If you’re unsure about dealing with the accidents that come with puppyhood, especially during potty training, don’t worry! It is a common issue for new puppy owners, but not everyone is ready for unexpected accidents. In the following minutes, we will teach you the basics of potty training your puppy, including the tools that can assist in speeding up the process, establishing a consistent bathroom schedule, and avoiding common mistakes in potty training.
How to Potty Train a Puppy in 7 Days
To successfully potty train a puppy, it is important to set yourself and your puppy up for success. Properly managing and supervising your puppy is crucial for effective house training. It is necessary to ensure that your puppy is always either managed or supervised until they are fully house trained.
Management can have various interpretations or definitions.
Tethered
By tethering to an object, it ensures that the puppy remains within a certain boundary and cannot go beyond it. To serve this purpose, the Frisco Tie Out Cable comes in handy; however, it is important to install it in such a way that the puppy can only enter an area that has been made safe for puppies while being tethered.
By using a Tuff Mutt Hands-Free Bungee Leash, you can conveniently tether the puppy to yourself, allowing for easier monitoring of its behavior.
Confined
In order to avoid urination on the floor, it is recommended to restrict the puppy to an area where potty pads are available. The presence of potty pads is particularly crucial when the puppy has to endure extended periods without access to a potty break.
To prevent access to a small room such as the kitchen or bathroom, utilize a gate like the Carlson Pet Products Extra Wide Walk-Thru Gate or a MidWest Steel Pet Gate. It is advisable to have tile flooring in these areas as it is simpler to tidy up in case of any accidents.
The Frisco Dog Exercise Pen can also be used to create a separate confined area without any additional equipment if desired.
Crated
If you plan to crate train your puppy, ensure that the crate is comfortable for them. It should be spacious enough for them to turn around and lie down, but not excessively large. This size allows the puppy to stretch out slightly while preventing them from soiling one corner and sleeping comfortably in another.
If you need to confine your puppy for a short time or to prevent accidents at night, you can use crates like the Frisco Fold & Carry Double Door Dog Crate or Frisco Indoor & Outdoor Soft Dog Crate. Alternatively, if your puppy keeps climbing over barriers, you can try tethering them to a secured object in a puppy-proof area using the 10-foot Frisco Tie Out Cable.
Supervision
To be “supervised” implies that there is someone present who is fully attentive to the puppy, which means they are not using the computer, phone, or engaged in activities such as cooking or watching television. The responsible individual must consistently keep an eye on the puppy and engage with it. This increases the chances of promptly recognizing if the puppy requires to relieve itself or displays signs of preparing to do so.
Having appropriate management in place is crucial because the process of thinking step by step and rephrasing the given text without adding or removing information is a lot of work.
Outdoors (some of the time)
Positive reinforcement can occur when a puppy goes to the bathroom outside, and the more frequently you provide this reinforcement, the quicker the puppy will become house trained. However, it is still crucial to closely monitor the puppy to determine if they have relieved themselves or not.
Tips To Speed Up House Training a Puppy
Keep track of your puppy’s potty habits
In order to learn the patterns of your puppy’s bathroom habits, it would be helpful to either make a house training chart or use a notepad to jot down information about the time and location of their potty breaks. By doing this, you will be able to determine the specific times of day when your puppy is most inclined to relieve themselves, identify the places they tend to have accidents, and recognize when they probably do not require a trip to the designated potty area.
By following the listed steps, you can utilize the chart to determine which areas should currently be avoided and whether it is possible to occasionally skip a 30-minute restroom break.
In addition to regular 30-minute potty breaks, take your puppy to the potty area at these likely potty times:
- After eating
- After drinking
- After five to 10 minutes of play or other vigorous activity
- Immediately after waking up from a nap
Get your puppy on a feeding schedule
To gain control over your puppy’s pottying, a recommended approach is to establish a feeding schedule.
By observing the timing of your puppy’s meals and subsequent potty breaks, you can establish patterns and ensure that your puppy consistently goes to the designated potty area after eating.
To establish a feeding schedule, you provide your puppy with consistent meals at specific intervals, instead of leaving food available at all times. Having fixed meal times simplifies the process of scheduling bathroom breaks. It is important to consult your veterinarian to determine an appropriate feeding schedule for your puppy, taking into consideration factors such as age, size, and other relevant factors.
Create a Daily Potty Schedule
We discussed in a recent blog post, titled “Create a Daily Schedule for Your Puppy,” the various activities that make up your puppy’s daily routine, including planned breaks for bathroom breaks. Having the ability to anticipate when your puppy will need to relieve themselves will greatly assist in the process of potty training and prevent any unforeseen accidents within your household.
