How Do I House-Train My Puppy? A guide for new owners
One of the biggest concerns new dog owners have about their new puppy is how to house-train her quickly and effectively. There are several approaches you can take to house-training a puppy and I will describe here the method I’ve used successfully for years.
Keep in mind that your young dog has very little control over what she produces until she’s about four months old so be patient!
Preparing for a New puppy
First of all, take up any rugs that you can in areas where your puppy is allowed to walk and plan to keep her away from anywhere with a fitted carpet until she’s reliably trained.
Decide where you would like your puppy to perform in your garden. It will be so much easier to clean up after her if you know where to look, and she will be happy knowing she’s doing what you want her to do. Remember the following:
Dogs like to return to the same place to pee, as it smells right and familiar to them.
They really don’t like to soil their beds, but if they are forced to do this it will take longer to house train them.
Dogs will tend to choose the substrate they performed on as puppies, when they are grown up. So, if you train your puppy to pee and poo on the grass, that’s what she will want to do when she is fully grown.
Setting up a Daily Routine
Set up a daily routine for the first six months. I know it sounds like a long time but it’s worth it to have a clean house-trained dog for the rest of her life!
Take your puppy outside at the following times:
First thing in the morning
After playing, exercise or any other excitement.
Immediately after meals
Last thing at night before bed
Once every hour during the day
Do not carry her outside and always stay with her when she is there. She will want to be with you and leaving her alone outside will not make her comfortable or show her what you want her to do.
As she performs, say something like ‘Have a pee’ and congratulate her hugely when she’s finished, by petting and/or playing with her, or even giving her a treat.
Tip: Don’t get too excited when she’s actually performing, otherwise she might stop to jump about!
If nothing happens after about 5 minutes, go back inside and try again later.
How can I tell if my puppy needs to go out?
The signs to look out for that she may want to pee or poo are:
sniffing the floor
turning in circles
getting ready to squat down
and later, moving hopefully towards the door
If you see any of these signs, open the door immediately and call encouragingly to get her outside. Don’t pick her up as she needs to recognise the link between needing to go and getting out into the garden.
If you see her going in the house don’t yell at her and don’t ever rub her nose in it! It is a cruel and unhelpful myth that this practice teaches house training. Your anger will distress her and make the learning process slower.
She may even start to hide from you when she needs to go as she will learn that you disapprove. A puppy doesn’t initially realise she is doing wrong so just say ‘No’ firmly and get her outside quickly to finish what she was doing. Again, praise her hugely if she manages any of it outside.
Crate Training as a House-training Tool
If you have provided your puppy with a dog crate this will be a great tool in helping you to house-train her. The crate should be big enough for the puppy’s bed and for her to turn around inside it, but no bigger. Dogs really don’t like to soil their beds and she will try to avoid this. If you buy a crate big enough for a fully-grown dog you can put a barrier across it to reduce its size until your puppy grows to fill the space. In this way you will reduce the chances of the puppy messing the inside of the crate.
When you bring your puppy back into the house from the garden, put her in her crate, always with something delicious to chew to keep her occupied. A hollow stuff toy filled with food, such as a ‘Kong’ is ideal and will keep her busy happily for some time. This practice gives her something rewarding to chew as well as peace of mind for you if you leave the room, and it teaches her good habits. She will learn that the crate is a really good place to be. As she becomes accustomed to spending time in there, ensure that she is always calmly lying down before you release her so she doesn’t learn that barking, whining, or otherwise making a fuss, is the way to be let out. Put your puppy in the crate at all times when you cannot be with her, to avoid bad habits developing.
Why is my house-training not working?
If house-training seems to be taking longer than expected, think about the following possibilities.
You may be feeding your puppy an unsuitable puppy food.
You may be feeding her too much.
If you just leave the back door open for your puppy to come and go as she pleases, it may seem convenient but it can confuse puppies and you are not able to supervise what she is doing. When the door is accidentally closed she will not know what to do.
In the early weeks you might despair that your puppy will choose to come into the house to do her business. They sometimes do this because they feel more secure inside. She will grow out of it if you continue with the house-training principles, as her confidence grows.
Generally, stay with your puppy all the time to avoid problems, and when you can’t be with her, put her safely in her crate with something delicious to chew to occupy her.
If you clean up after your puppy using standard disinfectants she will still be able to smell where she has performed and may return to the same spot. Also, ammonia based cleaning products used around the house can smell like urine to your puppy, and lead to accidents. Use an enzyme cleaner designed to break down the waste molecules or try using dishwasher powder to do the job. You can follow this up with the disinfectant of your choice to be certain the area is clean and sweet smelling.
House -Training Overnight
There are several methods of house-training puppies overnight and the following is a method I have found to be really effective.
Take your puppy outside last thing at night and wait until she performs. Congratulate her hugely, lead her inside and put her in her crate, closing the door. Give her a hollow toy with a small amount of food inside to occupy her.
Every four to six hours overnight, take your puppy outside to relieve herself. Don’t wait for her to cry. Set your alarm and go to her when you decide to.
Be sure to be very calm and quiet when taking your puppy outside (apart from congratulating her on performance) and return her to her bed straight away afterwards. You do not want her to associate your arrival in the night with fun and play time!
Be guided by how desperate she is to perform and slowly lengthen the interval between nighttime wees, until you have a puppy who sleeps cleanly all night.
Your puppy may have accidents and it could take some time. Some dogs learn very quickly but others take a few months to catch on. If you use a phrase like ‘Have a pee’ when your pup performs you will eventually find that she will perform on command. You could even use different phrases for peeing and pooing, which will eventually make your life so much easier. Before you go out or at bedtime, you will be sure that your dog is comfortable and you won’t have to worry about a mess!
What do I do if I have to leave my puppy for a few hours?
You may have taken time off work to welcome your new puppy or otherwise probably have a busy life and she will have to get used to being alone some of the time. If you use the following method, you will find that your puppy will settle quickly and learn to be clean in the house in a short space of time.
Place your puppy’s crate in a long rectangular penned area with the crate at one end and whatever you want your dog to perform on at the other. I use a piece of turf to encourage puppies to use grass. If you can manage it, it’s even better for the crate to be inside the house and the toilet area to be outside, with a door and/or dog flap in between, but this is not always practicable. Whenever you need to leave your puppy alone for more than an hour or two, put her in this restricted area, always with food to eat in a stuff toy. You can replace the turf weekly but don’t forget to pick up any poo as soon as possible because she will not want to poo very near something she has already produced. You will find that she will learn very quickly to use the toilet area and to settle otherwise in her crate to chew and rest.
The main rules to keep in mind are to be patient and consistent. It’s likely to be two steps forward and one step back, but you will get there in the end.
Don’t forget that the surface your puppy performs on when young will most likely be what she looks for as she grows up so keep this in mind. It’s what the surface is rather than where it is that seems to matter to them. So, if you want your dog to perform on grass rather than on gravel, take her to the grass when she is young.
