Puppy potty training can be hugely difficult and some people never truly toilet train their puppy. I for one had an older adult dog that still did its potty business in the house several times a week. It was not until I learnt the real secrets of puppy toilet training was I able to stop my older dog from EVER doing his business in the home.
But the good news is if you use the proper potty training techniques the process can go smoothly and be very rewarding.
How Do You Potty Train a Puppy?
Well before we get into the different ways you can do your puppy potty training it’s vital you understand some of the secret rules of toilet training your puppy. It’s really important you understand these otherwise you could end up with an adult dog that relieves itself regularly in the home and I know from experience once you get to that position it is very difficult to retrain your dog.
Remember puppies are very similar to children, poor parenting or in a dog’s case training, leads to poor long term behaviour. You are your puppies parent!
There are three main ways of puppy potty training;
- Hands On Puppy House Training
I will give you more details of each approach later as I have tried all three. Thanks to a an excellent house breaking book I read (click here if you want to find out more about the book) I have used two of the techniques very successfully.
But no matter which potty training technique you go for the rules remain the same.
So my top puppy potty training tips are:
- You can potty train any puppy – remember this when you are getting frustrated, if it’s not working it’s either your training methods or you need to give the puppy more time.
- Be patient – all new puppies will have accidents, like new born babies they will take time to understand what is the proper behaviour.
- Don’t punish your puppy unless you catch them doing something wrong – If you find the puppy has urinated or defecated and you did not catch them doing it, don’t shout at them. Simply clean it up and take them outside.
Punishing the puppy after they have done the act will just confuse the puppy, they have very poor memories at that age and will not know what you are punishing them for.
Praise good potty behaviour – This is vital and can not be under estimated. If they go outside or on the paper if you are paper training praise them immediately. This positive reinforcement really helps the dog understand what you want from them.
A final tip is to keep feeding times regular and make sure you are with them for about 45 minutes after feeding. Puppies normally go within 30 minutes of eating so you need to be there to keep a watchful eye on them.
I also find using dry food helps keep their stools more solid and easier to clean up. May not seem important now, but it will! Solid food also helps keep their teeth clean.
If you always keep these rules in mind you have the basis of how to potty train a puppy or dog.
If you want some advanced strategies that really worked for me check out the site that solved my puppy training problems by CLICKING HERE.
As I’ve already explained two of the key rules to get right with puppy toilet training are;
- Not to punish or scold your puppy unless you catch them in the act
- To praise the puppy directly after they have displayed the right behaviour
But there are more nuggets of information that can help you. I got them from the excellent housebreaking guide book I told you about, obviously I cant give you all their information here but if you are serious about puppy toilet training you can check it out by CLICKING HERE.
In the meantime here are some golden nuggets of dog training advice.
Puppy Toilet Training Tips
One of the main things you need to learn is the pre toilet pattern. All puppies (and even my older dog) have them and they are all very similar. It can include restlessness, head down, lots of sniffing, often going around in circles looking for their favourite potty spot. If you can recognise this you can command the puppy outside before they do the act!
This sort of vigilance is always needed when you are puppy toilet training, there is no way around it.
Using consistent verbal commands really helps in potty training your dog. Use one for telling the puppy that you want her to go outside, I simply use “outside”. It’s really important that the whole family sticks to the same language so make sure everyone is aware of the term you are using.
Only use the “outside” command when it is time for the puppy to go to the toilet. If you are taking them for a walk or a play use another word. It’s important that the puppy knows that “outside” means toilet time.
Use the “outside” communication as more of a command than a question. Eventually the puppy will come to you rather than the door when they need to go.
Having another word to encourage them to actually go can also be helpful. People use anything from “go potty” or “go toilet”, I feel a little embarrassed using those phrases so I just use “do it”.
Remember soon as the puppy has done it praise them, this positive reinforcement really helps set their behaviour pattern for life.
What to Do If There Is an Accident?
