Puppy potty training is the bane of many new dog parents. That is why there are so many tutorials on how to housetrain a dog, with promises of how it can be simple and effortless.
The fact though, is that potty training requires time, patience, and consistency. How simple or difficult it is, will depend on our dog’s temperament and our own temperament.
Some dog breeds such as the Shiba Inu, are naturally clean and are relatively easy to housebreak. My Shiba was housebroken when we first got him at 10 weeks old.
Shiba Sephy does not even like to eliminate in our backyard. Instead, he prefers to wait until we go for a walk. In contrast, my second dog (a Siberian Husky), was more difficult to housetrain because she did not mind frolicking close to her own waste products.
It took a few weeks to housetrain her.
Puppy potty training also depends a lot on us. If we are naturally calm, consistent, and patient, housebreaking will seem easier and require less work.
Whatever the case, always remember that we can successfully housetrain a physically healthy dog, at whatever age (after the weaning off process), no matter the history.
And that is a potty training fact!
1. Set Up a Schedule
Puppy potty training begins, by setting up a schedule. Initially, we want to bring our dog out often, and reduce the chances of her making mistakes inside the house.
I observe my puppy closely, and try to identify patterns in her potty behavior. For example, she usually has to go when she wakes up, and after a bit of vigorous play. Therefore, I took her out after nap-time and after every 10-15 minutes of play. Different dogs may have different patterns depending on size, temperament, routine, and more.
I stop giving her water about 2-3 hours before sleep time, and take her out right before I crate her for the night. If I need to reward her during that time, I only use moist dog treats such as boiled chicken, so that she does not get thirsty from them.
Fact – Dogs learn through a process called conditioning. They repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them bad results.
The more we reward a puppy for eliminating outside, the more she will repeat that behavior. When my puppy does her business in the backyard, I mark that behavior (Yes!). Once she finishes, I treat her with something special that she only gets for potty success, and give her some good affection. Then, I reward her more with play-time and her favorite activities.
Similarly, the more a puppy practices eliminating inside, on her own, the more she will go in the house. After all, it is convenient and nobody is teaching her that it is inappropriate behavior.
Therefore, we want to not only maximize the number of successes, but also minimize the number of mistakes. In this way, our puppy will learn that doing her business outside is extremely rewarding and fun. On the other hand, when she does it inside, she consistently gets interrupted and taken outside.
Myth – My dog cannot be housetrained because she comes from a stubborn breed, she is too stupid, she is too dominant, she doesn’t listen to me, she is too old, etc.
Any physically healthy dog can be housetrained. The key to potty training is patience and consistency. Always be around to supervise our puppy when she is inside. If I do not have the time to supervise, then I crate my puppy or put her in a long-term enclosure with puppy pads.
Myth: Screaming and hitting the dog will show her that I am boss and make her stop pottying inside the house.
Screaming and hitting a dog does not work well, and usually makes things worse. How well do you learn when somebody is screaming at you, or hitting you? It is the same way for a dog, especially a puppy.
The fastest way to housebreak our puppy, is to remain calm, and consistently let her know that going inside is inappropriate (Ack, ack), and going outside is appropriate (Yes).
2. Prevent Potty Mistakes
There are three ways to prevent mistakes inside the house:
a) Be there to supervise.
When our puppy shows signs that she has to go potty, take her outside right away. If I do not catch my puppy in time and she starts to do her business, then I interrupt her with a no-mark (Ack, ack) and take her outside.
Myth – I can potty train my puppy by rubbing her nose in it after the fact. She always looks sheepish and puts her head down when I shout at her. She knows she has done something wrong.
Dogs will only learn when we catch them in the act.
If we are not around and our dog makes a mistake, then we have missed a learning opportunity. All we can do is clean up the mess and move on. It is true that a dog may look sheepish when we shout at her after the fact. This is because she knows that we are upset, so she uses submissive gestures (e.g. putting her head down) to try and appease us.
The dog does not know what particular event has caused our anger, but just that we are angry. Shouting and rubbing a dog’s nose in her own waste does not teach her anything. All it does is confuse our dog, as well as create stress and fear. This can make things worse by causing submissive urination.
b) Crate train our dog.
