Puppy Training
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So you are getting a new puppy and you could not be more excited, right! But, you know that there is one huge, looming task ahead of you that might be a little scary at this point: potty training. Teaching your pup to go outside is crucial for his success as a family pet as well as your sanity. The good news is, potty training doesn’t have to be terribly hard and I am going to be with you every step of the way!
As a dog breeder and owner of 8 dogs (as of the time of writing this post), I’ve had my fair share of experience potty training dogs and puppies. I’ve tried different methods throughout the past years and have developed a system that’s worked quite well for myself as well as the families who buy our puppies. Now, I’m excited to share what I know with you!
In this post we are going to go over EVERYTHING you need to know about potty training your new puppy (including some things most other experts leave out). We’ll go over the preparation you need to do before taking the puppy home, a potty training routine and process, cues your puppy will give to tell you he needs to go, what to do when accidents happen, and finally, how to graduate your puppy from potty training! Ready? Let’s go!
Before taking the puppy home
Did you know that potty training can begin even before your puppy comes into your home? There are lots of things you can do right now to prepare and set yourself up for success for that exciting day!
Pick a great breeder
The first thing to do to help with your potty training journey begins with the breeder you buy your puppy from. There is a common misconception that potty training shouldn’t begin for a puppy until they are 12 weeks old because they can’t hold their bladder until then. In reality, breeders can start working with puppies on potty training as early as 2 weeks old!
When puppies begin to toddle around, their natural instinct is to leave the “nest” to eliminate in order to keep it clean. Good breeders will set their whelping area up in a way that designates a clean nest area and a potty area.
As the puppies eyes open and they are able to walk, breeders may use a litter box to teach the puppies that it’s ok to go in a designated area, but not just anywhere they like.
Once the puppies are old enough to go outside (around 6 weeks), the breeder can start taking them out on a routine (the same routine you are going to adopt when you get your puppy).
Just imagine taking home a puppy that has already had all this wonderful potty training foundation laid out for them! This will most likely make the potty training process and the first weeks with your puppy a dream instead of a nightmare.
How do you find these incredible breeders? Well, for starters, we at Joley Aire are one of them. If our puppies aren’t a good fit for you, search for breeders that use the Puppy Culture program.
Bonus tip: You will find that breeders that put the extra time and effort into potty training tend to charge more for their puppies. That investment usually directly correlates to a decrease in the amount of poop you’ll clean and the amount of carpets, couches, blankets, beds, and clothing you’ll replace because of accidents. In the end, you’ll most likely save money.
Block off time in your schedule
Potty training requires frequent trips outside and vigilant watch over your puppy. It’s almost a full time job in and of itself. I don’t expect every new puppy owner to drop their life for potty training, but I am suggesting that if you can take some time off or time the adoption of your puppy during a time when you’ll be home a lot, this is the ideal situation.
If you can’t block off time in your schedule, the next best thing to do is to hire someone to check in on your puppy during the day and take them outside to go to the bathroom.
If that’s not an option, you’ll have to set up a place your puppy can go inside the house while you are gone for an extended amount of time. I’ll tell you more about that in a bit.
Buy supplies ahead of time
Potty training requires a few supplies and tools to help with the process. Here are my recommendations:
Crate with bed - the size of the crate should be big enough that they can stand and turn around in, but not much bigger. If the crate is too big, they’ll use part of it to go to the bathroom. Once a puppy learns to go in their crate, it’s hard to train them not to.
Pen - The puppy needs a section of the house to spend time in when they aren’t being supervised. It should be just a little larger than their crate.
Set up the puppy’s area
Your puppy needs a small area in your house to live in while they are potty training. As I mentioned before, they naturally won’t go to the bathroom in the same place they eat or sleep in. So, by setting up a designated eating and sleeping area, you have created a spot where they will make more of an effort to hold their bladder in, thus helping you to control where and when they go.
