How to Potty Train Your Puppy
Potty training is a human-driven behavior, so it’s up to you to be patient and teach your new puppy what you want!
Getting a puppy should be a fun time in life, but living with a new puppy can be super stressful!
All the biting, chewing, and accidents—oh my!
Take a breath and remember that potty training does not come naturally to your puppy! Having your dog potty trained is a human-driven behavior and it’s important to keep consistent and be patient with your new puppy.
Begin with having each family member follow these steps each time your new puppy gets to go outside:
Take your puppy outside on a leash. Take him to the same place every time.
When he goes potty, praise him! Offer him a treat when he is finished.
If you are in a puppy-safe place, let him off the leash for a little playtime.
If he doesn’t go within 5 minutes, put him in his crate for 5-10 minutes, then try again.
Quick tips for potty training success:
Take your puppy out…
Immediately when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap
After each play session
Every hour to hour and a half
A few minutes after chewing a chew toy
After he drinks water or eats
After you have been training with treats
If you see your puppy sniffing and circling in the house.
With constant supervision, and plenty of outside time to reduce accidents, you can potty train your puppy in no time!
Potty training “do’s”:
Keep your puppy on a consistent schedule for feeding and potty breaks.
Remember, what food goes in on schedule will come out on schedule. Download the free Wonderdog Training Potty Training Log to help keep track of your puppy’s potty schedule.
Clean up with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature’s Miracle™.
Ordinary cleaners don’t hide the scent from your puppy and he may be more likely to potty in the same spot next time.
Watch your puppy constantly.
If you can’t watch him, put him in his crate, confinement area (read more below), or tether him to you. Puppies don’t want to potty in their living area, so limiting their access to the entire house will help eliminate accidents and teach your puppy to hold it.
Give your puppy a chance to urinate twice.
Many puppies will urinate outside, then come inside and urinate again. If your puppy urinates once, then begins playing outside, quietly bring him inside and place him in his crate or confinement area. Take him out in a few minutes to try again.
Go outside with your puppy so you can cheer and reward at the right moment.
You should verbally praise your puppy as soon as he begins peeing or pooping! Reward him with a treat when he is done and tell him how great he is!
Use a potty log.
Keep track of accidents as this will help you find patterns to potty accidents. This could be time of day, weather, a family member failing to supervise, or other factors. The Wonderdog Training Potty Training Log is free for you to download and print!
Puppies don’t automatically know how to discriminate between where it is ok to potty and where it is not! If you have valued rugs, it’s a good idea to roll them up and put them out of the way while you potty train!
Potty training “dont’s”:
Don't punish your puppy if you catch him or if you find a spot where he has peed.
Peeing is a normal behavior for dogs and your puppy won’t understand why he is being punished. Plus, if your puppy has an accident and you stumble across it in the house it means YOU were not supervising.
Don't use pee pads unless you have no alternative.
If you want your puppy to learn to go potty outside, train him to go outside. Your puppy will develop a substrate preference very early on, and allowing that to be a pee pad or towel will make potty training much more difficult for you and for him.
Don’t rub your puppy’s nose in their accident.
Your puppy won’t understand what you are doing and you risk your puppy developing a fear of you. This won’t potty train your puppy—this will cause him to sneak away where you aren’t watching to go potty.
Teach your new puppy to love their crate! Having a safe, confinement space helps with new puppies in more ways than one.
Confinement — a Key to Accident Prevention
Confinement can be short-term (using a crate) or long-term (using a larger area, such as an exercise pen) and is used to help keep your puppy out of trouble—like inappropriate chewing or having accidents throughout the house—when you can’t be actively supervising him.
Short-term confinement
What is short-term confinement?
Short-term confinement means putting your puppy in his crate. Crate time is useful for house-training, brief alone-time, settling, and any form of travel. Most importantly, a crate teaches your puppy to hold it when he has to go to the bathroom. A crate helps your puppy in many ways—and can save your carpet and furniture!
Is using a crate cruel?
Absolutely not. A crate can be your puppy’s favorite place in the world. Think of it as his crib. Use treats, praise, and toys to make your puppy love his crate. Just remember never to use the crate for more than 3-4 hours at a time, except for bedtime.
Training Tip: Be patient. It may take several days or weeks for your puppy to get used to his crate.
When do I use the crate for my puppy?
Use the crate for short absences.
How do I get my puppy used to the crate?
Begin crate training right away—preferably the first day your puppy is in your home. First, toss tasty treats into the crate. Praise your puppy for going in to get the treats. When your puppy is comfortable going into his crate, practice closing the door and give him treats through the door. Gradually increase the length of time the crate door is closed. As you begin to keep your pup crated a bit longer, introduce a stuffed Kong or special bone for your puppy to enjoy in his crate.
Training Tip
When you plan to crate your puppy for longer than an hour, make sure he is well exercised, has gone potty, and is ready for a nap.
Troubleshooting
If your puppy is going potty in his crate, remove any bedding and make sure he has been allowed a potty break before you put him in the crate, and that he is not being left for too long.
Long-term confinement
What is long-term confinement?
A long-term confinement area is a safe place for your puppy to stay when you can’t provide 100% supervision. In other words, when you are out, or busy around the house, and can’t keep your eyes on him the entire time. It prevents chewing accidents, potty accidents, and teaches your puppy it’s okay to be alone.
Confinement? Surely that’s too strict.
No, not at all! It is the best possible start for your puppy in your household. People often give their new puppy complete freedom right away. Then, when he has an accident on the carpet or chews on the legs of the coffee table, they confine him, and confinement becomes a punishment. Instead, give your puppy a safe place from the beginning, and let him make a gradual and successful transition to his new home.
When do I use it?
Use your long-term confinement area if you will be gone longer than your puppy can hold it.
How do I set up a confinement area?
Connect a few exercise pen panels to your puppy’s crate, as to create a fenced-in area around the crate door. Your confinement area should be in a room where you have flooring that is easily cleaned, and should be free from furniture and non-puppy items. Furnish your puppy’s confinement area with:
Water
A chew toy
A stuffed Kong
Puppy’s toys
How do I get my puppy used to a confinement area?
After taking your puppy out for a potty break, give him a chew bone or stuffed Kong in his confinement area while you go about your business. Leave him in there for several minutes, then let him out if you can provide supervision. Repeat several times a day, gradually increasing the length of time you leave your puppy alone.
When do I give my puppy free run of the house?
Not until your puppy is potty trained and isn’t chewing everything he can put his mouth on. This can be as late as 12-14 months old.
When you’re ready to begin giving your puppy free run of the house, first, confine your puppy to one room at a time. Choose a tiled room, like the kitchen or the bathroom, so accidents can be easily cleaned. Add a room when your puppy is successful (accident-free) for four to six weeks, and supervise each time you introduce him to a new room.
It is important to remember that the official definition of “house trained” is 8-12 weeks of no accidents while supervised in one area. That means most pups won’t be reliably house trained until at least 6-8 months of age, sometimes longer. It really comes down to how good YOU supervise and confine your puppy.
Any change in routine or location can cause a house-training setback. Don’t get angry! Remember, it is all new to your puppy.
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