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.
Hey i have a 7 week old pomerainian poodle mix named mason that i got last night and he keeps doing his buisnes on the carpet…….he has gone on the pody pads and outside but hes gone on the carpet like 6 times……HELP PLEASE!! my mom is getting really mad at the fact that he isnt going on the pads and outside…..when i leave him in his enclosure he goes on the pads but when he is out he goes on the carpet.HELP!!! thank u!
Hello Sarah,
Congratulations on your new puppy!
It will take a while before puppy learns where it is ok to do his business, and where it is not. I got a puppy early last year and I was reminded that when it comes to puppy training, supervision and consistency are very important.
Whenever my puppy Lara was roaming outside, I make sure to supervise her very closely. If it looks like she has to go potty, I take her outside. In this way I can reward her well for doing the right thing. If I miss her potty cues and she starts to do her business, I interrupt her and take her outside. Then, I reward her if she continues with her business outside.
Having a very fixed routine also helps. For example, Lara usually needs to potty when she wakes up, and after rigorous activity, e.g. playing with the other dogs. I make sure to always take her out during those times. A fixed eating schedule will also help to keep potty time more consistent.
Hi,
We have a 21 month old Bishon/Pug/Shi Tzu cross that has always been most comfortable going to the bathroom in our front yard,or on a walk. We have allowed this since he was a puppy but this winter and last we have tried to get him to go in a fenced kennel. He adamantly refuses to go in the kennel on the rock/snow. He will hold his pee and poop for hours if he is not allowed to go in the front yard or when we take him for a walk. He also, when in the yard, will go from spot to spot until he finds the perfect area to do his business. How can we change this behavior? Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks,,,,
Hello Janis,
Based on what I have read, it seems that dogs prefer going on the type of surface that they were used to as a puppy. I train all my puppies on grass, and as adult dogs that is what they prefer to go on. My Shiba Inu especially will not go on concrete or rock.
Shiba Inu Sephy also has to find the perfect spot to do his business. I think it has to do with scent, type of surface, safety of location, and probably other factors. It also depends on the temperament of the dog. Some dogs are just more particular about such things. My Siberian Huskies, for example, are a lot more relaxed about pee and poop locations.
Sephy will pee and poop in the backyard if he absolutely has to, but usually he prefers to do it during walks.
Hi I have a 3 months old shiba with me for a week now. We keep her in a wired cage and place a lavatory inside for her to do her business. She only sleeps on the lavatory and hence she has a strong urine odor on her. Do you have any idea why she likes to sleep on the lavatory and how to train her not to sleep on that? From what I know shiba likes cleaniness and will not choose to sleep on the area she pees. Appreciate your feedback
How big is the cage?
When my Shiba was a puppy and I had to leave him home alone, I usually put him in a large enclosure. In this way, I can put his puppy pads far away from his bed. I can also give him safe toys to chew on and some water in case he needs to drink.
If there is too little space, then puppy just gets used to sleeping in pee and poop, which makes potty training a lot more difficult.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths#enclosure
Hello we.have a nine week.old shorkie and she will go pee and poop on the pee pad in the pen but she will not go on the pee pad in the den.
Hello Tyra,
In the beginning, puppies do not really understand what are acceptable places to pee and poop. We can teach them this by supervising them closely. When my puppy pees in the house, I non-mark her, and calmly take her outside. Then I reward her very well for going outside.
In this way, she learns that peeing outside = lots of rewards, attention, and a game with me. On the other hand peeing inside = she gets interrupted and taken outside.
Hi there Ceasar I enjoyed watching all of your tv shows about dogs.
I have a 5 month old chinese pug and i’m having a hard time potty training her
i put her outside and watch her but she does nothing she just wants to play and nothing else then as soon as i take her in she’ll go potty in the house sometimes on
the newspaper and the rest of the time not.I get frustrated with her cause she’s been going potty on the couch or anywhere that is soft.I do praise her when she does go outside.She is not a crate dog.Please help me, what do i do.Thank you.
Dear Mary,
I am not Cesar Millan. Here is Millan’s official site-
http://www.cesarsway.com/
I have been trying to puppy pad train my 4 month old puppy for over a month now and she is not making ANY improvements. I am at my wits end with her! She pees and poops EVERYWHERE! I keep her in a crate at night and during the day while im at work i confine her to a small area but when shes not in either of those places, she pees and poops on the carpet. I’m about to lost my mind! any advice???
Hello Stephanie,
I just got a new puppy earlier this year, so I had a refresher course in potty training.
My Sibe puppy Lara reminded me that the most important thing with potty training is supervision. I make sure to watch her *every second* she is roaming free in the house. There were a couple of times when I thought it was ok to just step into the kitchen for some bread – but puppy always decided to potty at exactly those times! 😀
Once I started watching puppy like a hawk, things really started to improve significantly. If I even need to step out for just 1 second, I put puppy in her long-term enclosure that has pads in it.
As soon as I see puppy start to circle and about to potty, I calmly take her outside and give her the “go potty” command. If she does her potty, I praise her very very well, treat her with a high priority item, and also play a fun game with her. In this way, puppy learns that when she does her potty outside, she gets lots of good stuff. However, when she does her potty inside, she only gets interrupted and taken outside.
Supervision and consistency were the two most important things when potty training my Sibe puppy.
Good luck and congratulations on your new puppy.
You have a really amazing website going on here.
I don’t have a Shiba, but hopefully you help me with my questions concerning my Westiepoo Terrier. I also don’t think you’ll see the last of me for a while.
