Housetraing Your Puppy

So, you have added a puppy into your family. Unfortunately, your puppy hasn’t been housetrained. Most people think of this process with much distaste. However, the process doesn’t have to be difficult for you or your puppy. If done correctly, the process may only take a few weeks and can prevent a lifetime of messes.
The first thing you need to do is to think of your puppy as you would a toddler. Just as you can’t expect a toddler to be potty trained in a couple of days, you also can’t expect a puppy to be housetrained in that time. Properly housetraining a puppy will probably take several weeks. Your puppy hasn’t learned the signals his body is sending him yet to tell him when he needs to eliminate. When he does feel the need to eliminate, he goes, right then and there. Just as a toddler does when they first start potty training, a puppy needs to learn how to indicate to you the need to eliminate and be able to wait to go until you take him to the proper spot. You can begin to teach your puppy these things by first putting a little thought into a plan of action. You need to think about what things trigger your body to need to eliminate and apply those same ideas to your puppy. Most people need to eliminate a little while after eating or drinking, after waking from sleeping, and after waiting a long time between trips to the bathroom. These same things apply to a puppy. You need to keep this in mind when deciding how often to take your puppy outside to eliminate. In general, a puppy should be taken outside to eliminate hourly when first starting to housetrain the puppy. This may seem like a real hassle, but it will only be for a few days, maybe up to a week, that your puppy will need to go out this frequently. Each time you take the puppy outside to eliminate, say “out” as you are going outside. This will help the puppy learn that he needs to go out to eliminate. This will also help him understand that he needs to communicate with you when he needs to go out. Once you have spent several days taking the puppy out hourly, you can go for longer periods of time in between outings.
Eating is a large cause of elimination. Therefore, you need to consider this when you decide when to take the puppy outside. Generally, a puppy will need to eliminate within an hour of eating. So for the first few days, you should probably feed the puppy immediately after bringing him in from eliminating, so that in about an hour, he will be ready to go out again. Puppies usually need to eat about 3 times a day, so plan your meal times and elimination times accordingly. You should offer your puppy his final meal of the day several hours before bedtime.
When you take your puppy out to eliminate, always take him to the same area. This area will retain the scent of previous eliminations and the puppy will learn to go to this area for all elimination. Reward good pre-elimination behaviors, such as sniffing, with some mild praise. Try to use a consistent command, such as “potty time” with your puppy each time. That way he will learn to associate going outside with eliminating. When your puppy does eliminate in the proper area, reward him with lots of positive praise, some play time, and possibly a treat.
Until your puppy is fully housetrained (he has gone 6-8 weeks without an accident) you will need to provide him with constant supervision. This is easier done, of course, if more than one member of the family can assist with supervision. It is highly recommended that you get a new puppy at a time when at least one member of the family can be home with the puppy almost constantly for at least the first week. I recommend adding a puppy to your family during your children’s summer vacation from school. That way you have some help with supervising the puppy. Puppies are naturally curious and tend to wander off to explore. When you are occupied with other things, try keeping the puppy near you using a leash. When you can’t provide constant supervision because you are sleeping or away from home, confine your puppy to a relatively small area, such as a dog crate or cage. But remember that for the first few weeks, you can’t leave the puppy confined for longer than he can physically control his need to eliminate. Always allow your puppy to eliminate immediately before confining him. This will mean getting up a couple of times a night for awhile, but after a few weeks he will probably be able to go for longer periods of time, especially at night, without eliminating. Most puppies quickly adapt to the crate if you make it fun. Put a couple of toys in there and maybe some food. Your puppy will learn to love his crate as his own special place. If you have to leave your puppy alone for a long period of time, confine him to a larger area, such as a small room or a dog run. He will need enough space to eliminate if the need arises and still have room to lay down several feet away from the elimination. You can put newspaper in the areas you think are most likely for him to choose to eliminate. Again, make his confinement area a fun place for him to be.
Just as with all newly learned behaviors, it will take some practice for your puppy to be fully housetrained. That means you need to be prepared to deal with accidents. Remember that punishment is the least effective way of dealing with accidents. Never rub the dog’s nose in his elimination. This will only scare him. Only reprimand him if you actually catch him in the act of eliminating. If you do catch him in the act, use a startle technique, such as stomping your foot once or saying a loud “no”, to make him stop eliminating. Then immediately take him outside to his elimination area for him to finish. Once he finishes make sure to praise him. Don’t reprimand him if you don’t catch him in the act, because he won’t understand why he is in trouble and it will cause him to be afraid of you. When your puppy does eliminate in the house, make sure you clean the area thoroughly with an odor eliminating cleaner. Since dogs tend to eliminate in areas where they have eliminated before, if you don’t get the odor cleaned out of accident areas in your home, the puppy will probably try to eliminate there again. If your puppy begins to eliminate frequently in a certain area of the home, deny him access to that area by closing the door, blocking the area off with gates, or moving a throw rug or piece of furniture over the area. They do sell motion alarms that can be used to teach your puppy to avoid certain areas. Also, most dogs avoid eliminating in areas where they eat, sleep, or play. So putting a dog bed or food bowl in an area can help to avoid future eliminations there.
Puppies are a lot like toddlers who are potty training. It will take them a little time to understand the signals that their bodies are sending them and to learn to signal to you their need to eliminate. With a little patience and a lot of consistency, your puppy will be successfully housetrained in no time at all!

Thanks to Wayne L. Hunthausen, DVM and Gary M. Landsberg, DVM for their contributing work to this article.