If you would like your puppy to give you a signal for a potty break, you will want to establish a system early on in the puppy housetraining process.  There are a couple of options that work quite well if done consistently:

1. The first system involves getting the dog to make a display and ideally bark or whine to indicate it has to go the bathroom.  How you can get this to happen more reliably:

• Make sure your puppy has a word to indicate the bathroom act like ‘Potty.’

• Use the same door initially for potty breaks so that the puppy knows the usual location.

• On your way to the outside door, attempt to create a lot of enthusiasm or excitement.  ‘Do you have to go Potty?’ you say numerous times in high pitched, baby-talk like voices.  Keep an upbeat body language, spring in your step, and perhaps clapping at times to encourage the puppy’s excitement.

• When you get to the door, you will do the same thing.  Frustrated excitement should build in your puppy.

The very first sound that comes out of your dog, even if it’s just a whine instead of a full fledged bark, immediately say ‘Yes!’ and open the door.  In successive times, do the same process and only open the door when your puppy makes noise.  Ideally, the puppy will make noise faster and louder.
Some puppies are naturally more talkative and will do this faster and easier, but they can all learn to do it.

2. The second system involves setting up bells.  These bells will give the dog a way to communicate with you. Here’s how to use the bells in your puppy housetraining system:

• Purchase several medium/large bells and fairly heavy duty rope that can be tied to them.

• Create a door hanger from the rope and tie the bells onto strands of the rope.  Securely knot each knot so that they won’t unravel easily.

• Place the bells on the usual door that is used to take the puppy outside from.

• Each time you take the puppy to the door, ring a bell yourself and then open the door to go outside.  You’ll do this for a few days.

Now, the puppy knows a bell rings before the door opens.  It’s his turn to learn that he can control the bells too.
As you bring the puppy to the door, stand close to the bells.  Your puppy will move close as well and will likely accidentally hit the bells himself with some part of his body.  Say ‘Yes!’ and immediately open the door.
Each successive time, make sure to wait to open the door until he bumps into the bells.  As he catches on that it is his actions that open the door, the more pronounced the ringing will become.

These are the two best methods for teaching a puppy to alert.  There is one word of caution: Once a puppy knows how to get you to let him out, he will learn to use it sometimes for non-potty reasons too!

The key to using wee wee pads in your puppy housetraining process is to introduce them correctly and offer them frequently.

Many of today’s wee wee pads are already pre-treated with an odor to encourage the puppy to use them.  If you purchase pads that are not, you would want to purchase a special spray to spray on each individual pad until your puppy has the hang of it.  Puppies are always more likely to go somewhere that smells like another puppy already has.

The pad should be placed in the same location each day.  If you intend to wean your puppy off the pad and would like him to eventually go outside instead, you should place the pad next to the door to outside you will use.  In an apartment situation, try to place the pad in an obvious and readily available location in the beginning.  When the dog is older, it could be placed in a more inconspicuous location out of sight.

You will need to bring your puppy to the pad many, many times throughout the day.  He won’t simply just get it and start using it.  Instead, just like someone would walk their puppy outside, multiple times throughout the day, ‘walk’ your puppy to the pad.  Remember to use the key times for all puppies:

• After mealtimes or drinking a lot of water.  You should begin taking him to the pad within 15-30 minutes.

• Immediately after waking up whether from deep sleep or a short nap.

• Before, during, and following a heavy play session.  All puppies forget to go when they are busy playing, so you will need to monitor how long it has been.

• Routinely several times an hour.  Very young puppies and very tiny dogs may only be able to wait 15-30 minutes in between each potty break.

Remember to praise heavily each and every time your puppy uses the wee wee pad.  Don’t ever get angry or scold the puppy for accidents near the pad or for destructive chewing of the pad.  Since the wee wee pad is this puppy’s method of puppy housetraining, any negativity associated with the pad might cause the puppy to stop using it altogether.

Be forewarned that many puppies by the age of four to six months view wee wee pads as potential play toys, so you might find yourself in the situation of not leaving one down all the time and only placing it for the actual potty time.

If you would like to transition your dog outside, begin placing a pad outside too.  Most wee wee pad dogs don’t understand to use grass at first.  Get a few successful potties on the pad placed outside.  Then, begin cutting the pad to smaller and smaller sizes until before long your dog is using just the grass.

