How to Potty Train Your Puppy Easily, Without Punishment

Whether we’re talking about a puppy or an adult dog, house soiling is almost always the #1 reason dogs end up in shelters, abused, or even worse.

Potty-training your dog is the first step to a great life together. It may not always seem easy, but we’re here to guide you through the process.

1. Always Start Small

Dogs don’t appreciate staying in their urine or smelling their own poop. That’s one of the reasons the bitch (e.g. mother) always licks her puppies all the time, to keep them and the crib clean.

For step one, we recommend putting the dog in a small space first. You can use a box, a small cage, or a specially designed puppy crate you can even build on your own. Remember that this space should be big enough so that the animal can turn, stand up, and sleep with its legs spread.

Fresh water should always be available for your little pooch. Make sure it won’t spill the water to wet its bed.

Pay attention to the puppy signals – when a puppy feels the urge to go, it may whine, become restless, and sniff around for a clean spot. Remove the puppy from its confined space, so it can “use” the toilet peacefully and learn that it is not allowed to pee where it sleeps.

If you don’t take the puppy out at the right time, it may start eliminating inside. This behavior is harder to correct. The puppy will get used to stepping into its own dirt. You may notice the dog using the corners of the confinement, to keep a clean resting area.

Every time you put the puppy out for “toilet time”, use pet pads that have a scent that mimics urine. This will stimulate them to use the pad correctly.

Put the puppy onto the pad, let it smell it, and wait. If it walks away, put it back and repeat.

Don’t get mad if, at first attempts, it may miss the pad and poop or pee next to it. As I’ve said before, it takes a little time to learn this routine.

After some time, you can move the puppy into a bigger space. Either you resize the crate you use, or you keep the animal in a separate space, like a garage, a closet, or a basement, making sure it sticks to its “potty program”. This may take a few days to accommodate.

If the dog starts eliminating inside, put it back into the smaller space and start the process all over. Eliminating in the right place won’t happen overnight and it’s perfectly fine for the animal to sometimes forget to use the potty correctly.

Related reads

Dog Protection Training for Dummies, with Dos and Don’ts

Small enclosed areas may be used as long as the puppy is held indoors, usually during the entire vaccination scheme.

2. Always Use a Training Schedule

Like people, dogs do really well with routines. This is step two in potty training. Because their digestive system is immature, puppies require three meals a day and will usually use the potty after they’ve had their meal. So, this is the perfect time for you to start watching how it behaves.

In rare instances, small puppies will feel sleepy after their meal, but will use the “potty” when they wake up.

We’ve prepared a printable weekly potty schedule for a puppy aged 3-6 months:

Note: we recommend removing water approximately 2 hours before bedtime unless the weather is hot. If it’s not possible, add another bedtime walk to your schedule.

If you prefer this puppy toilet schedule in text only (maybe you are saving your printer ink?), here’s a table:

Most dogs start to use the toilet correctly with poop (as opposed to peeing), because meals are easier to control than water drinking. And you should never limit the amount of water your dog desires to drink.

Taking the dog out for a pee or poop should usually happen at the same time every day. Start the day by taking it outside for a brief walk, right after it wakes up.

Feed the dog after 1-2 hours, then take it for another walk. We recommend walking it after every nap and every meal. End the day with another walk, after its last meal and before you put the dog to bed.

If your working schedule doesn’t allow you to follow the rules above, you may delegate someone else to stick to the doggy program. If this isn’t possible either, try keeping your routine at least in the morning and after work. Potty training may take longer in this case, but your dog will eventually learn that there are “toilet” limits.

You should stop using pet pads after the dog learns to “go” outside. Continuing to use them will perpetuate urinating and pooping indoors and may cause a setback. Limit using these only for critical situations that cannot be avoided.

3. Reward Good Behavior, Avoid Punishment

After your puppy “goes” outside in the right place, praise it, pet it, and let it know it has performed well. You may even give it a treat. The reward must be immediate. This is step three in potty-training your dog.

Avoid punishing your dog at all costs. Punishment will make it anxious and confused and may cause a setback for the entire training process.

If it poops or pees in the wrong place, clean the area and don’t make a fuss about it. Take the dog and move it in the designated potty area it should have used in the first place.

Negative reinforcement, like putting the dog’s nose into droppings is outdated and inefficient and might spook the dog and turn it into a shy individual, which makes things worse in the long term.

Particularly Hard Cases and Special Dogs

There are special dogs, that will pee when they are excited, playing, or because they are shy. These are particular cases that need particular approaches.

For example, some shy dogs will urinate when they are petted. The moment someone touches them, they will lay low on their belly, try hiding their head, pull their ears back onto the head and peeing happens almost instantly. This is called “submissive urination”.

The first thing is to assess if there is a medical problem that may cause this behavior. If everything is medically ok, there are some simple rules you need to follow, like:

• Walk the dog more often, to keep an empty bladder
• Don’t allow the dog to drink too much water after it’s been walked, until potty training ends
• Avoid putting the dog in situations that make it anxious
• Avoid threatening postures. Always let the dog know when you are approaching it and try to get down to the dog’s level
• Try positive reinforcement and treats
• Pet the dog under the chin, and not the head, to keep an equal position; petting its head means a dominant position

Here’s a potty training schedule you can use with adult dogs that exhibit “submissive urination”:

Important note: adult dogs must be walked at least 2-3 hours after they’ve been fed, otherwise they might develop a medical condition known as “gastric dilation and volvulus”. This is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention.

Punishing or scolding these dogs will only worsen the situation. The anxiety level will go sky high, up to a point of no return. So, patience, patience, patience.

Helpful Tools For Potty Training

When it comes to keeping your house clean during potty training, there are some things you should be aware of.

Puppy training pee pads are very handy. Available in many animal stores, these pads have multiple layers to absorb urine and smell. Some are impregnated with substances that mimic the scent of urine, helping your little fellow during the process.

If you want to go pro, you can check out pee pads with artificial grass or those that have real patches of grass. These are a bit more pricy, but they’re fancier and your pooch will adore them. These help puppies get used to the feeling of nature and help them pee faster outside.

They will also come in handy if you have a busy working schedule and get home late in the evening, or if your dog is already an adult.

To guide your dog to the peeing area and ensure it doesn’t “leak” in the wrong corners, you can buy repellent sprays or try a DIY approach. Dogs dislike these and will avoid the area they’re sprayed onto.

Unlike repellents, attractant sprays work the other way around. These help your dog use the same place for “toilet time” and go well with pee pet pads.

How Long Does Potty Training Last?

No one can really tell you a decently true average length of time on how long potty training will last for your dog. We’ve had 8 dogs so far, all of which took wildly different routes.

We managed to house train (including toilet training) some of our dogs at only 3-4 months of age, while others much, much later (we had one particular case where even at 3 years of age, Lisa, our Golden was still not fully trained).

Some dogs do better than others, but most dogs will be (or better said, should be) potty trained by the age of 6 months and fully trained by the age of 12 months. Accidents can occur at all times anyway, so you just have to be prepared to deal with them.