Simple Housetraining Basics

by Bailey Coldwell

Bringing a new puppy home sure can be overwhelming! I wanted to make a quick and simple blog post about housetraining starter tips when first bringing the puppy home. 

• Be educated on what your specific breeder was using for housetraining. For example, if the breeder was using pee pads, you can put pee pads on top of the new potty surface to help your puppy make the connection. Then remove the old potty training surface once your puppy is getting the hang of it.  

• Use the same cue every time. Here at BAXTER & Bella, we use the cue “go potty”. 

• Reward your puppy with treats during the day for pottying outside, and minimal praise at night. 

• Limit freedom inside. This is often my number one housetraining tip. Use the crate when you can’t be with your puppy, a pen while you are nearby, and a leash with you when the puppy is not in the crate or a nearby pen. 

• Interrupt accidents in an obvious, but not angry, type of way. An “uh uh!” or “nope” and then guide the puppy outside. 

• Bring your puppy outside frequently.

• Even short bursts of nonstop play can cause a lack of bladder control. Rotate between play, training, and downtime to help prevent accidents. 

• Don’t rely strictly on bells until your puppy is no longer having accidents. If the puppy thinks pottying inside is okay, they don’t put the extra effort in to let us know they need to go. You can still practice the bells, but you should be the one to bring the puppy to the bells until the puppy has learned that pottying inside is not what we want to do. 

• If you need to have your puppy potty inside due to vaccination status, and you do not have a private space outside for your puppy to potty in, I recommend not leaving a potty spot always accessible to your puppy. Set up a potty spot that you bring your puppy to frequently so your puppy understands how to potty on cue, learns how to hold it, and doesn’t have as many accidents due to too much freedom. 

• Use a leash or a playpen to get your puppy to potty in one spot outside, if desired. Limited freedom at first also helps with outside distractions. Even with a fenced-in yard, it is smart to teach your puppy to potty on leash, for future travel. 

• You should not need to be getting up over 2x a night with a new puppy overnight. Aim for 1-2 times at first (if needed) and getting up later and later each night.

• If your puppy is urinating only a few drops, needs to potty very frequently, has cloudy or bloody urine, excessive licking of the genitals, or the urine has a foul smell, consider the possibility of a UTI and bring a sample to the veterinarian. Likewise, if the puppy is having consistent diarrhea or loose stools, also check in with your veterinarian. 

• Once your puppy goes 5 days or so without an accident, start to add more time in between potty breaks and give slightly more freedom. Check out this blog post regarding moving forward with potty training: https://www.baxterandbella.com/post/moving-forward-with-potty-training-your-dog

We understand how important it is for handlers to teach their puppies not to potty inside. Don’t be too hard on yourself if/when the puppy potties inside. Instead, brainstorm how you will better prevent the accident next time. This blog post is targeted towards a new puppy, but know that any dog who is still having accidents (regardless of age) can gain success by going back to basics and practicing these tips. We hope this helps!