Doing your puppy housetraining using wee wee pads can sometimes be the easiest thing for certain kinds of dogs or in certain situations.  It can be done successfully as long as you maintain patience and fully demonstrate to the dog what the pads are for.

I can remember it like it was yesterday, it was the day I brought home my first puppy. I was so excited to have this new addition to my family and all I wanted to do is play with him. Within the first hour of having our first family dog, there was a stain on the carpet.

The though never crossed my mind about letting the little puppy outside to go to the bathroom. Watching him pee on the carpet in complete shock made me realize that I needed to teach him where to go to the bathroom.

The problem is I had no idea how to do that! Do I just take him outside until he pees? How do I know when he needs to go to the bathroom? How will he let me know?

So I started my quest to learn how to potty train my new puppy. What I didn’t realize at the time is was as much of an education for me as it was for the puppy. For me it was getting on a regular schedule that helped us both understand what we both needed to do. Not only did he need to learn to go to potty at certain times, I need to remember to take him out at those times.

One of the biggest secrets I figured out is not punish or yell at him when he did have accidents in the house. When I did get upset and yell at him, it only made him more confused and scared – which set back the training and routine we were building. I just had to bite my tongue and clean up the accidents when they happened.

Once we got on a regular schedule he and I found the spot he liked to go to every time to potty. That made things easier for both of us. We both went to the spot and he started doing his business automatically when we got to “his spot”.

If you are tired of the frustration with potty training your puppy get the FREE Potty Training Tips Report here.

#1

Don’t assume the puppy is more capable than it really is.  Puppies have limited abilities in the beginning, anatomically speaking.  If you find the puppy is having accidents, it is not being walked enough.  Very tiny toy breeds and young puppies must be walked a couple of times an hour for a while.

#2

Never, ever get upset with your puppy over an accident.  He will not know why you are upset, and instead he will assume the anger is something else, and it will be connected to just you coming home or into the room.  Simply clean the accident and leave it at that.

#3

Never, ever rub your puppy’s nose in it.  For many puppies this is traumatic, and just like yelling or getting upset, it will cause adverse reactions in many puppies that are unrelated to the accident.  In fact, some puppies that are harshly yelled at or have had their nose rubbed in it become very sensitive to using the restroom in front of the owner.  These dogs might hide to go and won’t necessarily stop having accidents.

#4

Don’t leave food and water in your puppy’s crate or area when it is bed time or you are away.  If the puppy eats or drinks, he is more likely to need the potty more quickly, and often is not available to him.  Set him up for success by limiting food and water and take it up within the hour prior to going into the crate or area.

#5
Be careful not to give your puppy too much freedom in the house.  Earned amounts of freedom that are age appropriate are fine, but too much freedom too soon leads to lots of accidents.  Close open doors and use baby-gates.

#6
Don’t forget to watch him! If you’re not paying attention to what he is doing or his body language, you are likely to miss any signals he is providing.  Many a puppy has gone the bathroom at an owner’s feet or nearby.

#7
Don’t assume that because you put the puppy outside he has gone the bathroom.  Many puppies, especially eight to twelve week old puppies, want someone to go outside with them.  That’s okay.  Even better, it allows you to see what exactly the puppy is doing and then you are certain he has fully gone.

#8
Don’t free-feed your puppy by leaving food down.  Instead, feed scheduled meals appropriate to your puppy’s size and age.  Food left down means you don’t know when your puppy might have to go to the bathroom.  Scheduled meal times create a very predictable pattern for potty time.

#9
Don’t allow accidents to set in fabrics and carpeting or other flooring.  The longer an accident is in place, the more of it that has seeped into the padding of carpets, grout in tile, or other similar surfaces.  This absorption makes it far more difficult to remove the odor so that he won’t return to the same location.

#10
Just because he has not had an accident in a while, don’t assume he is fully housetrained.  Just about no dog should be assumed to be housetrained until around 1 year of age and with a long history of no accidents.

Crate training a puppy is the classic way to do it.  For most puppies, this is really one of the best ways.  The idea is to use the crate any time you will be away from the puppy or overnight.

The crate should only be as large as required for the puppy to sit up, stand, lie down, and turn around in.  Luckily, today many crate manufacturers make dividers so that you can purchase a crate that can grow with your puppy into adulthood.
The reason crate training works is because most dogs do not want to go the bathroom where they sleep.  In theory this is very true, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have accidents at all.  Puppies should not be excessively crated or forced to go for too many hours before being walked.
Tethering

This is a newer theory used for housebreaking a puppy.  This is where you use a leash, attached to the puppy, and the puppy is always a leash-length away from you at all times, until housebroken.

