Potty Training Your Puppy
Puppy Potty Training
Brie Blakeman, CPDT-KA
─ Noble Woof Dog Training Portland, Oregon
One of the hardest behavior issues to live with is a dog who was never potty trained. Luckily, potty training should be really swift and easy if good management and a clear plan is in place. A huge aspect of potty training is preventing the dog from having accidents inside the house through active supervision, a consistent potty/feeding schedule, and good management tools. It is also important to recognize that dogs never eliminate inappropriately due to malicious intent. If your dog or puppy has eliminated inappropriately it is due to poor management, not enough access to where they should go, a lack of schedule, extreme fear or phobia, or a medical issue.
Dogs don’t have the foresight to pee on your carpet in order to punish you, and they are definitely not trying to control you with their fecal matter.
How Long Can They Hold It?
How long your puppy can hold their bowls will depend on many different factors including size, age, training, breed and pre-post pee activity.
The younger and smaller the dog: 20-30m on average is what you can expect.
The larger and older the dog: approximately every hour per month of age.
Puppy’s also need to potty after:
Waking from a nap
Eating/drinking water
Playing
Training
When guests come over
First thing in the morning
Right before bed time
After experiencing something new for the first time
In a nutshell:
Puppies are little pee and poo containers wrapped in a cute package. They need to go often, and almost any stimulating event can cause the dam to burst.
All accidents are due to human error. Failed management or supervision are usually the culprits. If your pup goes where you don’t want, I call that “user error”.
No potty = No freedom. If the pup does not go outside when you take them, they get freedoms revoked and have to hang out in a confinement area until they go.
Do this until at least 5 months of age: If the pup successfully goes potty outside, praise them lavishly and give at least three delicious treats one after the other.
Oppsie Poopsie: If the pup has an accident while you’re watching, interrupt them without scaring them and rush them outside, taking full responsibility.
Punishment if forbidden: Yelling at, hitting or rubbing your dogs nose in their pee will only teach them that going potty in front of you is unsafe and scary. This will teach them to hide from you (aka go behind the couch) when they need to go. It will also mean that they will hold their bowls as long as possible for fear of going in front of you even in the right place. We don’t yell at a baby for pooping in their diaper, and you shouldn’t yell at your puppy for pooping on your rug.
Start a potty training log book:
Start a potty log on a whiteboard for the whole family to see.
Record each time that the puppy went pee/poo to see approximately how long your individual puppy can be expected to hold their bladder.
This will also help you recognize any unique patterns so you can get them outside before an accident occurs.
This is a small inconvenience for a long term gain of 16+ years without poop and pee on your carpet.
How to potty train:
Feeding Schedule: Feed meals at the same time every day.
Use a Timer: Set a timer for the amount of time your puppy can be expected to hold their bladder. Be conservative here to prevent accidents and make sure to take them out right after the event listed above as well.
Stick to the Schedule: Right when that timer goes off, rush your puppy outside on leash to a designated “potty spot” in the yard. (Make sure you can slip on shoes very quickly, and that you have treats in your pocket)
Be Boring: Stand still and remain as boring as possible to help your puppy focus on going potty. Wait 5-10 minutes.
Put it on Cue: Right as they are about to eliminate say “go potty!”.
Positively Reinforce Them: Once complete, praise them lavishly and give them three delicious treats in a row.
Success= Fun and Freedom: If they’ve successfully pottied and you have a fenced yard you can take them off leash and let them play. If you don’t have a fenced yard you can take them for a short walk as a reward, or bring them inside to play.
Two Months Error Free: Only once your dog has successfully made it a full two months without a single accident, and they are skilled at communicating when they need to go, would I even begin to consider a puppy potty trained. Until that happens, 100% supervision is crucial.
BUT MY PUPPY WON’T GO:
If your pup just wont go, go inside after ten minutes and either put them in their crate for 20 minutes, or tether them to your belt with a leash to prevent them from running to your carpet to pee.
After the timer goes off, or if you notice any sniffing, rush them outside and try again. If they still don’t go repeat this process until they do!
DO NOT give them freedom until they have successfully eliminated in the right place.
Oops we made a mess!
First, remember that if your puppy made a mess it is due to human error. They are too young to know when and where to go, and regardless this just means there is a crack in your potty training protocol somewhere. That being said accidents do happen regardless of how on it you are.
If you were not present to catch your pup in the act then there is nothing you can do other than clean it up, and clean it up good! Why weren’t you watching your puppy again?
If you catch your puppy in the act, say “oops!” And quickly scoop them up tucking their tail underneath them, and rush them outside. Don’t wait for them to finish.
Hang out with them outside and wait for them to finish. Reward them lavishly for finishing outside.
Consider what you could’ve done to prevent this in the future. Again, accidents happen but they’re almost always preventable unless there is an underlying medical issue like a UTI or bladder infection.
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