House Training
YOUR FOOLPROOF GUIDE TO HOUSE TRAINING
House training can be broken into two parts:
Teaching your puppy where to go potty.
Preventing accidents.
PART 1: TEACHING YOUR PUPPY WHERE TO POTTY
CHOOSE A SPOT
Decide specifically where you'd like your dog to potty. This could be your yard in general or a specific area of your yard. I recommend having a designated potty area in the yard to make your cleanup easier and to prevent brown spots in your lawn.
PUT IT ON CUE
Choose a cue word. I use "potty." When it's time to take them out, say, "Potty! Let's go potty!!" What putting it on cue does is allow you to ask your dog if they need to potty or tell them to go (this is really handy on road trips or when it’s cold/rainy out).
TAKE THEM OUT
Walk with them outside to the potty area, tell them to potty, and then ignore them. Don't play with, talk to, or otherwise distract your dog from the task at hand. Puppies are very easily distracted, and it's common for them to go outside and play and then come inside and go potty. It might take them a few minutes, so just be patient and wait.
REWARD
Once they finish going potty, praise enthusiastically and give your puppy 3 small super yummy treats. Make it so exciting and fun for them to potty outside with you that they want to do it again. You really can't overdo the praise and rewards with this. Throwing a fun "potty party" teaches your puppy to come and find you when they need to go, and this is why you should never punish or scold your dog for having an accident. Punishing an accident teaches your puppy to go and hide when they need to potty because going in front of you gets them in trouble.
Pro tip: I always recommend waiting until your puppy is done going before rewarding them or getting excited. All too often, a puppy will squat to pee, the owner will enthusiastically shout, “Yessss!!!” and race toward the puppy with treats outstretched, causing the puppy to stop mid-stream to collect the reward and then go inside and finish.
PREVENTING ACCIDENTS
SUPERVISE
This is the hardest part for puppy owners - it’s a lot of work! Your puppy can't be allowed to freely roam around the house if they aren’t house trained. How are you going to know if they need to go potty if you aren't paying attention? Puppies give signals that they need to go potty. Typically they'll start to slowly meander and sniff the floor, looking for a good potty spot. If you aren't watching your puppy, you'll miss these signs.
“Supervision is the most challenging and most important part of house training.” ”
CONFINE
If you can't watch your puppy, make sure they're confined to reduce the chances of accidents. You can have your puppy on a leash to prevent wandering, you can use a crate, a pen, or a baby gate to restrict their access to the entire house. Make sure to check their bedding/blankets to make sure they aren't being peed on.
SCHEDULE
Keeping your puppy on a potty schedule and eating schedule will be really helpful for house training.
Puppies will need to go potty shortly after eating and immediately upon waking up.
Choose a time frame for your puppy in between potty breaks. Maybe it will be every 30 minutes, maybe every hour. As your puppy gets older and learns to hold it, you can stretch the time out further and further. If you're repeatedly taking your puppy out for 5-10 minutes and they aren't going potty, you can add some time between scheduled potty breaks. The goal is to gradually increase the time between potty breaks until your puppy is letting you know they need out.
Feeding your puppy on a schedule will also help with house training. Because eating tends to trigger a bowel movement, it’s helpful if your puppy isn’t eating all day long. Feed your puppy at set meal times instead of leaving food out 24/7 to help keep bowel movements on a schedule.
GETTING THROUGH THE NIGHT
To help your puppy hold it through the night, pick up water about 1-2 hours before they go to bed for the night and don’t feed them within 2-3 hours of going to bed. If your puppy needs out during the night, make sure you take them out to go potty and then come right back inside and return to bed. Don’t engage them in play or give lots of pets or attention unless you want to encourage your puppy to wake you up at night when they’re bored and want attention.
TROUBLESHOOTING
My puppy goes outside and doesn’t go potty, but then comes inside and pees all over the floor.
This is most likely because your puppy got distracted. Make sure you aren’t playing with them, and if you have other dogs they may need to stay inside while the puppy goes potty. It could also be that you’re just not giving them enough time. Puppies don’t always walk outside and immediately potty. Sometimes they’ll walk around a minute, sniffing for just the right spot.
If you bring your puppy back in the house when they haven’t gone potty outside, make sure you’re watching them VERY closely. I would put them in a crate and try taking them out again in 20 minutes.
My puppy goes potty outside but then comes inside and goes again!
This is why it’s important to wait until your puppy has finished going before you reward them. Owners will often start praising and digging out a treat when the puppy starts to pee, which causes the puppy to stop urinating mid-stream to run and get their treat. Then, of course, they get inside and finish. Some puppies might just potty in a few different spots, so if your puppy regularly poops or pees multiple times outside, don’t head back inside after the first one. Give them time to finish.
My puppy isn’t letting me know they need out.
This will come in time. Make sure you’re watching them very carefully because it can be easy to miss. This is why supervision is so, so important.
This can also happen if you’re not extending the time between potty breaks, and your puppy is just depending on you to take them out every so-many minutes on schedule, so they never need to let you know.
My puppy keeps sneaking off and peeing/pooping in another room.
This means you’re not watching your puppy. They shouldn’t be able to freely roam the house for this very reason. Keep your puppy on a leash if you need to. This can also occur when puppies are punished for accidents. They don’t learn not to pee inside - they learn not to pee in front of you, and thus, will go off and sneakily pee elsewhere.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Pee pads are not useful for house training and can often significantly slow the process.
How will I know when my puppy is house trained?
When they’re letting you know they need to go outside.
How will my puppy let me know they need out?
Each dog is a little different in their technique. Some dogs will go to the door while others will come to you. Some will be very subtle and may just quietly stare at you, while others will more vocal and demonstrative. Your dog may paw at the door and bark, they may stare at you and whine, or they might just go sit quietly at the door.
How long does house training take?
It can take anywhere from 1- 4 weeks.
Should I use potty pads?
I only recommend potty pads in the following circumstances:
you plan on using them forever with your dog, which I wouldn’t. Use another option instead, like a litter box or fake grass pad.
you put them down in a pen or baby-gated area for your puppy if you're gone for extended periods of time
As a training aid, they're not helpful. You'll need to teach your puppy to use them and then transition them off the pads. It's just extra work for you, and as a general rule, I don’t like allowing or encouraging puppies to potty in the house. The other downside is that it can be hard for puppies to differentiate between a pee pad and a throw rug or their bed. Also, many puppies enjoy shredding pee pads, which makes cleanup extra fun!
What should I do if my puppy has an accident in the house?
If you catch your puppy in the act, try to startle them into stopping and rush them outside to finish. Otherwise, simply clean it up and watch them a little more closely in the future. Punishing or scolding your puppy will actually set you back in house training and won’t teach your puppy anything other than that you’re scary and unpredictable.
Are certain breeds harder to house train?
Yeah, I find smaller dogs harder to house train. They have significantly smaller bladders and can’t hold it very long. Because they’re lower to the ground and have small little pee puddles, it can also be harder to notice accidents - they aren’t going to have a big squat like a larger dog, and a small puddle can quickly dry or soak into a rug.
Additionally, any dog raised in a kennel environment, like a puppy mill or shelter situation, where they’re used to peeing wherever they’re standing, can make house training more challenging.
But - barring medical issues, house training is always possible, so stay patient and optimistic!