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Bringing home a new dog is tons of fun! But those first few weeks can be quite the hassle. Both you and your pup have to get used to life with each other. For most puppies, this means learning where they should – and should – not pee!
You'll lose the rose-colored glasses of puppyhood fast if your house starts to smell like a kennel. Some dogs just don't know where they are supposed “go.” Others are trying to claim various possessions by sprinkling them with their signature scent. Either way, you're probably going to want your pooch to not pee in your house.
Teaching canines to only pee outside is called “housebreaking.” It's pretty standard for puppies to learn this hygienic habit, but sometimes an older dog will have to learn it too. This is often the case of rescue dogs, or dogs who have lived their entire life outdoors.
The goal is to help your four-legged friend understand that peeing should only happen when the dog is out of the house. Eventually, you can even train your dog to pee on command! But you've got to crawl before you run. Most pups will need to start at the very beginning of housebreaking. And the whole process may take several months to perfect!
To help you on your puppy-potty-training journey, you're going to need a few things. Below are a few essentials to help get the job done.
- Treats: Every time your dog piddles in the right spot, you'll want to give her lots of treats, so stock up!
- Cleaning Supplies: News flash – your dog is going to make some messes. It may seem like every time you come home there is a puddle waiting for you. But the right cleaning supplies can help with the problem. Get something that is enzyme based so that no scent remains.
- Patience: It's easy to get frustrated when you feel like there isn't any progress. But getting angry will only confuse your pupper. Keep a cool head and only scold your dog if you catch her in the act.
It's important to mention that in rare cases, your pooch might be peeing inside because of a health problem. Take the dog in for a check-up to be sure all is well.
Following are some of the best tried and true ways to teach your dog to keep the urine on the grass and off of the carpets. No matter which one you choose, remember that consistency is key!
The Scheduled Appointments Method
Most Recommended
29 Votes
Most Recommended
29 Votes
Rise and shine
Each and every day, as soon as your pup wakes up, take him out (even if there's still sleep in your eyes)!
Establish routine
Feed him breakfast at the same time each morning. Also provide a bowl of water. Bring him back outside between 5 and 30 minutes after breakfast.
Watch and walk
Watch throughout the day for when your pooch grabs a drink. Make sure to head right back out there 5–30 minutes after water intake.
Evening drill
Serve dinner at the same time each night. Let the dog out once again shortly after dinner. Do not put out bowls of water after dinner time to lower the chance of a bed time accident.
The Scent-Free Method
Effective
12 Votes
Effective
12 Votes
Prepare
Go out and buy a cleaner made especially for dog urine. Regular cleaner just won't get the smells out. Even if you can't tell there was pee on the floor, your dog's amazing nose can still probably pick it up.
Clean promptly
If at all possible, do not let messes sit! They will soak deeper into your floor the longer they are left, becoming harder and harder to clean.
Indicate a good spot
If using a cloth towel to clean up, place the soiled one outside where you'd like your fur buddy to go instead.
Neutralize
Spray the site of the accident with the cleaner. Be generous, you don't want your dog getting confused by the smell of his own golden fluids and deciding that your living room is his toilet. Read the instructions! Some cleaners require you to let them sit for a while before you sop them up. Whatever the directions are, follow them all, or you might as well not bother.
The Positive Tinkling Method
Least Recommended
10 Votes
Least Recommended
10 Votes
Be vigilant
From the moment your pooch wakes up until they rest their eyes at night, watch them! If this means taking off a few days of work, try to arrange it if at all possible.
Run!
Every time the pup starts to sniff around or circle, head on out – and fast!
Celebrate!
If you guys make it out in time and your fur-baby succeeds, praise him like crazy! Even dish out a few treats so the dog associates outside peeing with a good time.
Be understanding
Don't get mad if you find a smelly yellow puddle on your floor. If the dog has already peed, it's too late to correct him.
Introduce a command
When your dog starts to “go” outside more consistently, start to give a command like “do your business” or “potty time” each time the dog exits. This way the pooch will be able to eliminate on command, which is super awesome for walks and road trips!
