Arrange a Reasonable Elimination Schedule for the Belgian Shepherd
1. It is important to arrange a suitable toilet schedule. In most cases, Belgian Shepherds like to eliminate after playing, sleeping, eating, and drinking. After these activities, the owner can try taking the dog to a designated place and then offer a reward once it finishes there.
2. Control the amount of food and water, because what goes in must eventually come out. Remember: when and where the dog eliminates should be decided by you. Scheduled feeding naturally helps create a semi-fixed elimination schedule.
3. Once you have chosen a good-quality dog food, avoid changing it casually. Many lower-quality foods contain useless filler materials that may be safe to eat but increase the number of times the dog has to eliminate. Sudden dietary changes should also be avoided.
4. When you are away from home, use a crate or a fenced area to limit the puppy's range of movement. This is one of the best ways to reduce accidents from urinating everywhere. A crate can work well too, as long as the dog is not confined for too many hours in a row, otherwise it may end up soiling inside the crate itself.
Use Treats as Rewards for the Belgian Shepherd
5. Reward with treats. This is one of the most effective methods, although many people still do not make full use of it when trying to stop a dog from urinating indoors.
6. Create a toilet ritual. Use the same door every time, go to the same patch of grass, and wait patiently until the puppy finishes. Then praise it with something like "good dog." Do not distract the dog with too much talk. Once you can predict when it is about to eliminate, you can add a cue such as "go potty" and then praise and reward it after it finishes.
7. Gradually give the dog more responsibility. Take it to the toilet area, leave it there, and only take it away after it has finished. Over time, let it walk part of the way by itself, until eventually it can complete the whole process independently. Just make sure the puppy really has gone before you assume the job is done, otherwise you may get an unexpected surprise later.
Be Willing to Get Up at Night for the Belgian Shepherd
8. Be ready to get up at night for a young puppy. A puppy under three months old often still needs nighttime toilet trips. If you simply let it urinate in the room, the training period will only become longer.
9. If the puppy has an accident outside the designated spot, never punish it. That will only make the dog afraid to eliminate in front of you in the future.
10. Once the Belgian Shepherd reaches about five or six months of age, it will be much more able to control elimination like an adult dog. If you can reduce accidents during the puppy stage, later control becomes much easier.