dog goes to the bathroom in the house it counts as minus 2 days.

The best method we have found for housebreaking your puppy is the "den method". Puppies instinctively do not like to soil on themselves. This is where the crate comes in. While in the crate, dogs will hold it as long as they are able. DO NOT LEAVE CRATED FOR MORE THAN 4 HOURS UNLESS IT IS BEDTIME. This is critically important. What this means is that they can be put in a "magic spot" to prevent them from going to the bathroom. All that is required now is to set up a schedule.

At the end of the dog's supervised free time, you have a choice. First, you can take him out again and if he goes, praise, give five minutes more outside and another 15 to 30 minutes supervised free time in the house. If you have the time and the dog has the pee, you can do this all day. Eventually you will run out of time, or the dog won't go. When this happens, crate the dog and take him back out to pee in another 15 to 20 minutes. Your other option at the end of the 15 to 30 minutes of free time is to re-confine the dog in the crate for 20 minutes or so.

If you leave the house during the day or evening, you may crate the puppy for up to 4 hours (be careful not to give him lots of water before crating). If you will be gone for more than 4 hours, leave the dog outside in a safe area* and upon returning home, place the dog in the crate without free access outside. The regular schedule of taking the dog out and either giving him supervised freedom or re-confinement depending upon the housebreaking schedule will be upheld.

*If you cannot leave the dog outside, you will have to leave him in the playpen and do nothing about an accident if he has one.

This may seem confusing, but it's really quite simple. The dog must not have free time in the house unless you have seen him go to the bathroom outside. When you take him out, if he doesn't go, he must be re-confined. When you take him out and he does go, he must be praised and given a small amount of time to assure that he has done everything he has to and no more than 30 minutes of free time in the house before either re-confinement or being taken back out.  

NOTE: If the dog is on supervised free time and you cannot watch him, place him in the playpen with his toys and water until his 15 to 30 minutes is up. If he is in the play pen, he cannot get into any trouble. 

Maintain a personal housebreaking schedule. Write down the times your dog is taken out and what he does. This will be important several weeks down the road when you begin increasing his supervised free time.

Canine Behavior -Indoor Marking

If your male dog is lifting his leg and urinating here and there in your house; on walls, chairs, lamps and alike, this may not be an inappropriate elimination problem. Your dog is most probably presenting territorial marking behavior. Most intact (not altered) male dogs will not mark in the house because they see the home as their den, a place they are secure about. However, if a female comes into heat or another dog perceived as dominant in nature passes through, territorial marking may begin.

Marking can be distinguished from regular urination in that this behavior comprises a small squirt of urine rather than the flow normally released when the dog is genuinely relieving himself. This behavior is largely under the influence of testosterone in unaltered males. Following castration, some 50% of the dogs will cease presenting the marking behavior. However, the further away from the onset of puberty the operation is done, the more likely the behavior has become a habit and will continue even after the hormone level decreases. Even if the dog ceases to mark in your home, he may well continue to do so outdoors or in a veterinarian's waiting room where the scent of other male dogs stimulates the response.

The best preventative measure is to neuter the dog at around six to nine months of age. With older, intact dogs veterinarians will sometimes prescribe progestin's as a way to combat the behavior.

As a behaviorist, I also recommend correcting the behavior while walking outside with a swift leash check and the word "No." Dealing with it when you are present may cause the behavior to be avoided later.

Cleaning up marked spots is also important so that the dog will not be compelled to over mark that spot. A solution of one part white vinegar to 4 parts water will create a solution that helps to eliminate the odor

I have also found over the years that, in some cases, an insecure dog will occasionally mark in the home, perhaps to strengthen his feeling of security.

This can also be a result of separation anxiety. In any case, a basic obedience training program taught by a qualified instructor knowledgeable in behavior modification is in order.