Dogs do not generally like to soil where they sleep. Keeping our puppy in a crate can discourage her from pottying because she does not want to soil her sleeping area.
When I got my first dog, I was a bit concerned about crating him. Here is what the Humane Society of the United States and the American Dog Trainer’s Network have to say about crate training
Myth – A crate will magically keep my dog from pottying for any period of time.
The crate is not some magical cure. A crate discourages a dog from eliminating, but if a dog absolutely has to go, she has to go.
Keeping a puppy for too long in a crate, will force her to potty in the crate, possibly traumatize her, and greatly set back our potty training program.
The maximum crate time is dependent on the age of our puppy.
| Age | Maximum time in crate |
|---|---|
| 8–10 weeks | 30–60 minutes |
| 11–14 weeks | 1–3 hours |
| 15–16 weeks | 3–4 hours |
| 17+ weeks | 4–5 hours |
Maximum crate time from ASPCA Weekend Crate Training.
Note – this is just a general guideline for the maximum crate time. I usually take my puppy outside more frequently than that. I take her out as soon as she wakes up, and right after any heavy activity.
At night, I crate my dogs in the bedroom. Keeping our dogs with us in the bedroom will help with the bonding process, and show them that they are part of the pack.
When puppies are really young, they may not be able to hold their bladder throughout the night. It may be necessary to make an extra trip outside at night, or really early in the morning. Once they get a bit older though, this will no longer be necessary.
Some puppies, e.g. pet store puppies, may already be conditioned to eliminate in their crate, because they are kept in there for overly long periods of time. In such cases, a crate will no longer be a deterrent to potty behavior.
c) Put our dog in a long-term enclosure.
If I will be away for a long period of time, I put my puppy in a long-term enclosure. This can be a secure puppy pen, or a secure and safe room (e.g. kitchen).
Make sure there is nothing dangerous in the enclosure that our puppy can destroy and swallow. Put bedding, a water bowl, some puppy pads, safe chew toys, and safe food toys, in the enclosure. Put the pads in a corner as far away from the bedding as possible.
Instead of puppy pads, we may also use an indoor grass system.
However, some dogs may not like standing on or eliminating on the indoor grass surface. Just using regular sod or grass did not work well for me because of drainage issues. The sod gets smelly very quickly because there isn’t anywhere for the pee to go.
When I tried using sod, I had to change it every other day, or my puppy refused to go onto it. This ended up being a lot more work than just using puppy pads.
Myth – We cannot train a dog to potty outside as well as on puppy pads. She will get confused and not know what to do.
Yes, it is true that if we can be around most of the time to supervise, it is better not to let a puppy do her business in the house at all.
However, if we will be away for long periods of time, if our dog has separation anxiety issues (which may cause her to need to eliminate when we leave), or if there are other medical issues (surgery) that make frequent trips outside unfeasible, then it is perfectly fine to train a dog to both potty on pads, as well as outside.
Reward a puppy for going on his pads, and reward a puppy a lot more for going outside.
3. Clean Away Mistakes Properly
During the housetraining process, there will be some mistakes. When that happens, I calmly no-mark my puppy (Ack, ack) and take her outside. Once we are outside, I praise and reward her if she continues with her business.
Then, I leave my puppy in our fully enclosed and puppy-safe backyard, come in, and clean up the mess. Cleaning up messes in front of a puppy may sometimes cause her to mimic our behavior, and engage in eating her own poop. In her mind, she is only helping to clean out the den.
Use a cleaner that is made especially for pets. A popular pet odor cleaner is Nature’s Miracle.
Do not use ammonia based cleaners as the ammonia odor, which resembles urine, may attract our dog to urinate in the area.
4. Make Sure the Mistakes Are Potty Mistakes
Not all indoor urination is the result of housetraining mistakes. Other reasons for indoor urination include:
- Submissive or excitement urination.
- Medical issues, e.g. urinary tract infection.
- Marking objects or territory.
- Stress or anxiety, which results from being alone or other psychological issues.
Hi there! My husband and I own a five month old shiba inu. She was house broken at nine weeks, but since her spay-surgery last week, she has been doing her business in the house. We have been taking her outside and giving her rewards when she goes outside–but she still comes back in and maybe ten minutes later, she’ll go 1 or 2 in the house. Is that normal or do I need to retrain her? I’m really clueless as I’ve never had this happen with any previous animal that I’ve owned.