Set this spot up near the door they’ll be using to go outside. You’ll want to be able to take the puppy out as quickly as possible when they need to.
Set up your pen and place the crate inside the pen. Now you have a designated sleeping area. Just outside of the crate is where you should place a few puppy pads. If you have to leave the puppy for more than an hour or two, it’s only fair that you give them a spot where it’s ok to go. They can’t hold their bladder very long at this age.
You may also place their food and water in the pen.
The keys to Potty Training Success
Having the tools and picking a good breeder is a really great start. Now, it’s time to look at the actual process of potty training. There are a few key points to remember as you proceed:
Consistency is huge! The more consistent you are, the faster your puppy will start to “get it” and the quicker you can graduate from potty training. Without consistency, it’s possible your puppy will never learn (one of the biggest reasons puppies end up in shelters).
The next key is setting a routine (and sticking to it with consistency!). Dogs do very well with schedules and will actually anticipate next steps. A set routine will also help you stay consistent and keep track of how the puppy is doing.
The routine should basically look like this: wake up, go potty, play, go potty, eat, go potty, take a nap, go potty, play, go potty, eat, go potty, and so on and so forth. This continual cycle goes on for the entire day and works with their natural body functions.
I’ve put together an in depth routine for you to print off and use for free. I’ve also included some charts to help with your potty training adventure. Download them for free by clicking the button:
Here are some tips for success in your puppy’s potty training routine:
Write it down and put it in a spot you can easily refer to throughout the day.
Set reminders on your phone so you don’t miss a potty break
Create the routine to work reasonably with your schedule
Enlist the help of others and delegate parts of the routine.
The next key is to learn the signals your puppy will give to indicate he needs to go potty. You’ll be able to read your puppy better the longer you get to know him, but here are a few general cues to start off:
Suddenly stops playing and wanders away from everyone
Hiding in a corner or different area of the house
Sniffing around
Squatting to pee
Between consistently holding to a routine and reading your puppy’s signals, you should be able to get him outside when he needs to go and catch him before accidents happen.
Another key tool to use while potty training is the crate, but your puppy needs to be trained to use the crate in order for it to be effective. Learn more about crate training in this blog post.
Do’s and Don’ts of Potty training
There are many methods of potty training, but based off of my research and real life experience, I’ve found there are some things that work and other things that do more damage than good. Here are some quick “do’s and don’ts” of potty training:
Don’t punish the puppy
When your puppy has an accident don’t punish them by hitting, yelling, or rubbing their nose in it. People say that by doing this they will associate going potty in the house with bad things, but that is giving puppies way more credit intellectually than they are due. Puppies don’t understand the location they chose to go is wrong, only that going potty in front of you is wrong. What will then happen is they will continue to go in the house and they’ll hide from you to do it!
Do give big rewards
When your puppy does successfully go outside, make a huge deal of it! Give him a treat, praise him, pet him, and act like you just won the lottery. Treats and praise will enforce that the puppy has done a great thing.
Don’t leave the puppy for too long
Puppies simply cannot hold their bladder very long and so it is unfair to expect a tiny baby puppy not to have an accident overnight or while you are at work for 8 hours. The general rule of thumb is that for every month of their life, you can add another hour to how long they can hold their bladder. So a two month old puppy should only be expected to hold their bladder for two hours. (Of course this doesn’t apply to a dog that’s older than 8 months. You would never expect a 24 month old dog to hold for 24 hours).
Remember, if you can’t be around to let the puppy out every two hours, either hire someone to do it or set them up with puppy pads inside their pen.
Don’t leave them outside on their own
There are a few reasons for this: first, for the safety of your puppy, you probably shouldn’t leave them outside on their own for very long. It’s not unheard of for hawks and eagles to take puppies as a meal, the puppy may get into something they shouldn’t, or could get stolen.
