The quick answer is : Puppies need the toilet frequently. They need to be given the opportunity to relieve themselves at least every two hours.
You can usually tell when a puppy ‘wants to go’ because he or she will look around anxiously, walk-in circles and start sniffing in suitable corners looking for a place. That’s your cue to take your pet outside so they can wee or poop.
One of the first and biggest challenges that you may face is that of toilet training. Toilet training should start as soon as your puppy gets home.
House training your puppy is about consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement. The goal is to instill good habits and build a loving bond with your dog or puppy. It typically takes 4-6 months for a puppy to be fully house trained, but some puppies may take up to a year.
Size can be a predictor. For instance, smaller breeds have smaller bladders and higher metabolisms and require more frequent trips outside. Your puppy’s previous living conditions are another predictor.
You may find that you need to help your puppy break old habits in order to establish more desirable ones.
And while you’re training, don’t worry if there are setbacks. As long as you continue a management program that includes taking the puppy out at the first sign he needs to go and offering him rewards, he’ll learn.
When to begin dog training
We recommend that you begin house training your puppy when he is between 12 weeks and 16 weeks old.
At that point, he has enough control of his bladder and bowel movements to learn to hold it.
If your puppy is older than 12 weeks when you bring him home and he’s been eliminating in a cage (and possibly eating his waste), house training may take longer. You will have to reshape the dog’s behavior — with encouragement and reward.
How do I know my puppy needs to toilet?
Puppies need to toilet much more frequently than adult dogs. They have small bladders and no instinct to ‘hold on’. Older dogs usually toilet after waking up, 10-20 minutes after eating, drinking, and playing, sometimes after being outside.
Don’t assume that your dog will know to go to the toilet while outside unless they have learned to do so.
You may only need to take an adult dog outside every 2 hours, while a puppy needs to be taken outside every hour to avoid mistakes. Some early warning signs of a need to urinate or defecate are circling and sniffing the ground.
It is much easier to pick up when your dog needs to go to the toilet if you are watching closely or your dog is on a lead with you at all times.
Understanding the basics
Toilet training your puppy should be quite a simple process, as long as you take the time and trouble to get into a good routine. Initially, you will have to build your routine around your puppy’s needs, and these are reliably predictable when they are very young.
Puppies need to urinate immediately after waking up, so you need to be there to take your puppy straight into the garden without any delay. Eating its meal stimulates its digestive system, and puppies normally
urinate within fifteen minutes of eating, and defecate within half an hour of eating (although this might vary slightly with each individual).
Puppies have very poor bladder control, and need to urinate at least every hour or two.
They can urinate spontaneously when they get excited, so take your puppy out frequently if it has been active, playing or exploring. You may find it useful to keep a record of when your puppy eats sleeps, urinates and defecates.
A simple diary list will do. Repeat cue words like ‘wee wees’ and ‘poo poos’ or ‘be busy’ and ‘be clean’ while the puppy is actually urinating or defecating. Use different words for each action so that you will be able to prompt the puppy later on.
Always go with your puppy into the garden so you are there to reward and attach the cue words to the successful actions! Fortunately, puppies are creatures of habit, so as long as you introduce the garden to your puppy as its toilet area early on, you should be able to avoid most of the common pitfalls.
Training your puppy
Introduce your new pup to its new home. family and their role. Just like when you are new to a place or group, your new pet may be bursting with curiosity, excitement, fear or joy.
Now is the best time to lay out the foundation for a good and pleasant relationship with your pet. For a puppy to settle in and learn to trust and respect you and everyone at home, it is very important to establish your expectations of your puppy and be consistent with them.
Limit the dog’s area.
It will be easier to keep a close eye on your puppy if you limit the dog to a certain area of your home. You can do this by closing doors and using baby gates. If your dog is confined to a smaller area, you will be able to observe it constantly to determine if it needs to go outside.
The area should be large enough for the puppy to play in, but small enough that you can see it at all times. A small room or sectioned off area of a room is ideal. Be sure to pick an area that has fast, easy access to the outdoors.
A room with a door leading straight outside is best. Picking an area that is easy to clean is also a good idea. There will be accidents in the early stages of training.
Understand your puppy’s particular breed behavior and needs. Research your dogs breed traits and special needs or any behavior that you should be aware of and look out for.
For example, if your puppy is a tiny little Chihuahua, their bladder will be very small and they will need to urinate more frequently; accidents will happen even if they are well trained.