We have an 8 wk. old siberian husky (we adopted her 3 days ago) and a 2 year old Samoyed. We hoped that the Sib would follow our sammy outside and mimic her but that’s not the case. We take the sib outside every 10 minutes after eating or drinking and heavy play and still nothing. We are trying the puppy pad in the middle as well and the “puppy go” spray but still not having any of it. She can go hours and then just run run run .. pee.. run run run… OR we know she has to go to the bathroom b/c she’s circling and we take her out and she seems more concerned about her leash than going out. So we let her out to potty 5 mins at a time, twice … come in and then she goes. We’re good about cleaning up and trying to eliminate the smell in that area and I feel like statistically she should have went outside by now and a little frustrated that I can’t mark a good behavior if she’s never done it. Thoughts/suggestions are truly helpful
For potty training my Sibe puppy, the most important thing is supervision. I want to consistently prevent and interrupt potty mistakes in the house, and in order to do this, I need to watch my puppy closely all of the time.
I put a drag-lead on her (Only under supervision, and only with a regular collar. Absolutely no aversive collars), so that I can quickly interrupt and get her outside if need be. Management is key so that I can minimize potty mistakes in the house. The more my puppy goes in the house, the more she thinks it is ok to do so. Some people may also attach their puppy’s lead on themselves, so that they are always close-up and can easily interrupt and lead puppy out.
If I cannot watch my puppy for even 1 minute, I put her in a puppy enclosure with puppy pads. In this way, she either goes on puppy pads or outside. I do not let my puppy roam freely in the house, without very close supervision, until she is fully potty trained.
My puppy usually has to go when she wakes up, so that is when I take her outside. I go outside with her, so that I can reward her very very well with her favorite food, favorite games, and much, much, more. Consistency is very important with my puppy. I need to interrupt or prevent potty mistakes inside the house very consistently, so that she learns-
Potty in house = Always get interrupted and taken outside,
Potty outside = Bonanza of rewards, fun, attention, and much more.
I just LOVE your wesite! I am afirst time puppy parent, and though I have owned dogs before I still have so many questions. Even though your blog is for puppies and dogs in general, your experiences with huskies and shibas help me relate because thats exactly what I have! You have already answered many of my questions and calmed mny of my fears, so thank you sooo much! If you know anything about moving dogs abroad it would be a relief to me. I live in China but will be moving back to the states at the end of the year. I want to know what I need to prepare, and how to prepare my pup. Again thank you sooo much for al the information you have already given.
Thank you Chelsea!
I don’t have much experience with air travel and dogs, so I have asked a friend about it. She shows her dogs so she has done a bunch of travelling with them. Will let you know if she has some advice. 🙂
Hi there!
I love your website, you have helped us to have a calmer household with your training tips!
I have a situation that you may be able to offer guidance on. Loki is our 11 month old red, neutered male who is sweet and perky as can be! He was fully house trained at 4 months old and we had little to no accidents inside the apartment. We moved to a new state about 6 weeks ago. The move really stressed Loki out – messing with his digestive system and perkiness. His perky personality came back when we started unpacking but he only recently (last week) started eating and digesting his food normally. Our new home is 3 times bigger than the apartment we were in previously and it has a backyard, so that offers a lot more space for him to run around in! Unfortunately, he seems to have forgotten all of his house training. We can sit outside for close to an hour with him, take him inside, and then have an accident on the floor within 5 minutes! He has even started going poo on the front entry rug which has never happened before!!! He is outside a lot – we take him on walks, play outside, praise him when he goes potty outside just like when he was a puppy, and scold and put him into the “time out” room when he goes potty inside. We are at a loss on how to make things go back to how they used to be. We understand the move put a lot of stress and confusion on him, but we never though he would “unlearn” his house training. Do you have any suggestions?
Did he start this behavior right after the move? Did the previous owners have dogs or cats? Smells left behind by previous animals may encourage a dog to try to cover the scent. Does he do this more in certain locations in the house? At certain times? Does he do it more when he is alone? What is his daily routine like? Is it similar to his previous routine? Does the new environment have more traffic, dogs, noise, etc.?
