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.
What do you feed your husky for treats that they will not get anywhere else? I have heard they have sensitive tummys and I don’t wanna cause my little girl any discomfort, but I need to get her to go potty outside…. i also heard that sometimes feeding them treats to go potty won’t always work because they will only eat the treats when they are hungry for them. This has been the case with my puppy, she doesn’t accept praise or treats really. She just runs around being distracted by everything. Any advice on that? Thank you!!
With puppy Lara I used boiled chicken and dried chicken strips. In general I use treats that are mostly meat and has as few additives as possible. Another one that I sometimes use is the Innova EVO treats. All these are poultry based so only give to a dog that is not allergic to poultry.
As for type of reward it will depend to some degree on the dog. Both my Sibes are very food focused. I also make sure that they work for all of their food. My Shiba is less food focused so I use freedom and play-time as a reward.
For example, when he was young he would keep knocking at the door to ask to go out .We did not have an enclosed backyard then so I couldn’t just let him out. It turns out that most of the time he was only interested in going out to explore. Therefore, when he knocks at the door I would take him out on leash, take him to our potty spot, and say go-potty. I would wait for about 5-10 minutes. If he goes potty, I praise him a lot and then let him explore and also play a really fun game with him. If he does not go, we just come back inside.
Hello,
My bf and I just brought home a Shiba Inu last night. We took him out many times during the night (about 4 after putting him in the crate for bed time) but every time we took him out he would not go potty and would come back in and go in the crate. The pup is smaller than we expected so we are exchanging it for a much smaller one tonight. Do you have any suggestions to get him to potty outside? When we took he out we carried him from the crate to the spot we want him to go and said “potty”. The one time he did actually go I gave him a treat and praised him but that was only once. Are we missing some important piece of housebreaking information? I know it has only been one night but every blog says they hate going to the potty in their crate and our little guy will only go in his crate.
Hello Tara,
One possibility is to perhaps enhance the rewards he gets for going potty outside. For example, with my Sibes I usually treat them with something really good that they don’t get anywhere else. I also reward them with a fun game after they potty.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths
If the puppy is from a pet store or an online store, he could have become used to pottying in the crate because that was probably the only option open to him. I think with continued consistency and patience, he will learn that he does not need to do this anymore, but it is likely that breaking the habit may take some extra time and effort.
Good luck and big hugs to Shiba puppy.
I will soon be a new Shiba mommy and I’ve been doing a lot of research on crate training. My fiancé and I are running into one issue. We will be at work for about 8.5 hours during the day and we feel that is too long to crate the puppy (8 wks old). We have come up with 2 options and I would love to know your opinion.
Option 1- Gate off our galley kitchen for her during the day… She would have her crate, water, toys, and some potty pads since she will not be able to hold it for the whole day….
Option 2- I work in a very secluded area with woods and a small park so I was considering bringing my puppy to work with me and crating her for approx. 2 hour increments. This would only be on good to moderate (no snow or torrential rain but light rain is ok- my car is kinda crappy) weather days because I would have the crate in my car with all the windows down. She would have the opportunity to go for 4- 15 min walks (8:15, 11:00, 3:45 and 5:00) and 1- 30 minute walk (1-1:30) during the day.
I’m trying to do what is best for her and I know leaving her in the car is kinda mean but it would be a steady crating schedule. I feel like leaving her crated at home for 8 hours would be much worse and I think using the potty pads will result in more issues when we are home. I feel like she will consider that her potty place even though we will be taking her out often.
What are your thoughts?
Hello Meri,
Congratulations on your soon to be new furry family addition!
I agree. You are absolutely right.
In terms of the two options it is difficult for me to say since I have not seen either environments.
A concern I would have for option 2 is that in warmer weather, things may heat up really quickly in a car, and especially more so in an enclosed crate. Also, the Shiba puppy may try to entertain everyone at the park with Shiba screams.
The frequent walks sound really good but may be risky for such a young puppy. Before a puppy is fully vaccinated, she will be pretty susceptible to parvo, giardia, worms, and various other diseases that may be contracted by meeting sick adult dogs, or by smelling and eating their poop.
