You don’t want your dog to go to the toilet in the house, so you need to help your puppy learn to to toilet outside – and ideally as quickly as possible!
Puppy toilet training doesn’t need to be complicated and if you’re consistent, you can successfully toilet train your puppy very quickly.
I live in a flat with no garden. I have to go down two flights of stairs and cross a road for every single toilet break and I can toilet train my puppies in 2 weeks. So if you follow my puppy toilet training schedule – you’ll be grand!
Let’s dive into the details of all things puppy toilet training.
Puppy toilet training schedule
Your goal is to limit the opportunities your puppy has to toilet in the chance and to reward them heavily when they go outside!
Puppies need to go to the toilet roughly every hour. So every hour, you need to take your puppy outside to toilet – unless they’re asleep! If your puppy is sleeping, don’t wake them, just take them out as soon as they wake up naturally.
Take your puppy outside for a toilet break on the lead
- As soon as they wake up
- After playing
- After eating or drinking
- Every hour (during the day)
The less you let your puppy has the opportunity to toilet inside the house, the quicker they’ll get the message that toileting should happen outside.
Set yourself an alarm and make sure if you’re a multi-person household everyone is on board with the hourly schedule and knows whose responsibility each toilet break is!
Supervision is key!
While you are toilet training your puppy, you need to be supervising them whenever you take them outside.
I recommend keeping your puppy on the lead when you take them out until they’ve emptied their bladder and their bowels. This not only stops your puppy from getting wildly distracted and running off playing, but it gives you a high value reward to give your puppy for toileting in the right place!
When your puppy pees or poos, reward them heavily with praise and treats, then unclip their lead and set them free to play and run around!
What a puppy finds rewarding they’ll repeat, so the better the reward they get for toileting outside, the more likely they are to do it again. Teach your puppy that toileting outside is a happy occasion that makes good things happen.
Teach your puppy to toilet on cue
Teaching your puppy to go toilet on cue is really easy to do – and can save you an awful lot of waiting around in the middle of the night in the garden in your slippers!
For my dogs, I use the word ‘busy’ but you can use any word you like.
Everytime your puppy is toileting, simply say the word you’d like to teach them and they will quickly learn what it means.
You can then use this when you take them out for a toilet break to encourage them to go. This is also really helpful once your puppy has had their vaccinations and you start taking them on walks. Your puppy won’t automatically generalise and understand that they’re allowed to toilet in parks or on roadsides – so use your cue and teach them to toilet on dog walks.
#1 puppy toilet training mistake – using puppy pads
Bin them immediately! If you start by teaching your puppy to go toilet on puppy pads or newspaper, you are teaching them to toilet INSIDE the house!
Not only that, but you’re also teaching them to toilet on a specific surface. Which then makes it so much harder to teach them to toilet on walks or in your garden if their puppy pad isn’t available.
Even before your puppy has had their complete set of vaccinations, it’s ok to put them on the ground outside your house or in your garden for toileting.
#2 puppy toilet training mistake – telling puppy off when they get it wrong
If your puppy toilets in the house don’t make an issue of it. Simply clean it up and take note of where you need to tighten up your toilet break schedule.
If you tell your puppy off for toileting indoors, your puppy is not necessarily understanding that it’s the inside part that’s the problem.
This can lead to your puppy being scared to pee or poo in front of you – which then makes successful toilet training so much harder.
You may end up with a dog who does secret pees and poops – behind furniture or out of sight. They may even decide it’s a bad idea to toilet in front of you in the garden and on walks because they’re worried they’re going to be told off.
#3 puppy toilet training mistake – waiting for your puppy to tell you they need to go
Having the back door open doesn’t teach your dog to go out and go to the toilet. And neither does waiting for them to show you a sign they need to go.
If you wait for your puppy to start circling or sniffing around indoors, chances are they’re going to start their pee before you get the chance to whip them outside.
Set your puppy up for success by taking responsibility for minimising the opportunities they have to make mistakes. Be proactive and take them outside regularly and have a big party every time they get it right!
You cannot speed up toilet training without consistency and supervision.
Puppy toilet training at night
Do not wake your dog up to go to the toilet! I don’t know where this has come from but more and more I’m hearing from owners who are setting an alarm to wake up and take their puppy out for the toilet.
This not only teaches your puppy not to sleep through the night but it can mean you’re waiting much longer for them to go when you take them outside.
Your puppy will naturally wake up when they need to go to the toilet. Having your puppy close by at night so you can hear them, means you’ll be able to get them outside when they need the toilet – rather than waking them when they might not even need to go!
We want our puppies sleeping through the night as quickly as possible, so never wake a sleeping puppy!
When you take your puppy out for a toilet break at night, keep it boring and minimise interaction with them. Just like daytime toilet breaks, keep them on the lead to reduce distractions and opportunities to zoom around playing. Be boring and wait for them to toilet, reward them with a treat and pop them straight back to bed.
Why won’t my puppy toilet outside?
Some breeds struggle with toilet training more than others and this can be particularly true for small dogs who have smaller bladders and are close to the ground.
Dogs like Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Yorkshire Terriers aren’t often the biggest fans of cold or wet weather. This can make potty training particularly difficult in rainy seasons as they simply don’t want to go outside and they definitely don’t want to squat on wet ground!
Having a covered area outside which keeps the ground dry can really help. You can set up a mini gazebo temporarily or fashion something using DIY materials to create a shelter.
What to do when your dog won’t pee on walks
Dogs don’t automatically know that it’s ok for them to toilet when out on walks. Dogs don’t generalise well, so if they only toilet on the grass in the garden, they’ll need to be heavily rewarded and encouraged to go toilet on walks.
Try to vary the surfaces available in your garden to help your dog gain confidence with toileting on different textures. For example put some gravel down or stone chippings and encourage them to toilet on the patio which feels like paving.
Use your toilet cue to help your dog learn where they’re allowed to toilet and don’t skip the reward party when they do go toilet on walks.
Just like all your puppy training, you need to teach your puppy their new skills in different environments so they can use their skills confidently everywhere.
In conclusion
The fastest way to toilet train your puppy is to be vigilant, consistent and to take control of their toilet training schedule. Take your puppy outside frequently, keep them on the lead until they go and teach them a cue for toileting. And don’t forget to throw a massive pee party every time they get it right!
Learn more about my puppy training classes in East Lothian here. Or check out my online puppy training course here.
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