This can be a challenging task, but with patience, consistency, and the right process, you can successfully teach your puppy to toilet outside in a few days.
Some breeds can take longer than others, but this is the quickest process to get toilet training wrapped up and ticked off your list.
**Understanding Your Puppy:**
Your puppy has no understanding of what a house is or the need to toilet outside. In the nest, their mother directs them away from the sleeping area to toilet, which means, if pup has come from a responsible breeder, they are highly unlikely to toilet on their bedding. Be sure your pup has a toilet area in their crate or sleeping area, when left overnight or when you leave the home, so they have somewhere to go in emergency.
A great toilet provision for pup, in the crate, is a box filled with sand and artificial turf, or a box with a roll of real turf. This gives pup the right texture under their feet and prevents the tearing up of newspaper or puppy pads.
If your pup, despite this, does wee on their bed, it’s worth a vet check to make sure there is no infection or other medical reason for this.
Even though pup shouldn’t toilet on their bedding, they don’t understand that they shouldn’t wee on your lovely soft carpet. Puppy pads can be confusing as they teach your dog to toilet in the house. It’s best to start teaching your pup to go outside from day one.
**Choosing a Toilet Spot:**
Decide where you want your pup to toilet in the garden and make this the spot you take them to every time. Consistency and persistency are key. Remember, your pup will learn by habits and patterns. A pup will wee where they have been before, but they will not poop in a soiled area, so be sure to clean up poop promptly.
If you don’t have a garden, and you can’t get pup outside for toileting, create a toilet box as mentioned above and take pup to that instead.
**Times Your Puppy is Likely to Need to Go:**
Pup will need to go out every hour to an hour and a half and at times such as:
– After play
– On waking
– After eating/drinking
Keep meal times regulated to help your pup develop a routine for defecating.
1. **Choose a Toilet Spot:**
– Decide on a specific spot in your garden where you want your pup to toilet. Consistently take your pup to this spot every time.
Taking pup out on a long training line is a good idea as pup can get distracted if running freely. If pup is on a training line, you can lead pup to your chosen toilet area and let pup mooch around in that area.
Some pups will not be happy toileting on hard ground, such as concrete paving slabs. Pup will respond much better if you have a small area of grass. If you don’t have any grass area, consider getting some artificial turf and laying on the concrete for now. It’s easy to wash off and keep clean.
2. **Regular Toilet Visits:**
– Take your pup out to the toilet spot, regularly, every hour and at key times: after play, upon waking, and after eating/drinking. Remember to use the training line.
– Take pup to the wee spot.
3. **Be Patient:**
– Allow your pup time to sniff around and do their business. If they don’t go, after 10 minutes or so, bring them back inside. When you bring them back in, the best option is to pop pup into their bed area, preferably a crate which is very confined.
During the day time, when you are home with pup, remove the toilet area from the crate and fill the crate with bedding. Pup is highly unlikely to toilet on their bedding.
After 5 – 10 minutes, take pup back out.
If you don’t confine pup when you bring them back in, they will most likely toilet on your floor.
4. **Repeat if Necessary:**
– If your pup doesn’t go, take them out again in 5-10 minutes and try once more. Repeat this process until pup does go outside.
This is time consuming initially, but pup will soon understand the point of being taken outside.
Puppies/dogs learn by habits. If your pup only gets chance to wee outside, the habit of weeing outside will become firmly entrenched in their brain.
Every time pup wees on the floor in the house, pup is starting to learn that as a habit, which then has to be broken and means training pup to go outside takes longer.
Puppy pads encourage a puppy to wee inside! You want puppy to take in all the cues of being outside. The texture under paws, the outside environment. All of these things will help puppy build the habit of toileting outside.
6. **Praise and Reward:**
– When your pup toilets in the garden, praise and reward them immediately with lots of praise and treats to reinforce the behaviour. Ensure you are right there, on the spot, to reward them promptly. If you are handfeeding your puppy, you can use their ordinary food for reward.
You have 2 seconds to reward pup, when they finish weeing or pooping, for them to understand what they are being rewarded for.
If you stand at the door and reward pup when they get back to you, you are rewarding pup for coming back (which is great), but not what you’re trying to achieve. Pup has no understanding that you are rewarding them for toileting in the garden.
7. **Use a Command:**
– Once toileting is going well, start using a command. I tend to just say ‘have a wee’, some people say ‘be busy’. It doesn’t matter what you say, just be consistent. You need to say this as your pup is in the act.
Reward them after they finish to encourage pup they’ve done the right thing and they will want to do more of it.
8. **Handle Accidents Calmly:**
– If an accident in the home occurs, stay calm, clean it up with a good pet deodoriser, and monitor the area closely. Unless you catch your pup in the act, there’s no value in putting them outside. Certainly don’t tell them off.
While you clean up, put pup in their crate so they don’t get into a game with you or get attention while you’re cleaning up.
9. **Nighttime and Alone Time:**
– Provide a small toileting area in your pup’s crate or pen for nighttime or when left alone for a few hours. A box as mentioned above, with sand/earth and a roll of artificial or real turf is the best option.
1. Set up a specific toilet spot in your garden, if you haven’t already.
2. Take your pup to this spot after play, upon waking, after eating/drinking, and every hour.
3. Use a training line to guide your pup to the spot and to be sure they don’t get distracted.
4. Praise and reward your pup immediately after they toilet outside.
5. Start using a command as your pup toilets, and continue to reward them.
6. Aim for no accidents on the floor.
You can find a diary sheet here to help you keep track of your pup’s toileting progress. Use this to monitor and identify any patterns where things may be going wrong.
Remember, building the right habits and patterns takes time and consistency. Stay patient and keep at it.
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