One of the biggest challenges facing pet owners is the need to have successfully house trained dog. Many people fall in love with the idea of a companion dog dutifully following them through the day. They envision that cute little puppy becoming their best friend and adding a lot to their lives.

Maybe you're one of these people with a friend who actually has a dog like this. Maybe you know someone with a cute little puppy that follows them around and spends as much time being with people as possible.

You're more likely to also know the other kind of pet owner. These are the people for one reason or another always seem to keep their dog outside. While for some breeds are being outside all the time is not a problem, for many being away from the people they are attached to his very difficult.

Breeds such as Pugs, Labradors, Many Retrievers, Beagles, Dachshunds, Boston Terriers, Boxers, Basenji, Yorkshire Terrier, Poodles, and many more all are happiest when they are near, the people they love. You can almost take whole blocks of dog breeds in specific AKC categories and identified them as preferring to be indoors.

The American Kennel Club or AKC has broken out, most available breeds by category. All of the toy breeds and even many of the Herding and Working group animals actually prefer being near their owners. This in turn means they should be reliably housetrained.

House training a dog takes a concerted effort for weeks and sometimes months before the behavior becomes second nature to your pet. The absolute best way to have a completely housetrained dog is to use the crate training method.

Crate training allows you to have absolute control over your pets freedom in your home until they understand the need to relieve themselves outside. This eliminates most of the potential for accidents and bad behaviors to develop.

The results however are well worth the effort and will be with you for years to come.

Crate training is a more formal method of house training
but it DOES work!

It shouldn't be a matter of money either. OK, you need a crate and a few more supplies like a leash but hey, you didn't having a best 4 legged friend was going to be completely free though did ya?

If you're on a budget, consider making the supplies and house training a dog for free. Yes, it's possible to build a crate and with a little effort on your part, you can still effectively housetrain your puppy or adult dog without buying a formal crate.

The basis for crate training is confinement for your puppy or adult dog when you are unable to keep direct eye contact on them. It only takes five seconds for a puppy to find a spot, squat and pee in your house. This means that you shouldn't take your eyes off of your pet during house training for no more than five seconds. Accidents are never the fault of the dog, but of the pet owner not keeping a good eye on the animal.

House training a dog using this method also requires you to consistently take them outside at regular times for potty breaks until they understand the behavior you wish them to follow. Effective crate training also means you need an easy-to-use crate to confine your dog as they're learning what you want them to do.

While there are many crate designs available, I personally prefer using one where I could easily place the dog into and get him out of the confined area. This way I can bring my pup out to play for a quick romp and place him quickly back into his crate without a lot of undue effort.