The most effective way to begin implementing a potty training schedule is to consistently adhere to specific times during the day to provide plentiful chances for your puppy to go potty in the correct place! Consider creating a potty training schedule that harmonizes with their other daily activities in a consistent pattern. It should involve a potty break, followed by an activity (such as playtime, a walk, or training), then providing food and water, and finally allowing them to take a nap before repeating the cycle. Your day should follow this pattern in a continuous cycle.
When your puppy is active during the day, they will need to use the bathroom more often, but they can typically go for longer periods without needing to go overnight. The majority of accidents happen when the puppy eats and then plays because their increased activity can stimulate their bladder and bowels. However, if you have your puppy eat and drink after playtime and then take a nap in their crate, this can prevent accidents and teach them how to control their need to go.
Clean up past accidents thoroughly
Identify the spot where the odor from past accidents is like a “restroom” sign for your dog, and use a cleaner specifically made for pet stains, such as Nature’s Miracle or Skout’s Honor.
After cleaning, kneel down and smell the area to ensure the odor has disappeared. It might be a good idea to also check other areas, as we have often discovered previously unnoticed urine spots using this method.
Setting Up Successful Potty Breaks
After learning how to manage your puppy during potty breaks, the next step is to establish a consistent schedule for house training that enables your puppy to develop appropriate behaviors.
Take your puppy out at least once every 30 minutes.
Make sure to have your puppy on a leash when going outside. Having them on a leash assists in their understanding of relieving themselves while leashed, as this skill will come in handy when you want them to do so during walks. Additionally, it prevents the puppy from becoming overly excited or diverted by the various enticing objects in their surroundings.
Give your puppy five minutes, watching the whole time to see if the puppy pees or poops.
Remain stationary in a specific spot, ensuring it is an appropriate area for your puppy to relieve itself. Observe the puppy calmly and without making any noise.
If you remain stationary, the puppy will be confined to a limited space, causing them to become bored with exploring and instead concentrate on relieving themselves more promptly.
If you remain silent, you are assisting your puppy in maintaining their focus on pottying rather than engaging with you.
Praise and offer a treat if the puppy pees or poops outside within five minutes.
Be patient and wait for the puppy to finish pottying to avoid interrupting them and risking indoor accidents.
Once you are certain that the puppy has finished doing its business, give it praise and reward it with a delicious treat.
If the puppy does not urinate or defecate within five minutes, it is acceptable. Bring the puppy to a confined area for a duration of 10 to 20 minutes. After 10 or 20 minutes have elapsed, return to Step 1.
After the puppy pees or poops, give the puppy off-leash fun time.
If it’s safe and your puppy enjoys it, you can have a fun time outdoors in a leash-free area. Otherwise, if being outdoors is not possible or your puppy doesn’t prefer it, you can have a supervised fun time indoors.
By allowing your puppy to have off-leash playtime after it has peed or pooped, you are teaching the puppy that going to the bathroom results in additional enjoyment.
Avoiding the common mistake of immediately confining the puppy after they have used the bathroom is crucial. By returning the puppy to their confined space immediately after completing a successful potty mission, they come to associate pottying with the cessation of enjoyment. Consequently, they may start to delay going to the bathroom for increasingly extended periods, which is contrary to your desired outcome, correct?
Repeat these steps throughout the day.
First, provide your puppy with multiple opportunities to go potty in a designated area. Next, implement positive reinforcement such as treats, play, and praise to motivate your puppy to continue using those specific areas for pottying.
Your puppy will learn the routine faster when they get it right more often and have fewer accidents.
Transitioning to Your Puppy to go Potty Outside
If you have been using puppy pads for your puppy and you want them to start going outside, there are some simple steps you can take to make the transition.
Begin by using the phrase “Go potty” whenever your puppy relieves themselves. After they have done so, be sure to provide them with plenty of praise, and continue to follow this routine each time.
Start by gradually moving a puppy pad towards the door, making sure to move it only a short distance each day to avoid confusing your puppy. Continue this process until you successfully position it near the door that leads outside.
Start by transferring the puppy pad outdoors and proceed with the same procedure as outlined in step #2 until you successfully position it in the desired final location for future use by your puppy. Ensure you remain present with them and offer encouragement by employing the command “Go potty”.
Finally, remove the puppy pad from their final spot and give them the potty command to go.
To ensure consistency in your puppy’s potty training, it is crucial to consistently accompany them to their designated potty area and stay with them until they successfully go. When they start going potty outside, it is essential to provide them with abundant praise. This accomplishment is significant and will establish a long-lasting and permanent behavior, therefore, it is important to ensure they understand that they have done well.
