How to House Train a Puppy ...

We all need a place to go to the bathroom, and your puppy is no different. When it comes to house training them, giving them a designated spot is one of the most crucial parts of the process. Ideally, this should be outside as firstly you don’t want them going in the house as this would defeat the purpose of training them. From your dog’s perspective, they need to be able to clearly distinguish where is ok and where isn’t ok to go to the bathroom, which is why the difference in outdoor vs indoor works well.

Compared with older dogs, puppies have much smaller bladders meaning they need to go to the bathroom more often. On average, this is every 1-2 hours. It can be extremely helpful when training your puppy to keep an eye on the time so that you can predict when they need the bathroom, rather than waiting for an accident to happen. As well as sticking to the timeframe, be mindful your puppy will need to empty its bladder after naps, playtime, and meals too.

After your dog goes potty in the correct place, it’s important to follow up with lots of positive reinforcement. You can do this by having an encouraging tone of voice as well as giving them a treat. While it might seem like overkill from an owner’s perspective, you have to remember that you are trying to teach your dog the correct behaviour. If they realise they are doing something right, it is more likely to lead to praise from their owner. This in turn makes your dog feel good too and helps to strengthen the bond you have.

Puppies need a lot of supervision and this applies to their toilet training too. It’s expected they may have accidents in the home, especially before they are fully trained. But if you keep a close eye on them, this is much less likely to occur. If they do start to go to the bathroom indoors, try to move them to a more appropriate spot. If this isn’t possible, clean up the mess and think about how you can avoid the situation from happening again. A play pen or crate could be useful if you aren’t able to keep an eye on your puppy at all times.

It can be a bit of a rocky road trying to train your puppy, especially as they could ruin carpets or other furnishings when they have accidents. Try to remain calm and positive with your dog throughout, especially if they don’t know any better yet. With perseverance and the right attitude, you can house train your puppy in just a few weeks.

If you are struggling to house train your puppy, it’s also worth consulting a dog trainer especially if you are a first-time dog owner.

Although rare, your puppy may have a medical condition that means it is unable to hold in its urine, leading to uncontrollable accidents. If you suspect this could be the case then you should seek advice from your vet.