Potty training for puppy begins when you bring your puppy to his new home. This is not playtime. It’s time to go out and take them to their potty place. Right now, your puppy is very excited, and will experience new smells and see new things, and an excited puppy is usually one that has to pee.
You’ve already decided where your puppy’s place should be, so let’s go there right now. Put the collar and the leash on it, take your treat bag with you and take it to his place.
Doing this as the first will help to leave a mark on your puppy’s mind; When you come home, it’s time to go out to potty. After successful potty, get going and praise your puppy until his tail is wagging, this lets him know that he made you happy and did the right thing.
This is the best way to prepare your puppy for success. That should always be the first thing on your mind. Preparing your puppy for success, every time he does his business in the right place, praise him and give him a treat, you both will be happy.
Potty Training Schedule For Puppies
Plan on being attached to your puppy for a while. An unsupervised puppy is one that will have an accident. Like a small child, you cannot leave your puppy unattended. You need to watch him like a hawk. There is one of two places your puppy should be for the next few weeks.
He will be in his crate or with you. Now when I say with you I mean actually tethered to you. If you are sitting watching TV or reading, keep him on his leash attached to you. When I was training my dogs, I would sometimes take the loop on the leash and attach it to the leg of the chair I was sitting in.
Another good idea is putting a towel or a small piece of carpet right next to the chair you sit in with a few chew toys. This gives the dog a sense that he belongs and is part of the pack. He will also begin to understand that this is his spot.
Dogs enjoy being with you, they like being a part of the family. This allows him limited freedom, but he will still be in your sight. You need to keep an eye on him at all times. I can guarantee that if you do not watch him he will have an accident.
When you are unable to keep an eye on him; such as getting ready for the day he should be in his crate. Be sure he has had the opportunity to potty before you put him in there.
Consistency and frequency are the most important things in house training your puppy. Believe me, dogs love consistency, when they know what you expect of them they are more relaxed, and this helps form a wonderful bond between you and your puppy.
Let me give you an idea of what your daily schedule is going to be like for the next few weeks. One quick tip, before you go to bed, be sure your treat bag full of treats, and keep it close by the door you are going to take the puppy out. This is not something you want to remember when you are half asleep. A small amount of planning will make things easier for you.
When you get up 1st thing in the morning (sorry it’s not coffee) it is pee and potty time. Your puppy has been in his crate all night you should immediately get your treat bag (that you remembered to fill the night before, right?), and go to the crate put on his collar and leash and take him outside to his potty spot.
This may be a time that you need to pick him up (if he is small enough) and get him there quickly. When you are taking him out say, “Go Out” or “Outside” this signals to the puppy that he is going out and with the consistency, he will begin to understand this command means that he is going to his spot to relieve himself.
Now he won’t answer you with “Yeah, I really need to out!” but he will either run towards the door or begin wagging his tail. (Though a lot of that tail wagging is that he is happy to see you). Generally, there is no problem in getting that 1st pee done immediately. While he is going pee say the word pee (or the word you have chosen). Personally I say pee-potty it really doesn’t matter. Once you choose a command word you must stick with it, as do the others in the home, you all need to use the same word. We do not need a confused puppy.
Be sure to select a command that you will be comfortable saying. (Not everyone likes to say poop or poopy in mixed company or in public.) Some suggestions are; “go make”, go potty,” or “go hurry up.” Never change the word/s it will just confuse the puppy, again the emphasis is on consistency. It does not matter the word you chose just so long as it is the one you will use forever. Puppies do begin to understand as long as it is always the same word.
Give him a few more minutes he may begin sniffing around to poop; if that is the case, again when he starts to poop say the word poop or the word you want to use. As soon as he is finished give him a treat immediately. Timing is everything, pet him, praise him, and say good boy let him know that what he did is the greatest thing in the world. He will be happy and so will you.
Now go get that cup of coffee. Be sure the puppy stays with you. I usually kept mine on a leash with me, or in some instances, when I had a small kitchen I was able to block the doorways with baby gates. Consider that your puppy has been in the crate for the night a little time out of the crate won’t hurt as long as you watch him. This is just like watching a baby. You do not want them to get into anything, the same thing goes for your puppy.
This is the time you should be getting his morning meal ready. Really, have your coffee first. Place his food bowl and a bowl of water down for him to eat and drink. Feed your dog the recommended amount for his size and age. All dog foods have the recommended amounts listed on the packaging. You can also get this information from your vet.
Puppies need to be fed morning, noon, and, night. This will also help get their body and potty times on a regular schedule. They eat, they have to go potty it will become a routine. Most puppies will eat their food quickly but do not leave their food bowl down for more than ten or fifteen minutes. If you constantly leave food down for your puppy to eat, it can cause you to have an overweight dog later on, and you’ll never get on a regular potty schedule.
Once your puppy is done eating and drinking it’s time to go out again. This will usually occur within 10 to 20 minutes.
This time when you take your puppy to go potty be ready to have some playtime. Playtime is only after he is successful in doing his business. We don’t want the puppy to think that when he goes potty he always goes back in the house; this will create a negative association.
