Next to welcoming a newborn baby, introducing a puppy into your household is definitely something that's worth cherishing. However, you have to make sure you're fully prepared for this, especially when it comes to their potty training. Puppies don't have complete control of their bladder and bowels at first and you will need to provide assistance in guiding your puppy on this matter. Below are 5 secrets to effective dog potty training:

- If you don't happen to have a litter box at first, you can improvise with whatever materials you have in your household. Make use of newspapers and place them in a specific area in the house. Newspapers are actually good substitutes for the time being, since they can absorb the feces and are rather easy to dispose of. If you're doing this indoors, you will need to retrain your puppy to relieve themselves outside the house.

- When a puppy begins to walk around in circles and sniff the floor endlessly, this is a sign of them wanting to relieve themselves. Thus, you will need to pick your puppy up and take him or her to the potty area. When your puppy is done, make sure to clean its potty place up, for puppies, very much like human beings, don't like stepping in their own mess.

- Come up with a routine for your puppy's toilet breaks. You can take your pet canine to the litter box 8 times a day at the most. Every morning, you can take him or her to their litter box. You can even make use of the time after they've had their meals, once you've finished playing around with them or when they begin to feel restless in the middle of the night.

- You can utilize a few verbal commands which are spoken softly, such as "be quick," "get to it" and the like. Remember to remain consistent. If they don't immediately relieve themselves and would take more than 15 minutes to do so, try taking them away for a bit then lead them back to their potty area. Once your puppy is done, don't forget to give praise.

- One secret to have effective dog potty training is that you need to make sure that dogs eat solid foods. This will help them release solid stools. However, water should also be made available to them in order to keep them hydrated.