What is good with this system is that it keeps the puppy where you can see it.  This does aid the housebreaking process and allows you to limit accidents.  The main trouble with tethering is that most puppies are not even leash trained yet so they might find the tethering system a little concerning.

Wee Wee Pads

This is the least desirable method for long-term usage, but for extremely tiny puppies or apartment dwellers, it might be the only way to go in the beginning.
Wee Wee pads are disposable pads that are placed on the floor for the dog to use.  They are clean, hygienic, and simple.  It also does give a puppy easy access to a restroom at all times.

There are a few big problems with them.  First, once you train your puppy to go the bathroom in the house, you might find it a hard habit to break.  Some times these puppies don’t go the bathroom outside easily. Second, many a puppy has found other uses for the pads by shredding them apart and playing with them.  Lastly, there are some dogs that begin to view all sorts of items on the floor (like newspapers, blankets, etc.) as likely places for the potty, creating a bit of a housetraining nightmare.

Indoor Grass Potty

If you want to have an indoor, easy access potty, there are indoor grass potties (like the Mini Loo) that are easy to use.  They are similar in concept to the Wee Wee pads except it is not disposable at all.

It is a plastic box that is compartmentalized.  The top layer holds either real grass or artificial grass.  Any liquid drains through into a compartment that can be emptied quickly.  Grass is easily cleaned as well.

These grass potties make housebreaking a puppy a snap, but they can also be used for very small adult dogs, in apartments where it is a long walk to the restroom, older dogs, or for handicapped dogs.

Whatever method you choose, you need to be very, very consistent when housebreaking a puppy.  Don’t allow too much freedom, keep them close and supervise them, give them frequent access to the restroom area, and remember the cardinal rule of housebreaking a puppy: Accidents are always our fault!

If you have a new puppy you should start a regular potty training schedule and routine. This helps both you and the puppy to create a pattern of behavior that both of you will follow. Remember, potty training has 2 parts – one for you and one for your puppy.

If you need to housebreak a puppy that has learned a behavior of having accidents in the house this is for you. You need to setup a new routine immediately. Start with a basic schedule of when you either take your dog outside or out for a walk. At a minimum your schedule should include:

• Once right after your dog awakes in the morning
• Once right before your dog goes to bed
• Once after every scheduled meal
• Once after every playtime
• Once after every nap

Setting up the basic pattern above will get your dog in the routine to go to the bathroom after those daily activities. Early in the housebreaking routine you should also add additional walks to reinforce the outdoor bathroom behavior. Once these patterns start to take effect, your puppy will give you an indication when they want to go outside.

Early in the housebreaking routine you should also reward your puppy with treats or positive physical and verbal praise. This will further reinforce the behavior as a good one. Make sure the attention you give your dog is the type he enjoys and he will repeat the behavior in order to get that attention from you over and over again.

Bringing home your new puppy can be one of the most memorable moments for a new dog owner. You will have lots of great experiences and memories with your new puppy. There will also be a few experiences that are no so pleasant. One of those experiences is potty training your puppy. Your home is very new and confusing for your new puppy. He will be very nervous and curious his first few days in your home.   With all of the newness of his new environment he will need to start his potty training as soon as he gets home.

Puppies have a very small bladder which means they will need to go potty often. With proper potty training you can avoid potty accidents in the house. Here are a few tips to help potty train a puppy:

1. Develop a routine of when you are going to take the puppy out to potty. For starters, you should take your puppy out when they first wake up, before bed, and after each meal or play time.
2. Develop a regular feeding schedule. The times your puppy will have to potty depends on when you feed your puppy. Take your puppy to potty after each meal to get into the routine of potty training.
3. If during training your puppy has an accident, don’t punish your puppy. You should encourage your puppy when they have a successful potty but don’t punish them if they have an accident.

Lots of encouragement will go a long way when you potty train puppy.  A regular bathroom schedule should also be created and followed. Once your new puppy understands and gets used to the pattern you create he will feel more comfortable and understand what is expected of him. Your puppy should be watched closely when in the house. This is when most potty accidents happen and can be avoided by monitoring your puppy in the house.