Potty training! How the hell do you do it?? Sometimes it seems like the bane of your existence; impossible at best. But...there is hope! Here are a few tips to get your puppy on the right track. Remember, truly great companions are taught, not born (though temperament and genetics do play a role). Puppies are learning all the time; whether it’s learning something good or bad is completely up to you.
First, if your puppy is tinkling fairly often, drinking a lot of water, if their urine has an abnormally strong odor to it, or if they seem to be getting the hang of potty training and then start regressing out of nowhere- have them checked for a UTI. For any behavioral issue, but especially potty problems, rule out medical issues first whenever possible. No amount of training will replace medical treatment for a medical issue!
“I’ve had them checked, they don’t have a UTI, they’re just mad at me for being at work!” Well, slow down, probably not... the communication is likely just off. A common issue that we see in potty training is that many owners give their puppy too much freedom, i.e. they get to run all over the house, or their area/crate is far too big. 1. Stop giving your puppy free roam! This is a privilege, not a right! Puppies should be supervised 100% of the time, if they can’t be- crate them! No matter how cute they are, these little furballs have to earn your trust and the privilege to be out through consistent behavior. Give it time! Rome wasn’t built in a day, yada yada. 2. The crate- no it’s not mean, it’s extremely important in molding your puppy into the best version of themself! I usually recommend crating any dog consistently until they are at least 12-18 months old. This keeps them out of a lot of trouble (preventing destructive behavior!), teaches them how to “hold it”, and keeps you sane! With potty training, a properly sized crate is imperative! They should be able to stand up, turn around, and lay down. Much more than that at this phase could set your potty training back significantly, and create a huge headache for you! Also, no bedding at first! Dogs do not like to lay in their “mess”, but most puppies will simply pee on the bed or blanket and then scoot it out of the way, we have to completely remove this option! 3. Review how often you’re giving potty breaks. If your puppy is very young (and/or small) they may need more potty breaks throughout the day or night- sometimes every 1-2 hours at first. Initially you may need to set alarms (again, day or night…) to get your pup out. If you work, you may need to arrange to come home on your lunch break, or have a friend/family/dog walker come in the middle of the day to let them out. Worst case scenario, you could set up a potty area in their crate/ gated area- we’ll talk about this later on and no I’m not talking about using potty pads!
As a general rule, when raising a puppy, all good things come through you (this is a super analytical way to say this, but it’s really just living with your dog, and building relationship and rapport, while creating a neutral mindset towards outside distractions.) Food, toys, even greeting new people if that is something your puppy enjoys. In relation to potty training, put some of your puppy’s food (or a non-perishable treat) in a bowl, and place it on your kitchen counter or out of their reach by the “potty” door. For potty breaks; when it comes time- grab a few pieces of food, go outside with puppy, and wait. Keep them leashed and stand stationary in an appropriate part of your yard. As soon as they squat, begin to lightly praise them-reward with the treat as soon as they’re done! AS SOON AS THEY ARE DONE. Not when you get to door. Not when they get back inside. Reward them right where they went! In dog training, you have 1.5 seconds MAX to deliver a reward or a consequence for the dog to associate it properly (with the behavior). Many people try rewarding when the dog comes back in, but there are a few things wrong with this- first, you didn’t go out with your puppy. So unless you watched them the whole time, you don’t know if they actually went potty… Second, based on timing requirements, by the time they’re back at the door or inside, they WILL NOT associate it with pottying outside. If you’ve done this in the past and it “worked”, your dog simply learned in spite of the incorrect timing of the reward. They’re very resilient and are often capable of learning despite our short comings as human beings… Aren’t dogs great?
Now, potty areas for extended amounts of time. In my opinion, potty pads are THEE worst thing you can do…even for small dogs. Training a dog to use one of these typically leads to them pottying on rugs and carpet… which is NOT what you want! The best thing to do in the worst case scenario of you not being able to get your very young puppy (or small dog) out for enough potty breaks due to being away, you can provide them with an appropriate potty area- Sod (must be real grass!). I usually put a piece or two of sod in a separate crate tray (due to its low edges) and place it in their crate or gated area. You could use a small kiddie pool if that’s all you can find/have and you can put potty pads UNDER the sod to help with clean up. If you’re using this with a crate, the crate must be larger than described above- but their rest area should be just big enough for them to fit, so that they WANT to potty in the potty area- again, most dogs don’t want to lay in their mess! Once the dog get the hang of this, their rest area can be bigger, but start small. You MUST utilize this option with a proper potty schedule as outlined above, because one day (for most dogs), you SHOULD take away the pee area, and they need to know what to do/ what door to go to/ etc. If your puppy begins chewing on the sod, you can cover the whole setup with chicken wire. It’s discreet enough that they should still use the potty area, but will not be able to destroy it.
Maintaining a consistent crate/play/potty break routine will get your dog where you want them to go. We have a few other tricks up our sleeves for dogs that still struggle even with a strict routine, but generally speaking, we’ve potty trained hundreds of dogs this way. No training process is one size fits all, but this seems to do the trick in most situations!
Please reach out to us for any of your training needs, we offer Virtual Training as well! We’re here for you!
Be on the look out for our instructional video! Coming soon!
-Courtney, Owner and Head Trainer of Bold City K9