Potty training small dogs works the same way as training larger breeds. However, some dog owners seem to think that training smaller breeds is harder or troublesome compared to training medium and larger breeds.

There may be some behavioral differences between small dogs and large dogs; however, the method of training these dogs to have proper potty practices is the same, regardless of the size.

When training small dogs, dog owners have faced difficulties usually with these two issues; Crate Training and Aggression. However, what they don't know is that these issues have nothing to do with the dog being a small breed, but it is really because of the owners themselves. Read on to see why, and what you can do about it.

Small dogs or toy dogs are like dolls or play things, and their owners have the tendency of toting them around and putting them on their laps. Herein lies the problem.

A dog, in general, whether small or big, is a canine with an aggressive nature to be the master of his domain. Whether its his food, his owner or his territory, he has to be the alpha dog. When a small dog places himself on his owner's lap unbeckoned, he is actually displaying hostility; his instinct to be the alpha dog. However, instead of chastising or showing displeasure towards this behavior, his owner cuddles him instead. This act of praising him encourages and develops the aggressive streak in the dog.

This same aggression is displayed when a small dog growls at a larger dog as this clearly shows an act of violence. Unfortunately, the owner, inclined to seeing this as an adorable behaviour, will end up praising the little pooch, instead of correcting it.

Toting a small dog or puppy around, even at home, does not help with house breaking. Owners of these dogs tend to carry their animals to their potty place, then pick them up and carry them back inside the house, which makes it virtually impossible to house break these puppies. There is no way for the dog to inform or show his owner that he has to poop. The dog will also have no way to learn that he has to go to his acceptable pooping place to defecate.

When training your miniature dog to do anything, do it like you would any other breeds. Potty training your puppy of a small breed can be done effectively if he is treated like other normal breeds, which are brought to their acceptable potty area on a leash. Once you've stopped totting your pooch around, you'll be surprised at how much easier it is to train him.