Although most dogs are highly intelligent, they don’t think as humans do. It is often a problem when we expect them to understand simple command words or tell you that they need to pee or poop. For this reason, you must be willing to understand how they communicate with you and study the clues they give and get from you.
Keep an eye on your puppy.
While potty training, it is ideal to keep your puppy where you can watch it at all times. This will allow you to look for early signs that it needs to go and help to prevent accidents. Signs when they might go are when they start circling, scratching, and sniffing.
Some of the signs to look for include whining, circling, sniffing, barking, or any sudden behavior change. When you see any of these signs, immediately lead the dog outside.
Interrupt accidents.
If you catch your puppy in the act of urinating or defecating indoors, make a sudden noise such as a clap, and say the word “no.” Then, quickly lead the dog outside. You want to startle but not to scare the dog. The intent here is to get their immediate attention and know that you disapprove marking or pooping indoors.
You also want to be consistent, using the same word and/or noise each time. You may not get the same result if the dog is defecating because most puppies will not be able to stop this. But, you should still do the same thing as part of the teaching process.
Never punish your puppy for accidents.
The dog does not know it is doing anything wrong. Do not force your puppy to smell or keep reminding them of their actions. They will not remember and could possibly become scared of you. When you use punishment to stop them from going indoors it can confuse your dog and even make it worse.
Your dog could only understand that you get mad when you see them potty and will hide from you when they need to go, most likely in places that are hard to reach for you.
Choose a pottyplace.
It is best to pick a certain area outside and take your dog there every time it needs to go. You should pick a spot that is not visited by other dogs and is easy to clean up.
Your puppy will remember the smell of urine and start to associate the area as its “bathroom”. Pick an area that is easy to get to quickly. You will be visiting this area frequently during the training process.
Until your puppy has had its third set of vaccines, you should avoid areas where other dogs go or have recently gone, such as parks.
It’s a good idea to discuss this with your veterinarian. When taking your dog outside, it’s a good idea to keep it on a leash so you can teach it to go in a specific location. You can also more easily keep an eye on the dog, so you’ll know when it is done.
Choose a specific sound or word command.
Every time you take your puppy outside to their area, use the word “go,” or pick another command. This will teach it to go to that specific location. The dog will begin to recognize the command and understand what you want it to do.
This will help the dog to learn when and where it should be urinating or defecating. Use that command only when you want them to go. This will avoid confusion.
- Praise successes. Always praise your puppy every time it uses the appropriate area. Use a cheerful, happy voice that lets the dog know it has pleased you. Being consistent with this will give them an emotional incentive to do their business in the correct place.
- Make potty time a relaxing and rewarding event for your puppy to look forward to. To encourage your dog to patiently hold and wait until you allow them to go they must first enjoy it.
Going out for a walk and relieving themselves should be an awarding experience every dog should enjoy. Do not interrupt your dog if they are doing their business where you want them to go.
Allow them to relax, loosen up and relieve themselves. You can also give your puppy a small treat afterward to help encourage it.[8] For some dogs, though, this can also be a distraction.
- Clean up accidents right away. When your dog has an accident inside, it is important to clean the area thoroughly. This will help prevent the dog from wanting to go again in the same place.Use an enzymatic cleaner, not one that contains ammonia. This will help to get rid of the odor and the dog’s attraction to the area.
Urine has a strong smell of ammonia that attracts dogs to smell and mark with their own.
For the latter, some training pads are sprayed with ammonia to encourage a puppy to go there.You can also use white vinegar to counteract the smell of ammonia.
How to teach your puppy to toilet out on a walk
Many owners appear disappointed that their young puppy will not toilet when out on a walk, yet relieves itself the second it gets back home.
This is because the puppy has been taught to toilet only at home (hopefully in its garden), and being creatures of habit, they often wait until they have returned home before evacuating their bladder and/ or bowels.
To break this habit, you will have to get up very early one morning (when you have plenty of time), and get your puppy out on a walk before it has had its morning wee. You should not bring it home until it has been forced to go out of desperation.
If however, you are unsuccessful, and your puppy has not toileted, then take it immediately into the garden on your return, or you risk it relieving itself indoors.
Learn how to train your dog to poop in a designated area here.
Paper training
You can paper-train small breeds and young puppies on newspapers. Praise them with lots of affection when the newspaper is used and ignore them when it’s not. Be careful not to get in the habit of praising with food treats, because you run the risk of overfeeding.
