Within a few days to a few weeks, your dog should start seeking out the pan on his or her own when let out of the crate. It won't be like a light switch turning on, but as long as you are consistent with your praise and schedules, you should continue to see progress until your dog is fully litter trained.

But even though the intensive housetraining is over, there are still things you should do to make sure the housetraining sticks:

• As always, keep your puppy or dog's pan as clean as possible so that you do not inhibit his desire to return to his pan for elimination purposes. (Like humans, pets like clean restrooms.) Continue to praise and reward desirable behavior. This type of interaction will serve to reinforce and strengthen the housetraining you and your pet have been working together to achieve. Whenever he eliminates properly, softly tell him, “Good Puppy!” and/or offer him a treat.

• Now that you are well on your way to sharing your home with a pet who has reliable elimination behavior, you will probably want to begin giving him a little more freedom to investigate your home.

• Freedom within your home is best introduced when you continue to play a supervisory role. How is he to know what is appropriate behavior and what is not if you do not provide guidance? Your dog can earn more freedom within your home gradually, based on his “good” behavior. (A word of caution, giving dogs too much freedom too quickly can result in unreliable pan use.)

• Always make sure your pet has easy access to his secondnature brand TOTAL HOUSETRAINING PROGRAM SYSTEM to ensure his continued success with housetraining.

• If your puppy has an accident, re-read this guide to evaluate what you could have done to help prevent it. Remember, the student is only as good as the teacher.

• Praise is one of the best ways to get your dog to do what you want. Your dog constantly wants your approval, even when he does something you don't want him to do. Withholding praise when your dog is bad and lavishing praise when your dog is good is more effective than using punishment. If you use punishment when housetraining him to use the litter, your dog may associate punishment with the litter pan, making it almost impossible to get him comfortable using it.

• If you catch your dog doing something you don't want him to do, turn it into an opportunity for praise. Make a loud, startling noise such as “Ahh!” to get your dog to stop what he's doing. Next, give your puppy a command and praise him when he complies. This applies to the litter pan, too. If your dog is eliminating outside the pan, startle him, then put him in the pan and praise him when he eliminates inside it.

• Be consistent with your praise and/or treats (especially when starting out) and your dog will get the right idea.

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