Potty Training
Keys to successful potty training
- Prevent potty accidents from happening in the first place, by taking your puppy out proactively and using confinement areas when you cannot actively supervise your puppy.
- Be generous with rewards for eliminating in the correct area. Make it abundantly clear to your puppy that he can save up his pee and poop to deposit in his potty spot in exchange for yummy treats (3 for peeing, 5 for pooping, and 8 for both) and attention/playtime with you.
- Keep a potty log to identify patterns and get a sense of when — and how long after meals or playtime — your puppy will need to potty. Here is a printable daily potty log template.
Additional tips:
- The best time to potty train is right when your puppy wakes up, when you know for sure she’ll have to go. Every morning, put your puppy on leash and carry her (or walk an older pup) to her designated potty area and wait for her to start eliminating before you say the cue “go potty.” Then, it’s “good potty, good dog” in a calm voice so as not to startle her.
- During the day, supervision is key. The only time puppy should be loose in the house is right after he has emptied. Even then, you must watch him like a hawk (no texting or multitasking!). Be alert to signs that he needs to eliminate (sniffing, circling) and if you see him exhibiting signs he might need to go, take him out to his designated potty spot again. If you can’t keep a watchful eye on your puppy, put him in his playpen or tether him to yourself.
Confinement Now = Freedom Sooner
Counterintuitively, the fastest way to give your puppy freedom to roam the house is to restrict his freedom now to prevent accidents and establish good habits. Giving him full run of the house before he’s ready, will not set your puppy up for success. Besides being helpful tools for potty training, confinement areas are also crucial in teaching puppies what is (or isn’t) appropriate to chew on and how to enjoy time apart from you.
A short-term confinement area (crate) should be large enough for your puppy to stand up and turn around in, but no larger than 2x their size. Your puppy sleeps in the crate during the night, but otherwise should spend no more than 2 hours alone in their crate.
- Make the crate a safe haven for your puppy. Put her in there after a long play session, when she needs a nap.
- Cover the crate to make it easier to sleep without visual stimuli.
- Secure a braided bully stick to the back of the crate with a zip tie so that your puppy can only chew it when she is inside the crate.
A long-term confinement area is an easily cleanable space bounded by an exercise pen or baby gate(s). Your puppy must be placed in the long-term confinement area when you cannot actively supervise them (no multitasking). Do not leave your puppy in their playpen for more than 4 hours.
- Place plenty of safe natural chews and food-stuffed chew toys, like Kongs, inside the pen to teach your puppy what is appropriate to chew on. Remove bully sticks and other chews once they become small enough that your puppy may attempt to swallow it.
- Place a potty pad or artificial turf potty tray inside the playpen, at the corner furthest from her crate.
- Make sure your puppy has access to fresh water, using either a metal or ceramic bowl. A plastic bowl will quickly become a chew toy to a bored puppy.
- Wire ex pens can be clipped to wire crates to create extra room in the play pen. If you have a plastic-sided crate, it can be placed inside the play pen, but make sure your little athlete isn’t able to jump onto the top of the crate and escape the pen that way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I do if I catch my puppy pottying inside?
If you catch your puppy in the act, interrupt with a no-reward marker (“ah-ah”) said in a neutral tone, and take your puppy outside to her designated spot to finish. If she finishes pottying outside, follow through with your usual celebration routine (see above). If she doesn’t, simply put her in her crate for 5-10 minutes, then take her out and try again. Repeat this process, alternating between crate and potty spot, until she eliminates in the potty spot, then follow through with your celebration routine.
What if I didn’t see it while it was happening?
If your pup had an accident inside, but you didn’t actually see her do it, you’ve missed your teaching opportunity this time. Do not scold or punish her in any way — if you do, rather than teaching her not to potty inside, you’ll likely teach her that it’s scary to eliminate in your presence and next time she may decide to sneak off to a quiet corner of the house to eliminate in safety. So, if you find an accident on the floor after the fact, try your best to act neutral, clean up the mess without a word, and vow to be more vigilant next time!
When I take my puppy out, he sniffs and plays but doesn’t go potty. As soon as I take him back inside, he goes on the kitchen floor! Is he doing this to spite me?
Dogs don’t do things out of spite. It’s likely that he got distracted by novel sights, smells, and sounds while outside, and it wasn’t until he was back inside — away from the distractions — that he remembered that he really had to go. To help keep your puppy on task, have him on leash when you take him out to his potty spot. Once you’re there, stand still and only allow him to go as far as the leash reaches without you moving. If he doesn’t go after 2-3 minutes, simply put him in his crate for 5-10 minutes, then take him out and try again. Repeat, alternating between crate and potty spot, until he eliminates in the potty spot, then follow through with your usual celebration routine.