How to Potty Train your Puppy

Adopting a puppy is an exciting time full of cuddles, adorable photos, and learning new habits. One aspect that’s not as glamorous is teaching your new pup that potty time should be done outside of the house. The best time to start potty training your puppy is as soon as they can go outside.

If you’re wondering “How do I house-train my dog?”, here are some tips to make the training easier for you and your new pet.

1. Be patient and understand that your dog will have accidents as they are adjusting to living in your house. Don’t feel like a bad dog parent if your pup has accidents even after house-training has begun. The average amount of time it takes to potty train your dog fully can take up to 6 months.
2. If your dog had an accident in the house, try to remember how they behaved before the accident and learn to read their body language. Often a puppy will start sniffing around corners, looking at you anxiously, or walking near the door to signal that they have to use the bathroom.
3. Keep a consistent schedule and learn what time your pup usually has accidents in the house. If you realize that your dog usually has an accident after not going potty for 4 hours, make sure to always take them out before the 4 hour mark. To help you keep track of when your pet usually goes potty or has accidents in the house, use the app DogLog. Log all of your pets’ activities in the app and use the analytics functionality to understand when accidents usually occur.
4. Using a crate is a great tool to potty train your dog. Dogs are den animals and thus feel safe and secure in small areas, like a correctly sized crate. They instinctually know not to pee or poop in their den as to not attract predators to their hiding spot. Keep your dog in a crate that is sized correctly to ensure they don’t have feel that their space is large enough to go potty in.
5. Consistently praise your pup when they successfully go potty outside, both with kind words and treats. Dogs learn better from positive enforcement than negative, so praising your dog when they do the right thing works much better in the long run than punishing them for doing the wrong thing.
6. If your dog has an accident in the house, make sure to clean up the mess with cleaner that removes the odor well. If your pup can smell their past accidents, they are more likely to go potty in the same spot again.