Potty Training Your Puppy

Potty training your puppy is the first, and perhaps most important thing that your puppy has to learn when you bring them home.  It’s really not that hard to potty train your puppy if you follow a few simple steps.

Step 1:  Ringing The Bell

You can easily teach your puppy to ring a bell when he needs to go outside to potty.  Hang a bell beside the door where your puppy will be going in and out to use the bathroom.  Ring the bell every time you take the puppy out and use a command like “get busy” so he begins to associate the bell with needing to go to the bathroom.  Once your puppy begins to understand the bell, he should begin ringing it on his own when he needs to go to the bathroom.

Step 2:  In The Beginning

In the beginning you will need to take your puppy outside by the hour as puppies cannot hold it much longer than that.  When you are outside with you puppy, if he doesn’t go bring him back inside and put him in his crate.  Wait approximately five minutes and then take him back outside.

If your puppy goes when you take him back out give him lots of praise by saying “good get busy” or what ever command you choose to use.  Over time he will now associate going to the bathroom outside with being good and getting praised.

Even though the puppy has now gone to the bathroom; wait outside for another five minutes as sometimes puppies will need to go again or they may not have finished as they were too excited that you were praising them.  Fifty percent of the time they will go again while you are still outside.  This seems to be more common in smaller breed dogs.

Step 3:  When To Take Your Puppy Outside

There are times when you can count on your puppy needing to use the bathroom such as:

• First thing in the morning or as soon as you hear him moving around in his crate
• After he wakes up from any naps during the day
• After every play session
• After every meal
• After a car ride
• Right before bed

Take your puppy outside at these times and let him potty.  Even if you have to wait a few minutes, it’s a good bet that your puppy will need to go.  In most cases you could be waiting outside for up to 15 minutes.

Step 4:  Monitoring Your Puppy Inside The House

It may take several weeks before your puppy is completely housetrained.  During this time you should monitor your puppy closely when he is in the house.  Do not give your puppy free rein of the house right off the bat as this needs to be earned with time.

Start off by confining your puppy to one room at a time.  For example, your family room, which is the most common area, is ideal so someone in the household can always be around to monitor what the puppy is doing.  Also watch for excessive sniffing as this is a good indicator that your puppy might need to go.