Solely based on what you say, option-1 sounds like a safer option. A possibility is to get a neighbor to maybe look in on her during the day and perhaps take her on a short walk just in the backyard? I think lots of neighbors will volunteer to spend time with a Shiba puppy. 😀
Another possibility is to hire a pet sitter a couple of days a week.
I have a three month old female Shiba named Pria and she barks A LOT. With previous dogs, spraying them with water stopped their negative behaviors like excessive barking, biting and chewing but Pria doesn’t mind the water at all. Is there any way to teach a Shiba not to do certain things? Also, as long as I take her out every 3-4hours, she potties outside. How do I teach her a way to let me know she needs to go? Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Hello Lee,
Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy!
Haha, yeah Shibas are very stubborn. With my Shiba consistency and patience were very important. If I lose my cool, he gets even more ill behaved.
I also follow the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free). This means Shiba must work for everything that he wants including his food, going outside, going to walks, and also for my affection. Before I give my Shiba anything, I just ask for a simple command that he already knows, e.g. Sit. This teaches him that the best way to get what he wants is to do what I want first.
Here are more of my experiences in training my Shiba, Sephy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-training-secrets
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
During puppyhood, I always took my Shiba outside through the same door during potty breaks. In this way, he learns that that is the potty door. Now, he just goes and waits there when he needs to do his business.
Some people also teach their Shiba to ring a bell when they need to go. Install a bell by the door and consistently ring it before opening the door for potty breaks. Shiba will catch on pretty quickly. I don’t do this because I know Sephy will just keep ringing the bell just to drive me nuts. 😀
Did you have any problems with Sephy after he was neutered? Kiba was neutered on Thursday and he’s had three accidents in the house since then. (One I think was because of the fireworks though!)
It’s not consistently happening and isn’t in the same place – the other suspicion I have is that we’re not letting him out when he has to go, but the problem with that is now that the nicer weather has come, he never wants to come inside! However, he barks when other dogs go by and bugs the neighbors, so we have to keep him in. I’m never sure if he is asking to go potty or just to play, so I try to gauge how long it’s been since he was out last.
He still goes all night in his crate with no problem, and doesn’t make a mess in his playpen if we leave him there a few hours while we’re out.
Wow, Lara just got spayed on Thrusday as well!
Heh, we had a lot of problems with Sephy after he was neutered but most of it involved the evil E-collar. There were no accidents in the house, but I did take him out a lot more during his recovery period, mainly to drain his energy.
One thing that I did notice with Lara after her spaying is that she needed to go out a lot more, especially in the first few days. I think this may have to do with the medications and possibly the anesthesia – perhaps the body is flushing out the stuff?
She is pretty much back to her normal routine now, although the hot weather also causes her to drink more and have to go out more.
Yeah, when Sephy was young, he would want to go out all the time. Frequently it was just to go look at people. Most of the time I would put a lead on him, take him out to his potty spot and give him the go potty command. If he does not want to go, I would wait a few minutes, then come right back in.
If he does his potty, I would praise him, reward him, and then play with him outside for a bit.
Big hugs to Kiba. Hope he is mostly recovered now. Did you have to put an E-collar on him?
Hi Colleen. I found your tips very helpful, but, I am still searching for a particular answer. Our 2 year old Boston Terrier has been a mess to train. We’ve tried just about everything, and when we think she has turned a corner, it’s back to square one. I have used crate training for my other 3 dogs, and it’s been quite successful. However, with Olive, it seems as though she goes potty in it, kicks it all around, and gets covered in it within a relatively short amount of time. Initially, I decided to keep at it, and wash her and her crate every time. After a month, it became too much. Any thoughts on this behavior? Thank you so much. -John
Yeah, that definitely sounds like a challenge.
Have you tried tethering her to you? That way, you can always keep an eye on her and as soon as she starts to show potty signs, you can quickly pick her up and take her out. Make sure to reward her very well for doing it outside so she learns that pottying outside means very good rewards. I usually give my dogs something really good that they *only* get when they potty outside.