My dogs do not fully transfer their potty training across different houses or inside locations. For example, they will sometimes try to pee in the vet’s office, training class, or pet-store. They may also pee while visiting inside a friend’s house, so I make sure to have them on lead and to supervise.
When I move to a new house, I repeat house training lessons as necessary. I *do not* use time-outs or any type of punishment for house training mistakes. With potty training, the behavior itself (peeing and pooping) is not wrong or undesirable. I am simply trying to teach my dog to go outside. More on how I potty train my dog.
Time-outs are most useful in situations where my dog is over-excited when seeking attention or interaction. I would not use it for potty training or stress/anxiety related behaviors.
The first thing I would do is to identify the source of the behavior. For example, is it a potty training issue, is it a physical/health issue, or is it a stress issue. After I identify the source of the problem, then I can take appropriate steps to fix it.
Hello,
I have a 9 week old Goldendoodle, and her potty habits are worrying me a little. By no means am I complaining, but she’s almost too good and I’m worried something might be wrong.
Every website I have read has indicated that puppies need to relieve themselves after 10-15 minutes after eating and also need to be taken out of their crate every hour or so in the middle of the night.
My puppy went 7 hours through the night without needing to go outside (she did not cry or bark and went right away as soon as she was outside). She also does not go potty when I let her out 15-30 minutes after eating. It has now been an hour since she ate and she’s just sleeping away (no signs of needing to go to the bathroom).
Is this normal and did I just get extremely lucky or could something be wrong medically?
My Husky pups didn’t go potty after eating either. They usually fall asleep and then they need to go when they wake up. Heavy activity and excitement makes them have to go too.
How often does your pup go per day? Does she drink pretty often? When I get a new puppy, I usually take her to the vet right away for a check-up to make sure that everything is ok, and to get advice on vaccinations, heart-worm medication, etc.
Hi, I have a 6 month old Siberian Husky. We kennel him every night for bed but lately he has been pooping in it. Every morning when we wake up to take him outside there’s poop. Did I do something wrong while potty training? Why is he doing it? What can I do to stop this? Thanks
How long have you had him? What did you do for potty training? Is he fully potty trained or are there mistakes in the house? Where is his kennel? Can he see you from his kennel at night? Does he vocalize, pant a lot, or show other stress symptoms while in his kennel? Is he eating and drinking normally? Is he playing and moving around normally? Is his poop normal? Did this behavior start suddenly? Did anything unusual happen when the behavior started? What is his daily routine like?
Dogs may sometimes poop because of stress and anxiety. There can also be other causes, which is why when it comes to dog behavior, context is very important.
Hello.
I have a 2 month old Siberian Husky puppy. I have been trying to crate train him. And he has been sleeping in the crate since the first night. But the thing is I have to sit nearby and wait till he falls asleep. Is that normal? Also we live in an apartment so how can I potty train him to eliminate in only one area?
Yeah, I slept nearby my puppy as well for a few nights.
With my Husky puppy I set up an enclosure with puppy pads. As soon as I see that she needs to go, I take her outside (or put her on the puppy pads) and give her the “Go Potty” command. I make sure to reward her extremely well with her favorite food, her favorite games, affection, and much much more when she does the right thing. Setting up a schedule, supervision, and everything else is as I have described in the article above.
Congratulations on your Husky pup! 😀
Hello i have a 2 month old husky, and so far it has only being hell with her. We r trying to potty train her to go outside and she does her business and we give her treats but as soon as we go inside she goes and does her business on the carpet or in the cage an then she lays on top of it. I can’t even trust playing with her inside the house because sout of the no where she will run away from you making your think she is going to get her toy but instead she does her business, and was soon as I take her outside she only wants to play and thee whol cycle happens again. What would you recommend to brake this horrible behavior?
How long have you had her? What is her daily routine like? Has she been to the vet for a check-up? Has she always gone in her crate/cage? Is she from a pet-store or online store?
In terms of potty training, the key with my puppy is very close supervision. I put a drag-lead on my puppy if necessary, so that I can keep her near me and can quickly interrupt her potty and take her outside if necessary. I do not let my puppy freely roam the house without very close supervision, until she is fully potty trained.
