Potty Training your Puppy - The easy way

Potty Training Guide

*You will have to put some effort into house training your puppy or dog.
*You have to be consistent.
*You have to be diligent.
*Expect accidents.

Tools Required for Potty Training:

Happy Voice   Unhappy Voice 

Have an acceptable area where you will allow him to go to the bathroom

First decide where you will allow your puppy to go to the bathroom. Have acceptable areas. When my puppies were small I had two areas that I allowed them to eliminate. In the garden and on newspaper (or you can use potty training pads) placed at the door that led to the outside.  I started potty training with the newspaper  but also let the puppy know by means of praise and a happy voice that if he eliminated outside in the yard I thought that was very good behavior.

I only used newspaper for a short period of time and only when the puppy was very young. Over a period of time I moved the newspaper from just inside the door to just outside the door and then I completely removed the newspaper altogether.

If you are potty training your puppy to go outside ensure that he can get out! Can you leave a door open? Do you have a doggy door? Does he know how to use the doggy door?

Contain your puppy to one or two rooms.

Before your puppy is potty trained don't let him have the run of the house. Try to contain him to the room you spend the most time in so you can watch him most of the time. Close all bedroom doors and barricade other areas that do not have doors. One idea to contain puppy is to use baby gates.

Watch your puppy as much as you can. This is where diligence comes into play. You must be prepared to watch your puppy as much as possible. 

It is never a good idea to get a new puppy on Saturday or Sunday and then go to work on Monday. If it is possible try to organize at least a weeks leave from work so you can spend some intensive time potty training your puppy.
 

Know the signs that your puppy is about to eliminate

Puppies are quick. One minute they are playing and the next minute they are peeing on your carpet.
Some of the signs that your pup is about to pee are:

Sniffing the floor
Circling
Whimpering
Taking off suddenly to another room or area. They often do this when they want to poop.

 
Give your puppy the right message

When you notice your puppy doing any of the above things gently and without a big fuss pick him up and place him on the newspaper or take him outside. Don't frighten the pup when you do this. It's a fact of life that your puppy has to pee and he has to poop so you don't want him to get the wrong message that peeing and pooping are wrong. You want him to get the message that peeing and pooping in the wrong place is not acceptable behavior and toileting in the 'allowed' area is acceptable behavior.

Catching Puppy in the act

When you catch him in the act tell him firmly in a 'not happy voice' , "Nooooo don't pee there." Then take him to the newspaper or outside. If you shout and carry on at him it will only frighten him and he will soon learn to sneak off and do it where you can't see him.

Your puppy may have already started to pee by the time you reach him and although you may have dribbles across the floor still take him to the newspaper and then praise him for being there. Sometimes you are not quick enough and he has finished peeing by the time you reach him. Never mind.. take him to the paper anyway and tell him 'Do a pee here, good boy. Clever dog. ' Don't ever make the newspaper something to be frightened of.

I have found it helps to put some dog pee on the newspaper because the pup will identify the smell and associate it with going to the bathroom. When your puppy has an accident blot a little of the urine on to the newspaper. Somewhere in his brain he might think 'Hmmm, pee smell here. I think this would be a good place to pee.' and so he pees on the newspaper.

When your pup goes to the newspaper or outside of his own free will, wait until he starts to eliminate and then as he is doing it tell him in a happy voice what great fellow he is. 'What a good boy... do a pee on the paper... good work... well done'

Have a Schedule

Take your puppy outside once an hour. Stand with him but don't distract him at all. Let him sniff around. If he goes to the bathroom while outside  tell him what a good dog he is while he is actually peeing or pooping  Choose a word for his elimination. You can call it what ever you want as long as you are consistent with it. For example: While he is peeing say, "Do a pee, good boy, well done" or "Go potty, great work, good dog' By saying these words your puppy will then be able to learn these words and associate them with the action. In the future you will be able to ask your dog to urinate on command.

Immediately after he is finished toileting make a big fuss of him. Praise him, pat him, play with him. Let him know that if he goes to the bathroom outside you are very very pleased with him.

If you take the puppy outside and after three or four minutes he hasn't gone to the bathroom bring him back inside and try again in ten minutes.

Puppies will normally need to go just after they have eaten and just after they have woken up. Always take your puppy outside after these events. They go plenty of other times too so keep a watch out. Take him outside as soon as he wakes and within a few minutes of eating. Puppies may also need the potty while playing. If your puppy runs away from a game you are having always suspect he is off for a bathroom break.

Expect Accidents

Don't have unrealistic expectations of your puppy. He is going to have plenty of accidents before he gets the message of what is expected of him.

Praise not Punish

Praising your dog for doing the right thing will always work far better than punishing him for doing the wrong thing. Don't get angry. Don't go overboard by yelling and screaming. Teach your dog by positive means instead of negative reactions.

Too Late. I just stood in it!

Accept some of the blame yourself, you should have been watching him better. Don't get angry.

If you find the mess or puddle after the event has happened do not rub his nose in it. This is a big NO NO and such an old fashioned idea that doesn't work. However, you must let him know that this is unacceptable. Put your dog on his leash and take him to the puddle or mess. Change the tone of your voice... adopt a not happy voice and say 'I'm not happy with this' while pointing to the puddle or poop. It is more than likely that your pup will not want to look at what you are pointing at and he will avert his eyes from what you are showing him. Often, he will try to change the subject and maybe try to start a game or look for some other diversion. Ignore this cunning behavior. Always have some toilet paper or tissue at the ready and pick up the poop or blot the urine and take it outside and put it where you would have liked him to do it in the first place. Make sure you still have him on the leash and that he accompanies you and watches every step of the procedure. Put the tissue on the ground and then tell the puppy in a happy voice, 'Good place... do pee here... very good place' or words to that effect.

I still keep finding little surprises on the floor

If you are constantly finding puddles and messes follow the above procedure with one small change. When you take him to the puddle or poop and he averts his eyes and doesn't want to know anything about it, tie his leash to something nearby such as a table leg or chair leg. Make sure he can't escape seeing it. Leave him like this for a few minutes while you walk away and ignore him. Don't leave him there for more than five minutes, that's long enough to get the message across.

When you are not there

You can't always be with your puppy 24 hours a day. When you go out you have the choice of putting him outside or containing him to one room. You could also put him in the garage or make a fenced off area. Choose an area that can be easily cleaned after accidents. Put newspapers in the room with him near the door. 

Don't shut him up in a pen or a small bathroom. That's not going to teach him anything.

How long does it take to potty train a puppy?

On average it will take about two to three weeks. Remember that all dogs are not the same and some will learn very quickly and some will take a little longer. I once had a dog who learned paper training after one day. I caught her 'In the act' and put her on the newspaper and she never again went anywhere else apart from the newspaper or outside. She was a very smart puppy and an exception to the rule.

Expect Regression

Sometimes months after you think you have successfully potty trained your dog he will have the odd slip up. Expect this and deal with it as you did in the beginning. Accidents may happen with fully trained dogs. Dogs that are not neutered or spayed have a higher incidence of eliminating in the house. Scent marking is another form of undesired elimination and can be managed by neutering and refreshing housetraining

We have a comments page where you can discuss potty problems with others. You may also be able to offer advice to others. Let them know what has, and what has not worked for you.
Pet Pee and Poop Problems