Hello friends!
Below are some tips on how to potty train your puppy! Remember consistency is key and you need to be ready to spend a lot of time and energy. Also, if they have an accident as a puppy it's your fault, it is never their fault in the beginning stages of potty training. Be patient with your puppy while they learn where to go to relieve themselves.
1. Pad Train
Our puppy was already pad trained when we got her. If you live in a communal dog area you may want to stick to puppy pads until your puppy has gotten all of their vaccines. To transition to outside we started out by placing the pads by the door and slowly moved the pads outside until she learned to go outside and not in the house.
2. Watch your puppy like a hawk
Another tip is to watch your puppy very carefully for when they start sniffing around frantically, this is a sure sign that they are looking for where to go potty. Take them outside or to their pad when you see this behavior.
3. Designated Area
I recommend having a designated potty area outside that you consistently take your puppy to every 2 hours. This will teach your dog to associate this exact location with going potty. This worked really well for our puppy.
4. "Go Potty"
Use the phrase "go potty" once you get to your designated spot and use it while they go potty too. I can now tell my 8 month old puppy 'time to go potty' and she will walk right beside me off leash to her potty spot- I say "go potty" and she does her business and heads strait back inside with me to our front door. In the beginning stages say "good Girl/Boy" and give them praise after they go potty. This routine took a lot of consistency on my part, but it was totally worth it in the end.
5. Crate Train
Crating your puppy at night can help them hold it longer through the night. Our puppy would start to cry really early in the morning to let us know that she needed to go out to potty. Now, at 8 months old our puppy can hold it until I wake up around 7am. It is also a good idea to place your puppy in the crate if you are planning to be gone for a few hours. This will help teach them to hold it and assure that they don't get into any trouble.
6. Schedule
Having a routine potty schedule will really help your dog learn to 'hold it'. We take her first thing in the morning, in the afternoon, on her walk after dinner, and before bed. If for any reason she needs to go before that time she will usually come find me and bark at me and I learned that's her telling me that she needs to go out.
I hope you find these tips helpful on your puppy potty training journey!
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