I observe my puppy carefully and take note of all her potty signals. For example, if she always tries to run away before she needs to go, then I take her outside as soon as I notice her showing this behavior. In the beginning, I err on the safe side and take her outside as soon as I see any possible signs. Sometimes, I am wrong, and she doesn’t need to go. However, this enables me to minimize mistakes inside the house.
If I am unable to supervise for even 1 minute, I put my puppy in a safe and secure enclosure, with puppy pads. In this way, she either goes outside or on the puppy pads.
I need to maximize successes for potty outside behavior so that I can keep reinforcing it, and reinforce it well. I reward my puppy extremely well for pottying outside with special treats that she only gets for potty success, fun games, attention, and much more. The more rewarding I make it, the more my puppy will be motivated to go outside because she gets to do her favorite activities and eat her favorite food.
At the same time I also need to minimize mistakes inside the house. The more my puppy goes inside the house, on her own, the more she will learn that it is also ok to go inside the house. Close supervision, management, and a fixed schedule are all important for potty training my puppy.
I describe what I do in much greater detail in the article above.
Hi, I am having a 4 month old husky. At the very first days, me and my wife let him sleep with us. However, we just built up a nice backyard for him with a big house and toys as we want to keep him outside. However, he follows me all the time and it is hard to leave him outside without barking and crying. So how do I teach him to know that he can come inside when we allow him to and stay outside without crying?
My Huskies love and need to be with people, so I let them come in or go out whenever they want. They enjoy people more than any dog-house or expensive toy. Truthfully, I also very much enjoy their company, so I like having them inside. 😀 Why do you need to keep your puppy outside?
As for alone time, I slowly get my puppy used to alone time by starting small and then slowly building up her tolerance.
http://shibashake.com/dog/separation-anxiety-dog-why-how-reduce-dog-stress#desensitize
Hi I just recently got a Siberian husky she is just a little over 3 months old. When I crate her at night or while I get ready for the day she whines the whole time. She also tries to bite her way out of the cage and I just recently notice she will drool prefusly. What can I do to help her stay calm while she is in her crate?
Thank you for the advise
Has she been to the vet? When I get a new puppy, I always bring her to the vet as soon as possible for a check-up. In this way, I can be sure that she is physically healthy, and I can also get my vet’s advice on vaccinations, etc.
Where did you get your puppy from? Did she previously have bad experiences in a crate? Does she only do these behaviors when she is alone? Where is her crate at night? During puppyhood, I crate my puppy in the bedroom with me at night. In this way, my puppy can still see me and be with me, and thus feels safe.
If she only shows these behaviors when she is alone, then it could be separation anxiety.
ASPCA article on separation anxiety.
With my puppy, I very slowly get her used to alone time. I start with very very short periods of alone time (e.g. seconds) and slowly build up from there.
I also slowly crate train my puppy so that she associates her crate area with positive events and safety. However, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and situation are different. When in doubt, I get help from a good professional trainer.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
I got her from a dog store and I have family that had gotten puppies from there as well. As far as I know she hasn’t had any bad experiences at least with me. She displays the bitting of the kennel and drooling when I am not there. If I’m there she will just whine and paw at the kennel. I keep her kennel in my bedroom right at the end of the bed. I have not brought her to the vet yet but do have an appointment set up. We have been working on create training and I always reward her with a treat or a kong with peanut butter but she is not a huge fan of that.
Yeah, some puppies have it rough at the pet store. Also, many pet store puppies come from puppy mills.
ASPCA article on pet store puppies.
As for the Kong I try to identify what my puppy enjoys most and I use those for crate conditioning. I like using frozen Kongs because it engages my puppy for a longer period of time, and she is usually happy to settle down for a nap after that. Sometimes, I put some sardines at the bottom of my Kong, then I put puppy wet food in, and freeze the whole thing. My dog loves sardines so it can help to give the Kong that extra umph, if necessary.
For alone time training and crate training, I make sure to start small and very slowly build up my puppy’s confidence and tolerance. Anxiety attacks and negative experiences will undermine my puppy’s confidence and significantly set back training. Therefore, if I need to leave the house, I get someone trustworthy to keep my puppy company. I try to set my puppy up for success and manage her environment so she is not exposed to situations that she is not ready to handle.