Common “Accidents” New Owners Make
At The Puppy Academy, we receive new students who have different training needs, including potty training. Some new owners may not realize that they are unknowingly hindering the potty training process. However, it is normal to experience accidents along the way. If you have made a few mistakes, don’t worry about it. If you are about to start potty training your puppy and want to avoid these common mistakes, pay attention to the following.
The absence of supervision.
If you cannot keep a close watch on your puppy, it is essential to confine them in their crate to prevent an inevitable potty accident due to excessive freedom.
When you have unrealistic expectations of your puppy
Your puppy probably won’t inform you when they need to go to the bathroom, and they won’t go outside on their own if you leave the door open unless they have been trained to do so. In addition, these situations do not teach your puppy to wait longer before going, but rather allow them to go whenever they want. It is your responsibility to take them outside to the designated spot for them to go to the bathroom and to adhere to the potty training schedule in order to establish the habit and expedite the potty training process.
Access to food and/or water is available around the clock, every day of the week.
By allowing your puppy to have unrestricted access to food and water throughout the day, you are greatly hindering the progress of potty training. This makes it harder to anticipate when your puppy will need to go outside, resulting in more accidents and more frequent elimination.
Allowing your puppy to enter their crate.
To prevent your puppy from going to the bathroom in their sleeping area, avoid putting a puppy pad in the crate. Keep the pee pads away from their crate.
Becoming emotional, one step at a time.
If you allow yourself to become upset, it will only result in your own upsetness. Being upset will not assist your puppy in understanding where they should or should not go. It is important to remain patient and calm when addressing your puppy’s minor accidents. Remember to praise your puppy when they do it correctly (maybe even celebrate a bit!) and disregard the mistakes while just cleaning them up.
By not being consistent or paying attention to the signals, one’s ability to think logically and methodically can be compromised.
If your puppy has an accident, it can disrupt the potty training schedule or cause you to overlook their signals unintentionally! Were they not taken out promptly after eating or drinking? Did you miss their whining, which was an attempt to communicate something? Did you assume they went when you let them outside, only to have them come back in and go later? These occurrences provide feedback for improvement in the future, usually by being more consistent with schedules and keeping a closer eye on them!
Potty Training FAQs
A: What is the reason for my dog’s regression in potty training?
If your puppy is regressing with potty training, begin by reviewing your house training chart. Have you decreased the number of potty breaks for your puppy? Has the feeding schedule been altered? Have there been any other changes that could potentially impact the puppy’s house training?
When analyzing the situation, it is important to consider the timing and location of the accidents. If you observe that the accidents consistently occur in a particular room, restrict your puppy’s access to that room for a period of time. Similarly, if the accidents consistently occur at a specific time, ensure that you include a scheduled potty break during that time.
If your puppy continues to urinate when you arrive home from work, it could be due to excitement. In this case, the puppy may not be aware of their urination. Similar to how some individuals may leak a small amount of urine when they laugh, certain puppies may lose bladder control when they are excited.
To decrease the chances of these unintentional peeing episodes, refrain from bending down or petting your puppy upon entering. It may be necessary to briefly ignore the puppy after arriving home. Another option is to greet your puppy outside or in a spot that is simple to clean. Fortunately, most dogs will eventually outgrow this issue.
It is crucial to note that, despite the persistent occurrence of excited peeing, it is important not to communicate your annoyance to the puppy. If you begin to reprimand the puppy for these accidents, it will only increase their anxiety, thereby making it more challenging for them to maintain control over their bladder. The optimal solution is to ignore the pottying and maintain a calm and low-key demeanor.
Q: Is it effective to use puppy potty training sprays?
Potty training sprays, known as sprays for assisting puppies in learning where to potty, can be of great assistance in certain situations. As previously stated, the odor of urine or feces can act as a signal for a bathroom. Potty training sprays enable you to establish bathroom signals in specific designated areas.
Q: When should I have my dog potty trained?
A: The time it takes to potty train a dog differs depending on their breed and size, but the majority of dogs can be completely potty trained between the ages of nine months to 1 year old.
If a dog is still having occasional accidents, it means they are not yet fully potty trained, as “fully potty trained” signifies no accidents unless the dog is sick or unable to hold it for an extended period.
Puppies can make significant advancements in potty training before reaching nine months old, yet several factors can pose challenges in preventing occasional accidents. However, by effectively managing and adhering to the aforementioned guidelines, you can swiftly reach a point where accidents become almost nonexistent for your puppy.