As I’ve already said in one of the golden rules you never punish the puppy unless you catch them in the act. If you punish them later they will have no idea what you are punishing them for. Just clean up the mess and tell them “outside”.
Never, ever push their noses in the poop, it does not help. In fact it’s been proven to encourage poor long term behaviour.
If you catch them in the act say no firmly, pick them up and take them outside or to their paper.
If they then go praise them in the normal way.
These are just a few of the techniques I learnt when I used a guide to potty train my older dog and new puppy. If you want to train your puppy quickly I recommend you check out the guide that helped me by CLICKING HERE.
As you probably know I failed miserably when I potty trained my older dog (misty) when she was a puppy. I never got any puppy potty training advice and so I was doing it blind. It’s no surprise that Misty was still not potty trained when she was a four year old adult!
So when the new puppy came along I got the proper puppy toilet training advice and decided to potty train the puppy, and Misty the adult dog, at the same time.
Misty is now fully potty trained but I warn you potty training older dogs is not easy, so you will need some expert knowledge to help.
When you are toilet training an older dog you need patience as it can take a long time, although with the techniques I’ve learned it took me a little over three weeks.
Some older dogs can take a lot longer as their behaviour is already formed. Formed behaviour is difficult to break even with adults. How many of the guys out there still leave the toilet seat up, despite your wife nagging you for years?
Your behaviour is formed so it’s hard to break, dogs are no different.
So How Do You Potty Train Older Dogs?
One of your first tasks is to take notice when your dog usually goes. This is much less often than puppy and this should help you keep track. Once you know the times your dog is likely to go, you can keep an eye out for their pre potty routine of sniffing, circling and restlessness.
Still use the verbal communication “outside” as you would with a puppy and praise them when they go outside. Again don’t scold them unless they are caught actually in the act. Scolding an older dog after the act can make them more likely to eliminate in the house in sneakier places or to simply hide themselves.
Stopping an older dog from going inside takes a lot of time and effort. You really have three options.
- You can keep the dog outside until they understand that this is where they should go. I’ve not tried this method and it is not one I would use.
- You can use the hands on method which involves you staying very close to the dog at all times especially when it is one of their normal times to go. Whenever you think they are going to go, you command them outside and praise them when they have been. There will be more mistakes with this potty training method, but given time and patience it will work.
- The final method is Crate Training. This works well, dogs do not like to go where they sleep, so they are more likely to either hold on or let you know when they want to go.
But my biggest two recommendations when potty training older dogs is to have patience and get some more advanced toilet training strategies and help as I did. If you want to speed up the potty training of your older dog I suggest you check out the website I used by CLICKING HERE. Without that program I would never have got Misty trained.
As a final recommendation when training an older dog try not to get frustrated and you will get there in the end with the proper potty training techniques.
Puppy crate training is a very effective way of puppy potty training if you know what you are doing. Crate training can even work if you are trying to potty train an older dog.
One of the advantages of crate training is that you do not need to be fully focused on the puppy at all times. If you can’t get time off work or have busy family crate training may be best for you.
Why Puppy Crate Training Works
Crate training works because dogs are smart, they don’t like to soil their beds, and they would rather soil your floor! Because the puppy does not want to soil the crate it learns it can control itself. Even though the puppy wants to go it soon realises it can hold it in.
When choosing a crate it’s important to choose one that is reasonably small it should be just big enough to lay down in. If you get a large crate the puppy will soil one end and sleep at the other. These days you can get adjustable crates so it can grow with the puppy.
Crate Training Warning
Bigger crates can lead to serious problems. The puppy will do their business away from where they sleep but will eventually step in it and walk it around the crate. This leads to long term behavioural problems as they get used to being covered in excrement. This is something you want to avoid at all costs.
During the potty training period the puppy is placed in the crate whenever you can’t keep a close eye on it. Before you put them in the crate it’s important you use the “outside” command and take them outside. When you take them out of the crate also take them outside immediately.
