House Training for Puppies

The key with housetraining a puppy or dog is to be proactive and set your dog up for success. This means understanding that puppies have limited bladder control, so they need to be taken out frequently for opportunities to do the right thing.

In general, take full responsibility for the success of your dog’s house training. That means, never blame them for a “mistake” – instead, see accidents in the home as a sign that you need to increase your management of your puppy’s environment. Aside from a medical problem, generally speaking accidents in the house are a result of either not knowing better, or stress, so in either case it’s essential to eliminate any frustration that you may be projecting onto your dog.

Here’s when to take your puppy out for a chance to “use the bathroom”:

–      Every time they wake up in the morning or from a nap,

–      After they play, run, or get excited,

–      After they eat or drink water (1-30 minutes after, observe your puppy’s patterns to know),

–      Every hour (+1) per month of their age during the day, and double this time overnight. (EX. every 3 hours during the day, or 6 hours at night, at 2 months old)

When they do go to the bathroom outside, you can always praise to reinforce their decision.

In addition to proactively bringing your puppy outside, some ways to remove the opportunity to make mistakes inside:

-       Keep a long leash on your pup in the house,

-       Or close off doorways so they stay within sight/reach,

-       Utilize a crate when you aren’t supervising

If they do have an accident in the house, clean it with an enzyme-based cleaner and keep a closer eye on them next time.

If you catch your puppy in the act, or if your puppy has an accident, it’s OK, it happens. They don’t know yet and they don’t have full control yet. Take it as a sign that you need to be paying better attention to your puppy and managing their space in the home.

Difficulties in house training puppies usually arise for 2 reasons:

1 – Lack of management (so make the commitment now, and by 6-8 months old your puppy’s house-training will be solid)

2 – Encouraging overwhelm in your puppy with too much social pressure, such as during greetings (this is why many puppies pee during greetings)

Be conscious of those two factors and you will have success!