The other reason not to leave them outside alone is because you need to see when they go. Sometimes puppies take a long time to actually go and you can’t just assume because they were out for a certain amount of time that they had gone. I’ve had plenty of times when I’d let a puppy back in and they promptly go on the carpet.
Do set one verbal command
Decide on a word to cue them to go potty and say it in a positive, chipper way. This will help cut down on the amount of time you have to stand outside waiting for the puppy to stop exploring and start getting to business.
Don’t say the verbal command before you are actually outside
People will sometimes make the mistake of telling the puppy it’s time to go potty before they are actually outside. Not only does this make things confusing for the puppy, but if you don’t take him out quickly after saying it, you could have an accident in your house. Save the verbal cue for when you are outside and ready.
Do use a bell
Putting a bell on the door will give your puppy a way to communicate that they need to go outside later down the road. At the beginning, don’t worry about training them to use it. I’ll explain bell training more later, but remember it’s a good tool to have.
Don’t play outside until he’s gone
If you start to play with your puppy before he’s gone outside, he’ll take forever to actually go and may not associate going outside with going potty.
Don’t talk constantly while they are trying to go outside - it’s distracting - you wouldn’t like it either.
The process of going outside
Here’s a look at what the potty process will look like every time you take the puppy out:
Put your coat and shoes on before taking the puppy out of the crate or indicating that it’s time to go outside. Every second is precious and taking them out before you are ready could give them just enough time for an accident.
Grab your treats, put on the leash, and then head for the door.
Ring the bell as you leave.
Place the puppy in the grass and give them your cue once or twice.
Then wait quietly. Don’t play with the puppy or engage him until he’s gone potty.
Once he’s gone give him lots of praise and a treat!
Now you may play, proceed on a walk, or take him back inside.
What to do when accidents happen
There is no question of whether accidents will happen. The fact is they will happen. This is totally fine and just a part of the process! My first bit of advice is don’t be discouraged. I know it’s hard and you might feel like you are getting nowhere, but try to remember the successes instead of despair over the tiny failures.
Now, here is what to do when accidents happen:
Clean it up as quickly as possible. The longer you let it soak in the floor, the harder it will be to clean.
Use a paper towel or towel to pick up solids or soak up the moisture. If on carpet, try not to scrub because that will push it deeper into the carpet fibers. Place the paper towel inside a double bag to hold in the smell. If it really grosses you out, buy some disposable gloves.
Spray the area with a really good cleaner/scent killer. Puppies like to go in places they’ve gone before. If they smell the urine or poo, they’ll likely go in that same spot again.
Let the spray sit a little while, then soak it up with a paper towel.
My best bit of advice for cleaning up puppy accidents: get a cheap carpet cleaner. There are some for as little as $100 that will do a much better job of cleaning up and will save you so much time and work!
When does it end?
So far everything in this article is about how to start potty training, but what I haven’t covered (and what most potty training articles don’t say) is how to end potty training.
I wish I could give you the satisfying answer that if you do x,y, and z for x amount of time you’ll wake up on this date with a perfectly potty trained puppy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Puppies don’t just graduate from potty training in a day. Instead, it’s a gradual process of working toward the goal of having a potty trained dog. This process will probably take a year or two to accomplish. Don’t loose heart, though! It gets easier every step of the way.
As you gradually work this process of graduating your puppy from potty training, remember everything will go slower than you think and the progress steps are tiny. If you give them too much freedom or take too much time in between breaks, you’ll know you’ve progressed too quickly because your puppy will have an accident. If this happens, don’t worry, you can always take a step back and progress more slowly in the future. Potty training is a marathon, not a sprint.
Before looking at how to graduate your puppy from potty training, let’s think about your end goal. Most people’s ideal potty training goals look like this:
a dog that does not go to the bathroom in any part of the house ever
A dog that can hold it’s bladder and follow a routine
a dog who indicates when they want to go in a polite manner
once outside, the dog goes to the bathroom right away
Now that you have your end goal, we can break down the different areas we need to work on to get there. The key to all of this is being very gradual about it. Take each step very slowly. Let’s break it down:
Never going in any part of the house
To get a puppy to learn not to go to the bathroom in certain areas of the house you need to start by keeping them in a small area in one room of the house. This would be the pen you’ve built with their crate inside. Pick a main area of the house so the puppy isn’t lonely. It’s also ideal if its not on carpet.