I recently added a 2 month old Westiepoo Terrier to our family. He is now three months, and training has been a disaster. We have been training him to go on peepads(hopefully moving on to just newspaper soon) and we reward him whenever we catch him finishing his act. He sometimes goes on the peepad, and other times he doesn’t, but that’s not even the main problem.
I hope you can suggest something for my problem! Thanks so much (you’ll probably see me post again).
The main problem is that we are not home a lot in some weeks. We crate him for almost 8 hours on the days when we are not home, and I know that shouldn’t be allowed (but he sleeps for half the time any ways). He obviously then soils his crate because it is a long time for such a young puppy. As soon as we get home, we take him on walks and let him in the house.
I guess my question is what to do when we are gone and crating him? I know there is another method of taking him outside to do his business, but again it wouldn’t be 100% consistent because we are not always there. If he had learned to use the peepad more consistently or if we had some other method of training him, we would’ve let him roam the house instead of crating him for so long.
Hello Anonymous,
When I need to be away for a longer period of time, I usually put puppy in a long term enclosure. I put puppy pads in the enclosure, as well as safe toys, and bedding so that puppy can be comfortable in there.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths#long-term
Great info, but I have a unique situation I need some help with. We live in a harsh weather climate and have a pretty small breed so we cannot let her outside for the bathroom. We have “successfully” trained her to do her business on puppy pads in the basement, which she has free access to all day long (except at night when she is asleep in her crate). We have had her for 5 months now (from 2 months to now 7 months old) and in that time, she has twice gone an entire month without making a mistake, but then out of nowhere, starts to pooh (maybe half of the time) on the carpet nearby. After the first time this happened, we tried everything to stop her from doing that in the carpeted area in question…including making loud noises when she roamed into that area and spraying the area with vinegar to cover/taint the smell. We finally had to erect a barrier so she was unable to access that carpeted area. Once we did that, she went potty strictly on the puppy pads for another month (or more) straight and we thought we were in the clear. But this past week, she has picked another different carpeted area to use for half of her pooh business. Given where this area is in the house, we are not able to block it off. What do we do now?? Why is she doing it? We always give her treats when we see her doing it correctly, and never when she fails. And she has never peed anywhere but the pads, only half of the time with her poohs. What can we do? Is she mad about something and doing it to spite us? Please help!!
Hello Greg,
My guess is that she does not understand that she is not supposed to go on the carpet. She may have learned that she gets rewarded when she does her business in that general area, and not that she has to go on the pads.
Also, when my Sibe was recovering from surgery and using puppy pads, I noticed that she only wants to go on there once. If the pad is already soiled, she does not like going on there again, and does her business close to the pads. This can also be another factor.
What do you do when she makes a mistake? Do you catch her making a mistake while she is doing it?
Nah, dogs are not spiteful like that. It is just not the way they operate. Likely, she just does not yet fully understand where exactly it is ok to potty and where it is not. Dog’s don’t easily generalize the way humans do, so if we teach them not to go on one carpet, they may still think that it is ok to go on another carpet. That is why it is easier to teach them not to go in the house at all.
One thing that seemed to help with my Sibe is to set up a potty enclosure for her inside the house on tile floor. In this way, the place that she is supposed to potty is well defined. Then I put puppy pads inside the enclosure. I make sure to change the puppy pads as soon as she goes so that it is always clean.
When she makes a mistake, I non-mark her, interrupt her potty, and take her inside the enclosure. If she continues with her potty, I praise her, give her treats, and play a fun game with her afterward.
Hello and thank you for the info on this website, they are very helpful 🙂
I have a 4 month old Shiba Inu named Duke. me and my bf got him when he was about 7 weeks old. He was only crated for the first week and as soon as he learned to only pee on his puppy pad, we let him sleep with us in the bedroom . For the past 2 months he has never peed or pooped in the bedroom, which is also where we keep him when we leave for work during the day.
When we are home he behaves perfectly and sits by the door anytime he needs to go out which makes us believe that he is potty trained. last week, we decided to allow him into the living room at nights, which ended up in a disaster! The first morning he had pooped all over the living room 🙁 we cleaned it up, and placed a puppy pad at the place that he normally goes. this morning he had pooped all AROUND the puppy pad, but not on it… 🙁
How can we get him to not poop at nights? the last food he gets is usually around 7 pm and we do take him out a lot before bedtime. We really feel bad crating him, since he is just too nice and cute!!
I would really appreciate your help, since we don’t know what else to do 🙁
Thanks!
Hello Nikki,
Dogs generally, and Shibas especially do not like to soil their sleeping area. It sounds like Duke knows that he is not supposed to poop in the bedroom, but he does not know that the living room is also off-limits.
We could redo potty training exercises for the living room, but then we may have to repeat this for other rooms. For this reason, I find that it is easier to teach my dogs to just not go inside the house. In this way, it is clear – inside the house = no poop, outside the house = can poop.
The only way I know to potty train a dog is through supervision, or to keep the dog in a crate or enclosure, when supervision is not possible.
As for crating, my Shiba likes being in his crate at night. He was crate trained as a puppy, and it is now his routine to sleep in his crate at night. He goes in on his own, and sleeps all night. In the mornings, we open his crate door for him, and usually he will sleep in there for another hour more before he gets out.
The only time he does not want to sleep in his crate is on the night that he gets home from his yearly vet visit. I think he feels woozy then, and prefers to be by himself in the living room.
My Sibes like to sleep in the backyard during the hot weather. However, once it starts to cool down, they also prefer sleeping in their crates at night, in the bedroom.
Here are a couple of articles that I found to be helpful while I was deciding whether to crate Shiba Sephy –
1. Humane Society of the United States.
2. American Dog Trainer’s Network.