Potty Training Tips

Housebreaking-Step by Step

Puppies should be taken out to the backyard not the front if at all possible.

1. Be Patient! Puppy training doesn't happen overnight (for most puppies). 
2. Be Calm! Don't punish a puppy for an accident you didn't see happen-they won't understand why they are getting punished. And when you do discipline a puppy for an accident-give him a firm NO, don't yell.
3. Praise puppy lavishly when he/she goes outside. Keep small bite size treats available.
4. The key to potty training is timing. Let your puppy eat and drink, rest in his/her crate for 15-30 minutes, then take him/her out to the yard. Also take your puppy out every two hours especially after playing and napping.
5. Stick to a strict schedule of puppy feeding. See our guide to Puppy Feeding. This will help puppy to eliminate on a more regular basis.
6. It is a good idea to give puppy a command when it is time to do his/her thing outside. Commands like "better go now," "go potty," "potty time," etc. are good. After a while puppy will learn that when you say that command it is time to go potty (just like Pavlov's dog).
7. Puppies have signals for when they need to go potty (just like the little dancing boy who needs to go pee). Watch for times when they turn around in a circle, whine, or start sniffing the ground with vigor. Grab your leash and haul tail outside. See our section on the Potty Bell to see how to train your dog to tell you when he needs to go outside.
8. It is best to put puppy on a leash when training him/her to go potty. This helps puppy avoid the temptation to play first and not stick to the task at hand. When puppy is older he/she will know that business comes before pleasure.
9. Don't take puppy inside immediately after pottying; take the leash off and let him/her play for awhile. Otherwise, puppy will learn that the fun "walk" is over and he'll start "holding it" longer while you are outside.

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Paper/Puppy Pad Training

If outside isn't an option or puppy will be inside for long periods of time, here's how to potty train inside.

1. Choose a place in your house where puppy can be enclosed (i.e. bathroom, kitchen, etc.) with a easily cleanable floor.
2. Cover the entire floor with papers or puppy pads, a vinyl shower curtain works too.
3. Replace the soiled papers/pads and replace with new ones.
4. Gradually (in a few days) start taking away some of the papers leaving the floor bare. If you see puppy pee or potty in front of you on the floor instead of the paper/pads gently correct him and place him on the papers/pads.
5. Continue removing papers and exposing more floor until puppy has a small area to potty on. Puppy will learn that the papers are like his toilet.
6. When puppy gets older take him/her outside 3-4 times a day-see Housebreaking for tips.

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Crate Training

Placing your puppy in a crate is NOT punishment. A crate is like his "home," his den, a place of rest, his bed. Don't place puppy in a crate as punishment.

1. Putting puppy in a crate can be helpful for potty training since most dogs don't want to potty in their bed.
2. Make puppy's crate comfortable: line it with a soft bed, towels, or blankets.
3. Make sure puppy's crate is large enough for puppy when he/she is grown. Puppy needs to be able to stand, turn around, and stretch out in the crate.
4. Crates are for naps, bed-time, or a place of rest for puppy to unwind from family activities.
5. When you take puppy out of the crate, immediately take him/her outside to go potty. See Housebreaking for tips on outside commands.
6. Don't leave puppy in his crate all day. If you have to be gone for work during the day, train puppy to go potty on paper or puppy pads. See Paper/Pad Training for more details. Puppy needs to exercise during the day so giving him a bigger space to roam (like the bathroom) will keep him active.
7. If puppy soiled his bed, take it out and wash it to eliminate the odor.

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Submissive Urination

Sometimes puppy can get too excited when you come home and pee on the floor "accidentally" even if he is potty trained.

1. First of all, don't get mad. Puppy couldn't help it; it was a sympathetic nervous system reaction (Fight or Flight response). If puppy is punished he will only try harder to please which just makes him pee more.
2. Next time you come home, ignore puppy and let him settle down. (This puts him in a parasympathetic nervous system response-Rest and Relax.)
3. When puppy is calm, you can pick him/her up and play.
4. For tips on how to clean puppy's accidents so he won't pee again in the same spot see Training Tips below.

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The Potty Bell

Here is a creative way to help your puppy tell you when it is time for him/her to go potty. I have personally used this on my pomeranian-Roach's Holly Beary Blk Tan and had good success with it. -Carolanne Roach, web master

1. Find a small bell that has a good loud ring to it.
2. Place the bell at the back door, utility door, or where ever the puppy knows leads to the backyard to go potty.
3. Attach the bell to the wall on a string so that the bell reaches the level of puppy's nose. (You may have to adjust the height as puppy gets older.
4. Every time you go to let puppy out to go potty, make puppy's nose bounce the bell. Eventually puppy will learn to do this on his/her own.
   
   TIP: I found that the best way to make the bell ring loud enough for me to hear it was to place the bell about 4 inches from the wall so when Holly hit it, the bell would bounce off the wall and make it ring loudly.
    
5. Once puppy has "rung the bell" immediately take puppy outside to go potty. After awhile puppy learns that when she rings the bell, it means that you will take her outside to go potty. See Housebreaking for more details on backyard potty training.
   
   Caution: Puppy may learn that when he rings the bell he gets to go outside to play, so make sure that puppy does his business first and plays later. If puppy does go outside and doesn't potty, don't let puppy play. This will help reduce the chance of puppy ringing the bell when he doesn't need to go potty.

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Training Tips

Here a few tips that might help in your potty training journey.

1. Clean accidents with vinegar or odor eliminating cleaning supplies so puppy won't learn to pee in the same spot.
2. Don't praise or punish puppy for acts you didn't see happen and give praise or punishment immediately after event to help puppy associate the two. Otherwise puppy will not understand what you are punishing or praising him for.
3. If puppy doesn't get to go outside often, bring the outside in to the puppy. Place different surface materials in his play area (kitchen or bathroom) so he can get used to it. This is especially good for puppies that are too small to go outside until they are older. The more they are used to it, the less likely they will be uncomfortable when they are old and big enough to go outside.
4. Remember that puppy is just like a baby. Babies don't always understand or can control accidents. Be Patient.

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