Close off all other areas (bedrooms are usually a problem area). The only times the puppy is allowed to play outside of their pen is after they’ve gone potty and under constant supervision.
Gradually expand their pen as they grow. Once their pen is maxed out, allow him freedom within one room. Eventually add a room at a time until they’ve mastered being in all parts of the house without going potty.
Holding it and following a routine
To teach a puppy to hold their bladder and follow a routine so you don’t have to take them out constantly during work hours or at night, you have to very gradually increase the amount of time in between potty breaks.
By gradually, I mean only adding a minute in between potty breaks every couple of days or so. Trying to teach them this too fast won’t work because of their tiny bladders.
Indicating they need to go
Teaching a puppy to politely let you know when they need to go outside is pretty simple but extremely helpful.
Simply place a bell on the door knob and make sure it hangs to a level where your puppy can reach. At first, just ring the bell yourself every time you go out. After your puppy has learned his routine and going outside isn’t an emergency event everytime, pause a moment in front of the door and watch what he does.
If he makes any movement toward the bell, give him a treat and immediately take him outside (especially if he rings it). He’ll start picking up on the fact that ringing the bell means a treat and time outside.
As he starts to consistently look at or move toward the bell, wait a few moments longer for him to paw at it or touch it in some way. At first he’ll be confused why you aren’t rewarding him for looking at it like you did before. He might try a few behaviors to get you to do what he wants like bark or walk away. Simply redirect him toward the bell and wait for him to touch it. Then give him a reward.
Training for the bell can only happen when he acutally needs to go potty (otherwise he’ll just ring it whenever he wants to go outside to play). You also can’t wait in front of the door forever or he’ll have an accident. This is why bell training happens rather slowly.
Going potty right away
Teaching your puppy to go potty right away takes time and patience (as do all the other goals). When you step outside, give him the verbal cue you’ve chosen and then do not engage him. Don’t play with him or talk to him until he’s gone. He will not like your indifference to him and will learn pretty quickly that if he takes care of business, then he’ll get your attention.
Bonus tip: going potty in a certain area
Some people prefer their puppy to use a certain area of the yard to go in. This makes clean up a lot easier. To train this, start by always taking your puppy to that area in your yard (it can’t be super far away because he’ll need to go quickly in those early days). Mark off the area with some string or 2x4s placed in a square. This gives them a visual indicator of their location. Make sure it’s a fairly large square.
Take them to the square to go potty and reward them when they do. Try not to let them play in the square later. As they start to get the hang of it, decrease the size of the square. Then take off one side of the square at a time until they continue to go potty in that same area.
Totally worth it in the end
This was a lot of information and I hope it hasn’t left your questioning your decision to get a puppy at all. While potty training is a good deal of work and takes some time, its rewards are infinitely great. Every day you make progress toward having this furry family member that loves you and lives life by your side and keeps your house clean! The benefits to having a dog are beyond what I can describe in this post, but I’m guessing you already know them. Those benefits are multiplied when you have a dog that is well potty trained. It’s totally worth it!
So, as a quick recap, the biggest keys to potty training succcess are consistency, a routine, and positive reinforcement. Set yourself up for success before getting your puppy by picking a great breeder, buying supplies, and setting up the puppy’s space. Follow the do’s and don’ts and gradually work toward your end goals.
To make life easier while potty training, print off my Puppy Potty Training Survival Guide for routines, charts, and even more tips! It’s totally free and can be accessed by clicking the button below.
I’m rooting for you in this journey! If you have any questions, post them in the comments below and I’d be happy to help!