House Training A Puppy: What You Should Know

Getting a new puppy is a very exciting adventure. You have an adorable animal to wake up to every morning and spend all your time with. 

However, as much joy and love a puppy brings, your new furry family member can also bring a lot of work. You don’t realize just how much patience and dedication house training a puppy is until you’re woken up throughout the night to a whining pup who needs to pee. House training a puppy is undeniably difficult, but with enough patience and consistency, you’ll end up with a well trained pup and a loving bond.

The more prepared you are, the easier this process will be. Fortunately, we’ve compiled a guide with everything you need to know about how to house train a puppy.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the steps you should take to house train a puppy, how often you should take your pup outside while house training them, and other frequently asked questions.

• How to House Train a Puppy
• How Often Should I Take My Puppy Outside While House Training?
• House Training a Puppy: Frequently Asked Questions
• Final Notes

How To House Train a Puppy

When it comes to house training a puppy, it’s important to realize that they’re not going to be perfectly trained overnight. It’s going to take time and effort before you can confidently say that your dog is house trained. 

How long does it take to house train a puppy, you ask? It can take anywhere from 4-6 months for a puppy to be fully house trained, but it can take certain dogs up to a year. The breed of your dog will have an impact on their house training ability. For example, smaller dogs typically have smaller bladders, so they will need to be brought outside more frequently than bigger dogs. 

Your dog’s previous living conditions can also have an impact on their habits and how often they need to pee. These are all important factors to take into consideration when preparing to house train your puppy.

You don’t need to start house training your puppy as soon as they walk through the door. You can begin your house training journey when your dog is around 12 to 16 weeks old, as this gives them enough time to gain some control of their bladder and bowel movements.

A lot goes into house training a puppy. Being a dog owner is not an easy task, but it’s incredibly rewarding if you do it right. Below, we’ll discuss the best way to house train a puppy and the steps you need to take:

1. Create a routine

First and foremost: you need to create a routine. Just like humans, puppies thrive on regular, consistent schedules. This includes their feeding, playing, and bathroom schedules. House training your pup means getting them into the routine of things.

As a good rule of thumb, a puppy can typically hold their bladder one hour for every month of age. For example, if your dog is 3 months old, that means they can hold their bladder for 3 hours. This is important to know when creating the routine for your pup. Try to stick to this schedule or else you run the risk of them having an accident. 

 As you create your house training routine, keep these facets in mind:

• Take your puppy outside/to their pee pad frequently: Puppies have small bladders! They’re going to need to pee more than older dogs.
• Pick a particular spot: Choose a single area for your puppy to urinate/defecate. When you take them to go potty, take them to that spot every time. This instills in their minds that this is the only location where they can go to the bathroom and avoids the risk of them having an accident inside your house.

2. Leash your puppy

When you bring your pup outside to go to the bathroom, always put them on a leash. Using a leash can be beneficial; it helps your puppy learn it’s okay to potty on walks, which will be helpful as they age. 

Putting your dog on a leash when they’re being potty trained will also help them get comfortable with leashes, which is important for dogs for obvious reasons. A leash  keeps your dog close to you at all times so you can keep an eye on them. Leashing your pup also helps keep them from being distracted by other animals and outside commotion so they can focus on going to the bathroom.

3. Help your puppy focus on the task at hand

While your puppy is doing their business outside, let them be. Keep an eye on your puppy quietly; don’t interact with them, as this will help them potty faster. Wait until your puppy has finished eliminating his or her waste completely before engaging with them whatsoever.
It’s important to stay with your puppy while they’re outside, but don’t stay on top of them. They need to learn how to be able to do their business by themselves.

4. Offer play time

A crucial part of raising a puppy is playing with them. This includes right after they use the bathroom. Don’t confine after a potty break, offer play time. 

During playtime, they should be taken off the leash so they can run around and have fun. Bringing your dog back inside right after they use the bathroom shows that potty ends their fun. Giving them playtime right after shows them that going potty leads to fun. This will help train your dog to use the bathroom frequently and on schedule because they know that going to the bathroom means playtime will follow.

5. Reward your puppy for going potty outside

Similarly to playing with your pup after they go potty, it’s equally important to reward them. Praise your dog or provide them with treats immediately after they’ve finished going to the bathroom, and not after you come inside.

Rewarding your dog after going to the bathroom outside is crucial as it teaches them what is expected of them. They know that treats will follow, which will make them more inclined to always go outside to use the bathroom. Rewards can either be verbal praise, treats, or their favorite toy.

6. Feed your puppy on a regular schedule

Just like how it’s important for your dog to use the bathroom on a regular schedule, it’s also important that they’re fed on a regular schedule. Feeding your puppy at specific times each day will increase the likelihood they eliminate at regular times throughout the day.

Puppies are typically fed twice a day, but this will differ depending on how old your dog is. Regardless of how often you feed them, just make sure you do it at the same time every single day.