Keeping a very fixed eating schedule also helped a lot while potty training my dogs. I usually give them more food earlier in the day, and switch to feeding them boiled chicken instead of kibble after around 5pm. This makes it less likely for them to need to go in the middle of the night.
I also try to get my puppy to poop at least once in the evening. After some running-around type activity, she is usually ready to do her business.
What do you do when she goes inside the house?
Hello, how are you? Hope everything is going well with the new puppy.
Recently, Reptar has decided it is OK to go to the bathroom in the house. At first, it was just #2 but today I came home to find both. He has not be crated since the “incident” where he chipped his teeth and bled significantly from his mouth and nose trying to escape. He did wonderfully for almost 2 months having the house to himself. He is not chewing anything, just going potty. Those are the only environmental factors.
We got him at 8 weeks and he had a few accidents but never really had to be potty trained so I don’t even know where to begin re-potty training an adult dog. Crating him during the day at this point is not an option. I watch him go to the bathroom in the morning so I think he is OK and won’t have to during the day, but to my surprise. Also, it is not every day. A few days a week generally. Any advice or insight on how to correct this? I saw him circling last night and immediately let him out (this happened a few times before bed) but I can’t be here to do this when I am not home.
Thanks!
Hi Colleen,
Great to hear from you! Things are going much better with puppy. Shiba Sephy has now accepted her and is actually having fun playing with her and serving as her chew toy. It is very good to see. I was worried for a while there that he was not going to enjoy a new addition to his pack.
In terms of the pottying –
1. A fixed eating schedule and fixed routine helps to keep the pottying schedule fixed as well.
2. One thing I have noticed with my guys is that they get thirsty after eating bully sticks. They usually drink a whole lot after this and then have to go pee soon after.
3. Putting in a doggy door is probably the easiest way to solve the problem. If that is not possible, then perhaps set up a potty area in the garage or similar area? That way there is a fixed area for him to go potty when he needs to. Also makes clean-up a lot easier.
4. Shiba Sephy drinks a lot more during the hot weather, and during these times he actually deigns to pee in our backyard. Usually he waits until his walks to pee. When it is warmer, I take him out more to do his business. A dog walker can be helpful during these times.
Hugs to Reptar! Glad to see that he is settling in to the new place. 🙂
Hello! We have a non neutered Shiba and we are clueless on how to get him to stop marking his territory in the house! We have had him for about 5 years now and we are unsure of his exact age… he was abused at the last place he lived and he also has a seizure disorder.
He pees on the couch and on the doggy couch… on the corner of our bed and sometimes on the kitchen chair legs. He has done it right in front of me too!! We also have an English White Lab (who is a giant baby!) that has never marked his territory – he is neutered.
I don’t know if it would be moot at this point to get him neutered. I have cleaned spots time and time again… and he still does it!! We are going to go out and get a kennel this weekend but I don’t know if that will help. He is a very independent little guy, very active and energetic also. He is very bossy and extremely dominating.
Any suggestions, please?? We are willing to do anything at this point…
Thanks!
Hello! I am very grateful to have run across your website. We have an English White Lab (6 years old, neutered) and a Shiba Inu (Unknown years of age, non neutered, seizure disorder) that live at home with us. We love them both dearly! I just wanted to ask and see… Our Shiba started marking in the house about 8 months ago ( I know… long time! ) and at first, he had urinary stones. Got those taken care of but now, he seems to think it’s OK to pee in the house!
It’s always on the same spot – corner of our bed (even when we are sleeping), both couches, and sometimes a kitchen chair leg. He is very dominant compared to our Lab, he always follows us around and has to know where we are at all times. He seems like he never sleeps! I know he was abused with previous owners, and that was about 6 years ago. I’m just baffled on what to do!!
We are going to get a big fenced in area in our kitchen and have it set up for both of them when we are gone. I’m unsure what else to do! I feel like we have tried everything, except crating. I love him and I refuse to give him up to anyone else. Multiple owner dogs always have a tough time 🙁
Let me know if you have any suggestions, VERY much appreciated 🙂 Your website is beautiful and so are your dogs!
Sarah