Potty Training Your Puppy: A Quickstart Guide for Success
When bringing home a new puppy the first thing most guardians want to tackle is potty training. We have to agree that establishing a housebreaking routine from the beginning can save guardians a larger headache down the line. Check out our tips below to get your puppy started on the path to house training success!
Establish a Potty Spot
Get on the same page with the rest of your family about where you would like the puppy to go from the beginning.
If using a pee pad, there should only be one indoor potty spot.
If your puppy’s spot is outside, take them to the same place every time.
Walk your puppy to their potty spot often, about every 1-2 hours at first.
Reinforce them for going in the right spot when they do by giving them a yummy treat when they finished.
Until they go, be boring, potty trips should be goal oriented. Do your best to not say “hi” to people or other dogs until their business is done.
Learn the Signs
Puppies tend to need to go to the bathroom when they shift activities. This means when they go from sleeping to awake, or from playing to resting.
Some telltale signs that puppies need to go to the bathroom are:
Sniffing
Circling
Whining
Barking
A combination of the above
Beyond the typical signs, sometimes puppies will also get a bit cranky when they need to go to the bathroom. If your puppy is all of the sudden mouthing you harder, pulling at your clothing, or barking frantically this could mean they need to go.
Build a Routine
When puppies come home around 2-3 months old, most can’t hold their bladder for more than 1-2 hours at a time, unless overnight.
For the first few days with your puppy, we recommend taking your puppy out every hour or so to help them learn where their potty spot is.
If your puppy has been very active you may want to offer them another chance to go.
Your puppy does not know where they shouldn’t go to the bathroom. In order to limit accidents in unwanted spaces your puppy must always be supervised and when not supervised they should be confined to a puppy proof area, such as in a gated space, a pen, or a crate.
If you don’t have a containment strategy for your puppy see our recommendations for these in the Bringing Home Puppy blog.
Accidents Happen
Accidents do happen! Inevitably a potty time will be missed or some of the telltale signs will be overlooked resulting in an accident.
When this happens do not make a big deal about it!
If you can interrupt them gently by getting their attention when you see them about to go then bring them outside and let them finish.
If not, put them in a safe-spot so that you can clean up the mess, without your puppy harassing you to get to the paper towels in your hand (what a fun toy)!
Always use an enzymatic cleaner like Nature’s Miracle to clean accidents.
Make a note of what the time it was when your puppy had their accident and what they were doing before hand to avoid future ones.
