Why Potty Training Your Puppy Is Not Working
You’re taking your puppy out to pee all the time but they’re still having accidents in the house All. The. Time! What gives?
Potty training is not quite as simple as taking your puppy out all the time. If your puppy has the opportunity to pee in the house as well, they’re going to. They have no idea that there’s anything wrong with squatting to pee whenever the urge strikes them.
After all, if they were on their own without human involvement, that’s exactly what they’d be doing.
If you’re struggling with your puppy’s potty training, the most likely culprit is that you’re giving your puppy way too much freedom in the house. If you want your potty training to be successful, follow these three simple steps instead…
Supervise your puppy when they’re loose
When your puppy has free time in your house, this time must be supervised, and supervised does not mean you’re scrolling through social media while your puppy wanders off and pees on the floor. Supervised means that your eyes are on your puppy, watching for any signs that they may need to potty. Signs like
Suddenly stopping in the middle of play to sniff the floor
Suddenly wandering off away from you
Wandering near the door
Some puppies will become extra bitey or their play will become frantic when they need to go out as well. Keep in mind that the younger your puppy is, the less of a brain/bladder connection they have, so no, they really can’t wait while you go put your shoes on. They need to go RIGHT NOW.
Confine your puppy when you can’t supervise them
In the early stages of potty training your puppy, even if you’re just going to wash the dishes or make yourself a sandwich, if your eyes aren’t on your puppy, they need to be confined where they aren’t going to potty. Confinement can be:
A crate
A playpen or x-pen
Tethered to you or close to you
Immediately before their confinement, make sure they’ve gone out to potty and take them out again when you release them from confinement, even if it’s only been 15 minutes.
Take your puppy to their potty area often
If your puppy is less than 4 months old, you’ll want to take them out about every hour when they’re awake. If they’re sleeping, you can leave them until they wake up, but make sure you take them out as soon as they do. Some other times to take your puppy out are:
Whenever they transition from one activity to another (they were playing and now they’re going to take a nap)
Whenever they suddenly start sniffing around on the floor
Whenever they suddenly try to wander off away from you
About 10 to 15 minutes after they’ve had a drink of water
About 30 minutes after they’ve had a meal
Whenever they wake up from sleeping, even if they’ve only been sleeping for a short time
Whenever they wander near the door, even if they were just out (this will help them learn to go to the door when they need to go out)
More tips & tricks
If you are consistent and never give your puppy the opportunity to potty in the house during their first 3 months with you, you’ll have a well-trained pup. If you’re not consistent, then potty training could drag on indefinitely. As you work through potty training your puppy, keep these things in mind:
If your puppy potties in the house, this is YOUR mistake, not your puppy’s. It means you were not supervising your puppy closely enough.
If your puppy still manages to potty in the house even under strict supervision or seems to need to potty far more frequently than you feel is reasonable, have the vet check them over to rule out any physical/health issues.
Avoid scolding your puppy if they potty in the house. Scolding them can make them feel anxious about going potty in front of you, which will cause them to avoid going while they’re on a leash outside and sneak off to go inside.
Try to develop an eat/sleep/potty schedule for the first few months so that you know when your puppy will need to potty.