Puppies go to the toilet around 12 times a day, and sometimes even more! Over time, move the newspapers towards the door and then out into the garden.
Take a small piece of soiled paper outside, as the puppy recognizes its own unique scent and will want to reinforce it.
Puppy pads
Many advocate the use of puppy training pads to put on the floor (similar to newspaper) to teach your puppy to go in the correct place. Once you have them toileting there, you can start moving them closer and closer to the door.
While this will work, you will have to teach your dog to use the pad, then they need to relearn that they then need to start going outside. It is simpler just to go for the behavior you want the first time around, rather than teach two separate things.
The main advantage of these absorbent pads is that they make clean-ups easier. So while your puppy is being crated, or is in his den, playpen or the laundry you can put a puppy pad down to absorb any mess.
I recommend Amazon Basics Pet Training and Puppy Pads. They are heavy-duty and have a plastic border on all sides to prevent overflow. You can find the latest price here.
Crate training/confinement
You can’t be with your puppy every second of the day and your puppy does need lots of rest, usually around 16 hours a day. When you and your puppy need a break, send your puppy to bed somewhere that will limit any roaming accidents.
For puppies who love to chew things like power cords, this is a safety precaution that can stop your dog getting into mischief when you can’t watch them. If your dog will need to travel frequently or be confined when guests visit or at night-time, you could also consider investing in a large transport crate that can be your dogs ‘den’.
Somewhere that is safe, cozy but big enough to easily turn around in even when fully grown. Children’s or pet playpens or baby gates across a doorway can be used to similar effect. The additional benefit is that in a smaller area, your dog will either learn to ‘hold on’ to avoid toileting in the cozy ‘den’, or will at least select a place away from his bed to toilet.
As soon as you let your dog out from the crate or pen take them to the toileting spot and do not keep your dog confined for long periods of time.
Using a crate to house train a puppy
When you leave home or are unable to watch your puppy, using a crate can be an effective way to help potty train. Your puppy will learn to view the crate as its “home” and will be reluctant to soil their area.
The crate should be just large enough for the dog to stand up, lie down and turn around. If the crate is too large, the dog may use one area as a bathroom and another area for sleeping.
If you have a larger crate and a smaller puppy, you can block off enough space inside to make it the right size.
You can give the dog a treat or a toy to help make spending time in the crate a positive experience.
Limit the amount of time that the dog spends in the crate to less than four hours at any one time. This should be much less for younger puppies. Young puppies, under 12 weeks of age, have small bladders.
They usually haven’t developed the ability to control urination. As a general rule, puppies can hold their urine for one hour for every month old that they are until reaching adulthood.
So, if your puppy is only a month old, you shouldn’t leave it in a crate for more than an hour. When taking your dog out of the crate, you should immediately take it outside.
Until potty trained, confining your puppy will make keeping a close eye on it and training it much easier. It will limit the possible mess as well.
Here are a few things to keep in mind for using a crate:
- Make sure it is large enough for the puppy to stand, turn around, and lie down, but not big enough for him to use a corner as a bathroom.
- If you are using the crate for more than two hours at a time, make sure puppy has fresh water, preferably in a dispenser you can attach to the crate.
- If you can’t be home during the house training period, make sure somebody else gives him a break in the middle of the day for the first 8 months.
- Don’t use a crate if puppy is eliminating in it. Eliminating in the crate could have several meanings: he may have brought bad habits from the shelter or pet store where he lived before; he may not be getting outside enough; the crate may be too big; or he may be too young to hold it in.
Establishing routine
Be consistent. Being consistent is one of the keys to potty training. When taking your puppy outside it is best to always use the same door. You should always take the dog to the same spot and use the same command to help it to associate the area with the appropriate action.
- Establish a routine for taking the dog out.
- Do it first thing in the morning and after every meal.
- Take your dog outside anytime you come home or take them out of the crate.
- Let your puppy out after playing or drinking water, after napping, and just before bedtime.
With very young puppies, and in the early stages of training, you can also try taking the dog out every 20 minutes or so, when possible. This may help to avoid accidents and also give you more chances to praise your dog for going in the right place. Regular walks can also help to encourage the dog to go.
- Learn how often your dog needs to go. Pay close attention to how frequently your puppy needs to urinate. This will help you to learn their routine and predict when they need to take a trip outside.