A puppy wants and needs some fresh air and playtime before you bring him back in. If you bring him back in the house every time after he goes potty you will find that he won’t go potty right away.
Puppies enjoy being outside and if going potty and coming right back in is always the routine then your puppy is not going to be very happy about that. Part of the praise and reward is adding some quality playtime; this also helps to use up some of that puppy energy. Playtime is also a reward for a puppy.
When your puppy gets a little older you will not always be rewarded with food. You will be rewarding him with things that he likes to do. You’ll begin to notice what his favorites are as he begins to grow. That may be a walk, car ride, or playtime.
Follow the same procedure as before when he is peeing say pee-potty, again this is my word use your word. Praise him when he is through and the same for when he poops.
Except for this time after he is done, spend some time throwing the ball, running and playing. Let him get some exercise. A tired puppy is one that sleeps in your house not pees in your house.
The above scenario is one of success. What if your puppy didn’t go pee? Well, don’t be angry or yell at him, just bring him back in, no treats, no praise just calmly bring him back in the house. Keep a close eye on him (really close) and try again in 10 to 15 minutes. Hopefully, you will have success, if not rinse and repeat until you have success.
Remember when you get the success you have to immediately treat and praise him, say “good boy” several times. Yes, I know I’m repeating myself; that is because the reward is so important. This is positive reinforcement and if this is going to work, positive reinforcement is absolutely necessary. This signals to the puppy that he has done something right. He knows that he has made you happy.
Now I would like to let you in on a little trick. I learned from my mentor while I was doing my internship as a dog trainer (only for curiosity, I am not a professional dog trainer). The trainer mentioned that he hung bells, like the Christmas bells that hang down on a strip, on his back door handle where he would take his dog out.
What he did is every time he took the dog out to go potty he rang the bell then he would say, “go out”, the dog picked up on this and began to go over and ring the bell when he needed to go out. I’ve not used this myself, but it worked for him. Give it a try it just might work for you too. Can you imagine if your dog could tell you “I have to go out” How awesome would that be? That is exactly what ringing the bells will do.
If you strictly stick to this potty training schedule within a couple of weeks you will notice a dramatic improvement. That is not to say your puppy is completely housebroken. Don’t get a false sense of “wow” he’s housebroken already. You have to remain vigilant.
Take your puppy out every 30 minutes to go potty if he is successful, reward him with a treat, praise him, and, pet him. Be lavish with your praise let him know he did the right thing. Have some playtime with him whenever you have the opportunity. Exercise is great for a puppy with a lot of energy to burn.
Next scheduled feeding would be lunch. Follow the same procedure that you did for breakfast. When the puppy does his business in his spot, this will be a good time for you and him to explore the big wide world. Take him for a walk, for your puppy this is a big wide world right now.
This is also helping to create a bond that your puppy will understand that the two of you will do awesome fun things together. This also gets him some much-needed exercise to help tire him out.
Remember to bring your poop bags, just in case. You should also have your treat bag and treats with you. Even though he did his business before you left the house doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. As I mentioned before it is just good manners to clean up your dog’s mess.
Depending on the breed, size, and age of your puppy will determine how long of a walk. A good ten to fifteen-minute walk should help burn up some puppy energy. Pay attention to your dog you will be able to tell when he is about done. Your puppy will be sniffing and wandering all about. Just imagine from his standpoint all the different sites and smells along the way.
Allowing your puppy to stop and smell things is a treat for him and if he has done his business treating him with sights, smells and sounds are as good as a yummy soft treat. Your puppy will love you for this time together.
By the time you get home puppy should be ready for a nice little nap. Before putting him in his crate go out to his potty spot and follow the routine, if he goes awesome, treats and praise. If he doesn’t give it 5 or 10 minutes and try again. What I am hoping for you to accomplish here is getting that last potty done before he falls asleep. Once that potty has been accomplished place your puppy in his crate and closes the door.
A note about the location of your puppy’s crate; place it in a high traffic area. Puppies like to be part of the family so your best location choice for the crate is where your family hangs out most often. This will give you a chance to get a few things done while he is sleeping. Don’t worry he will let you know when he wakes up.
Remember as soon as he does wake up from his nap it is immediately to the potty area following the same procedure as before for success or repeat as before till you have success. As your puppy gets older he will be able to hold his bladder for longer periods of time.
Between the ages of 4 to 6 months, your puppy should be completely potty trained without any accidents. Remember, this depends on your stickiness with your puppy’s potty training schedule.
Useful Tips For Successful Potty Training
- Be prepared to be watching your puppy at all times.
- Your puppy is either with you or in their crate.
- Be consistent and have lots of patience.
- Keep to the schedule as much as possible.
- Always have treats handy to reward for good behavior.
- Timing is important when treating for good behavior.
- Always praise, praise, praise for good behavior. v
- Be consistent with the words you choose as commands.
- When your puppy does not potty on the first try, try again in 10 10 minutes
- Reward him with walks and playtime. v Bring poop bags when going on walks, it’s just good manners to clean it up.
- A well-exercised puppy is a tired puppy.
- Be sure to place his crate where you or your family spends most of your time.