Remember if they succeed when they are outside give them instant praise, reinforcing the good behaviour.
When the puppy is in the crate don’t put any food or water in the crate, just give them a blanket and perhaps a toy.
At night time the puppy goes back in the crate. When they are young puppies you will have to take them out of the crate 2 or 3 times a night to go outside.
If during the puppy crate training the dog does go in the crate you must make sure you clean it thoroughly and make sure no odour remains. As you have probably noticed dogs tend to go in spots that have already been marked with odour, we don’t want the crate to be one of those places.
I have only covered the basics of crate training here but I hope it shows you how effective puppy crate training can be. If you’re serious about puppy toilet training I would recommend you get some local advice or check out the program that helped me train my puppies so quickly, you can visit their website by CLICKING HERE.
Puppy paper training is still one of the most popular methods of puppy potty training. I’ve used paper training and failed the first time but succeeded once I got some expert training advice. I’ll warn you at the start, this can be slower than puppy crate training.
One of the negatives of puppy paper training is that it actually teaches the puppy to do their business in the home. Eventually you will train them to do it outside but in the initial period you are in affect giving the puppy permission to go in the home.
Puppy Paper Training Golden Rules
If you don’t like the idea of putting your new puppy in a crate paper training is probably for you but I will remind you of the golden rules.
- Never punish the puppy unless you catch them in the act
- Praise the puppy when they do their business outside and remember to praise them instantly so they know why you are making a fuss of them.
When you paper train you can use old fashioned news paper or you can buy pre treated paper that has chemicals that attracts dogs. Personally I just used newspaper but maybe that’s because I’m too mean to spend the cash!
When paper training you cover about 25% of the puppies sleep room in paper. At the opposite end you want the puppies bed, food and water. As I’ve discussed before dogs don’t like to soil near where they sleep, so they are more likely to do it at the other end of the room.
It’s important that you only put paper down in one room and that room should remain constant.
When the puppy gets into its pre potty routine pick it up and place it on the newspaper. Also use your potty word which in my case is “do it”.
If the puppy goes on the paper praise it immediately, reinforcing the desirable behaviour.
Once the puppy is using the paper itself you gradually begin to reduce the size of the area covered.
Once the puppy is regularly eliminating on the smaller paper you take the paper closer to the door and eventually outside. When you get to this stage you have to keep watching the puppy for its pre potty routine and show it that the paper is outside. Go outside with the puppy and when it succeeds again praise it extravagantly.
These are the basics of paper training but be prepared for some accidents. Remain patient and the puppy will get there. I learnt these potty training rules with a simple course that helped me train my puppies very quickly, you can go to their website by CLICKING HERE.
The aim of this site is to help people, who like me, have had trouble puppy potty training.
What I can tell you is that any dog can be toilet trained. After getting a course to help me out I was able to potty train my new puppy and Misty my untrained four year old in a matter of weeks.
What you do need to remember is a puppy is essentially a baby. They do what they want when they want because they have not been taught the correct behaviour.
Building A Relationship With Your Puppy
To teach puppies the right behaviour you need to build a relationship with the puppy, which I guess is why you got the puppy in the first place. The puppy needs to learn to trust and understand you and realise that you are the master of the home.
There are a few different methods when it comes to puppy toilet training.
You can use the:
- Hands on method which will require you spending at least a couple of weeks with the puppy almost constantly
- Puppy paper training technique which encourages the puppy to learn to eliminate on paper inside the home
All of these methods do work although some take more work than others. However there are some essential puppy potty training tips that I will share with you that are vital no matter what method you use even if you are potty training older dogs.
After learning all the tips and tricks from the book I told you about I was able to train both my dog and puppy really quickly. But you must have patience, there will be some accidents and you have to accept that.
If you follow the puppy potty training tips and techniques I’m about to share with you your puppy will be toilet trained in a matter of weeks.
Good luck and enjoy the experience and remember to get some further expert house training advice if your serious about potty training your puppy properly.