- Schedule trips outside around mealtimes. Keeping a regular feeding schedule will help with a regular potty schedule. Puppies will usually need to go immediately after eating. Taking your pup out after every meal will help to reinforce the idea of where they are supposed to go while minimizing the mess.
House training setbacks
Accidents are common in puppies up to a year old. The reasons for accidents range from incomplete house training to a change in the puppy’s environment.
When your puppy does have an accident, keep on training. Then if it still doesn’t seem to be working, consult a veterinarian to rule out a medical issue.
Common errors when training
Unfortunately, there are many reasons why ‘toilet training’ might not go as smoothly as it could, so make sure you do not make any of the following mistakes:
- Over-feeding.
- Feeding an unsuitable diet or giving a variety of foods.
- Not feeding at regular times.
- Feeding at the wrong times (which could cause overnight defecation).
- Punishing the puppy for its indoor accidents (which can make it scared of toileting in front of you – even outside).
- Feeding salty foods (e.g. stock from cubes) which makes them drink more.
- Using ammonia based cleaning compounds (which smell similar to urine).
- Expecting the puppy to tell you when it needs to go out; this is unrealistic, so it is better to take them out at regular intervals.
- Leaving the back door open for the puppy to come and go as it pleases (a puppy will think that the garden is an adventure playground, rather than a toilet area. Also, what is a puppy meant to do when the weather gets cold, and it is faced with a closed back door?).
- Leaving the puppy on its own too long, so that it is forced to go indoors (which sets a bad precedent, or even a habit of going indoors).
- Mistakenly associating the words ‘good girl’ or ‘good boy’ when they toilet, as opposed to the specific cue words. Guess what could happen the next time you praise your dog?
- Access to rugs or carpet (which are nice and absorbent – just like grass).
- Laziness on your part, resulting in more wees indoors than outdoors.
- Leaving the puppy alone in the garden, so you are not there to reward it for going outdoors – how is it meant to learn that it is more popular and advantageous going outdoors, if you are not there to show your approval?
- Submissive or excited urination on greeting (if this occurs, take your puppy outside before you greet it and tone down your greeting so it is less exciting or overwhelming).
- It is unfair to expect your puppy to go right through the night when it is very young.
- Sleeping the puppy in a crate or puppy pen can help with house training but you should let it out in the garden to relieve itself during the night.
Related questions
My dog keeps peeing everywhere constantly. How can I stop that? He never listens to my commands!
It’s not so much the dog doesn’t listen, more that he doesn’t understand what you want him to do. Go back to basics and don’t punish him when he toilets indoors.
Double your vigilance and take every opportunity to put him outside to the toilet. The crucial thing is to be present when he does toilet in the correct place so that you can reward him.
This makes him keener to repeat the performance to get another treat. Conversely, if you have been telling him off for indoor accidents he may already feel inhibited about going to the toilet in your presence, including when he goes outdoors. This is one reason why it’s important not to punish for inappropriate toileting.
What do I do if my puppy keeps pooping or peeing when I already used the way above?
Be persistent! Make sure the puppy doesn’t get the opportunity to pee and poop by using a leash indoors or confining him to a crate when you’re out. Depending on the puppies’ age, pop him outside every 20 – 30 minutes, so there’s a greater chance of him toileting outside (by accident at first.)
In addition, get rid of any scent markers he’s left by peeing or pooping indoors, as these will draw him back to the same spot. This means cleaning the area daily, for 2- 3 weeks after he last pooped there to fully get rid of any lingering odor that the dog can detect.
How do I keep my puppy from going potty while I’m asleep?
If the pup is very young (8 to 10 weeks), it is expected that your dog will ‘go potty’ through the night. It will simply not have the bladder control at this age to last through the night, so if you hear it whine once during the night, let it out to go toilet.
Don’t fuss the dog when this happens, otherwise, it will learn that whining leads to attention and can create separation anxiety. When there are nights where it lasts through, praise thoroughly in the morning and let the pup out to go toilet. Positive reinforcement and age should sort this issue out for you.
My puppy is going 15 times in a day. I’m tired, I can’t keep up with the messes. Please help.
Puppies have small organs and can’t hold their pee for hours like a grown dog. Set up a potty schedule for the puppy and stick to it. A puppy needs to get up at the same time each day, eat at the same time each day, and potty at the same time each day.
All puppies will have accidents the first week after you take it home, but when you put it on a schedule, the accidents should stop. If you praise the puppy and give it a small treat each time it does something right, it will catch on quickly. Your puppy only wants to please you.
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