Written by Abby Clark
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 09/20/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
I was wondering if I could reach out to you for some advice on how to overcome some toileting issues we have with our Moodle - Charlie who is 18 months old. We toilet trained him from when he was 8 weeks old and most of the time he is very good, but on occasions, especially in Winter as it is too cold to go out, he is doing his business in the house. There is no one home during the day and we have a very open house and the only doors that we have are on our toilets, bathroom and bedrooms, otherwise all areas are wide open. Charlie has the run of these areas and usually twice a week we get home and he has soiled the carpet and done No: 2 as well. Other days he is fine and goes outside. I'm not sure how to overcome this as no one is home at the time to catch him doing his business. Do you have any suggestions for us. Our carpet is being destroyed. Thankyou for your time Dianne
July 13, 2022
Charlie's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Dianne, The simplest solution is to crate train him and crate him while away because the crate will motivate him to hold it due to the confined space; however, you can also confine him in the bathroom (hanging the bath mats off the floor) or bedroom (if there is no carpet). If pup is trained to use a pee pad or other indoor potty, especially when its cold, I would place that indoor potty in that room with pup. A lot of your issue is probably pup not fully going potty when you take them out before leaving though. So I would work on that also. When you take pup outside, tell pup to Go Potty. Walk pup around slowly on leash so the movement helps pup go potty. Spray a potty encouraging spray on the area you are going to be taking pup to right before taking pup there if pup is struggling to poop for you while outside, and tell pup to "Go Potty" and give pup five small treats after pup goes potty, one at a time. After pup pees, if pup hasn't pooped in the last four hours, then repeat walking pup around for 10-15 minutes, telling pup to Go Potty again, and reward again if pup poops. Many dogs will do the bare minimum when its wet or cold, holding their poop and sometimes only peeing a bit. You may to be with pup to see if that's the case here opposed to letting them into a fence by themselves if you currently do. The movement, smell of the spray, and ultimately teaching "Go Potty" and rewarding can help pup get into the habit of going potty fully - part of pup's reward for going potty is getting to go back inside. Insist pup goes. If pup doesn't go after fifteen minutes, bring pup inside and crate for an hour, then take pup back outside again, repeating this process every hour until pup goes potty outside. Once pup goes potty outside, then confine them in the dog proofed room when you leave. I would start all this on your day off work so you aren't rushed getting pup to go potty outside the first day. As pup learns Go Potty, you can use that to get pup to go quicker on cue. You will also need to either replace that carpet pup has soiled a lot of deep clean it using a carpet cleaner formulated with enzymes - because only enzymes will remove the smell to the extent that pup's nose needs them to be removed so the smell doesn't encourage pup to go potty in that spot again. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
July 13, 2022
I tell him no when he pees inside or bites but he doesn’t seem to listen. He keeps making the same mistakes and doesn’t seem like he’s learning.
July 4, 2022
Benji's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Katie, Check out the Crate Training method from the article I have linked below for potty training. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Check out the Bite Inhibition method and Leave It method from the article I have linked below for the puppy biting, but also know that both the biting and potty training will take a couple of months of consistent training for pup to stop and become potty trained, and that's normal. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite At this age No doesn't mean anything to puppy, it's just a sound. Even once pup understands what No means through experience, pup also needs to be shown what to do instead. Imagine that you were given a homework assignment but the class instructor never showed you how to complete the steps, they just said no whenever you tried something. You would learn that they didn't like what you tried, but you wouldn't know what to do instead. No is an important piece of information but you also have to show pup what to do instead, tell pup yes when they get it right (praise) and motivate pup to want to do the correct thing again next time (rewards like treats or toys or affection). Check out Zak George from canine revolution on youtube. He has some good training videos for puppies. Some other good trainers for puppies you can watch online are Ian Dunbar and Kikopup. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzFRKsgVMhGTxffpzgTJlQ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
July 4, 2022