The new member of the household has to be potty trained as soon as the first day. It is important to note that dogs could hold their bladder up to five hours, not more than that. In fact, dogs being territorial animals will mark the territory by urinating every few feet or so. When the dog is new to a particular place that has not yet been marked by other dogs, expect the dog itching to mark every nook and cranny of the house, worse, that include the rugs and carpets. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is an older technique that basically uses punishment based on the idea that the dog will remember better what it is not supposed to do when it will be potentially be harmed as a result. Negative reinforcement uses yelling, choke chains, confinement, direct harm, electric shock, and electric fences. Adopting A Dog Building A Doghouse Once decided on adopting a dog, the next step to take is the type of doghouse that you will need. The doghouse depends on the dog breed that you want. Dogs grow very fast and allowances must be taken to insure that the doghouse will shelter the dog when it is full-grown. The dog's breed is critical in choosing a dog that will fit the credentials you are looking for. Sure, the breed's temperament and characteristics are just approximations of how the dog would turn out when it's full grown and that individual dogs have individual personalities. Still, the dog's breed can still give you an idea of what to expect. Intelligent dogs are those that could pick up a command with five exposures and does not forget even when the command is not repeated often. Intelligent dogs are best for everyone but so much better for people who get easily frustrated and do not have the time enough to train dogs. You have to made a good choice. When the decision for adopting a dog is to have a companion, the choices will be limited generally to smaller dog breeds that are expected to serve no particular task other than as a pet and as a comforter. This tradition of having small dogs for decoration dates back thousands of years to Chinese nobility where the Pug and the Pekingese where favorites.