Housetraining a puppy is one of the main concerns of new dog owners and one of the very first things we teach our dogs.
A pup will have very few accidents and can be fully housetrained within a few weeks if trained correctly. If trained incorrectly, we make the housetraining process last months or years. In the worst cases, we unintentionally train our dogs to pee in the house, in their kennels or even on themselves.
Potty training a puppy can be overwhelming for someone who wants to do it right but does not have experience with a dog. Everyone has their own method of potty training, and unfortunately people still use old school techniques such as hitting the pup with a newspaper or rubbing her nose in her own poop. Lovely.
Tips for puppy housetraining:
1. Adopt a puppy or adult dog when you have time to train it.
When I adopted my mutt Ace, I knew I did not have time to properly housetrain a puppy. That’s why I adopted an adult, housebroken dog. This might be a good idea for you too if you work long hours or can’t take some time off when you first adopt your puppy. It will take a few weeks to fully housetrain a puppy, and that’s being optimistic.
A dog left unsupervised in a new area will pick up bad habits. If no one is there to show the dog how to act, she will do whatever makes sense for her at the time. At the very least, you should be able to run home during your lunch break and also hire someone to let the dog out twice a day while you are gone during those first few weeks.
2. Use a kennel.
A kennel works extremely well for housebreaking. A puppy will not want to go to the bathroom where she sleeps. It’s possible to have a puppy that never has an accident in the house if you use the kennel method and supervise the pup at all times when she’s out of the kennel. I believe in this method 100 percent and will never housetrain a puppy any other way. The only exception would be an adult dog that has some kind of irrational fear of being crated.
It works this way: Crate the dog whenever you can’t supervise her such as at night or when you are not home. Take the pup outside right after she gets out of her kennel and she is almost guaranteed to go.
Most pups learn to love their kennels if they are fed in their kennels or offered treats and goodies to chew.
Unfortunately, I have seen a case where puppies were left in their crates for up to 14 hours at a time. This owner unintentionally trained her puppies not to care if they went to the bathroom in their kennels, on their own beds or on themselves.
I expect this owner to eventually give up on her dogs, and if the dogs are lucky enough to get new owners, that person is going to have a terrible time re-training them. No dog naturally wants to pee where she sleeps, so this is a very sad situation.
3. Use a phrase like “Let’s go outside.”
That way the pup has a word associated with the action and knows what to do. With Ace, I use the phrase “Hurry up.” He pees on command. 
4. Ignore the mistakes and reward what she does right.
Positive reinforcement training is used by dog trainer Paul Owens and many others. It works wonders during housebreaking. If you catch the puppy squatting inside, pick her up and plop her down outside. If she goes to the bathroom outside, give her lots of praise.
5. Reward with treats!
If your dog pees outside, give her something she loves like a jerky treat. Be very generous with the praise and rewards when she goes where you want her to go.
6. Keep your dog leashed or near you at all times.
When you are in the house and your pup is not in her kennel, keep her on the leash. That way if she goes to the bathroom in the house, at least you can catch her in the act. She’ll be near you at all times and it will be more obvious to you when she shows signs that she needs to go.
7. Watch for circling, nose to the ground and squatting!
Once you see this behavior a few times, you’ll know when it’s time to hurry outside. Learn to predict these behaviors so you can bring your pup into the yard before she has a chance to go inside.
8. Keep your dog on a routine.
Let the pup out a few minutes after she eats. Let her out after she wakes up. Let her out when she comes out of the crate. Let her out every time you come home, etc. Don’t give her a chance to screw up! Basically, take your puppy outside every hour at first.
9. Take your pup to the same area every time.
I recommend using an area right by your door where it’s most convenient to bring your dog. Keep her on the leash so she can’t run off and play. Bring her to the same spot every time and she will realize what she is supposed to do.
10. Don’t play outside until the dog has relieved herself.
Play in different areas than where the pup goes to the bathroom so she can associate going to the bathroom in one spot and playing in another. She’ll probably want to play as soon as she gets outside, but make sure she “does her business” first. That’s why you took a trip outside.
Things not to do when housetraining a dog:
1. Lose your temper.
Your pup will have accidents. Multiple accidents. But an adult dog might have accidents too, especially if the dog was never properly housetrained in her previous home. Yelling will just scare the dog or make her more nervous. A nervous dog will have more accidents.
One of my adult foster dogs had an accident in the house. Instead of yelling at her, I realized I should have taken her out more often because she was confused about where to go in a new environment.
2. Rub your dog’s face in her poop.
Come on! This is abusive, and the dog will have no idea why you’re doing it.
3. Punish your dog.
The only time to tell the dog no is when you catch her in the act. Even then, I wouldn’t make a big deal out of her mistake. Just quickly hurry her outside and make sure to watch her better from then on.
If you yell at your dog even seconds after she relieves herself indoors, she will have no idea why you’re yelling at her. She might appear to “feel guilty,” but that’s because she knows you’re upset.
4. Believe your dog is trying to get back at you.
That is giving your dog way too much credit. Don’t humanize your dog. She is not peeing on your rug or in your bed or on your shoes to get back at you for anything. She’s doing it because she’s a puppy and either could not hold it or is still learning.
5. Use puppy pads, indoor grass for dogs or any other indoor bathroom.
Puppy pads and other products create an unnecessary step in house training. They create more confusion for the dog, and many dogs will think it’s OK to pee on pillows, rugs or blankets because they are similar to puppy pads. Don’t even use newspapers for an indoor dog bathroom.
The only exception might be if you are trying to housetrain a puppy while living in certain apartments. If it’s not possible to be running outside often and quickly from your 12th floor apartment, puppy pads might be your only option. This would be reason enough for me to adopt an adult, housetrained dog.
6. Expect the dog to be perfect.
There is no perfect dog, and most dogs will have accidents.
7. Assume an older dog is potty trained.
Even a potty trained adult dog might have an accident in the house just because she is in a new area and confused about where to go. But some adult dogs were never housebroken and you will be the one to train them. It will be harder to train an adult dog than a puppy, but you can use the same steps.
8. Hit your dog.
A rolled up newspaper? Really? Hitting your dog cause her to be scared of you, to run from you or to feel confused.
9. Expect your dog to hold it longer than physically possible.
If I were locked in a small area and had to go to the bathroom, eventually I would go. Don’t have unfair expectations for your dog. Puppies can’t hold it for more than a few hours. There is also a small percentage of dogs that have medical issues causing them to urinate more often than the average dog.
10. Feel guilty about kennel training.
I hardly ever put Ace in his kennel. He is fully housebroken and doesn’t get into trouble when left alone. He has free range of the house when I’m gone, even if it’s all day.
Would we have gotten to this point without a kennel? Probably. But I like to look at a kennel as a tool for future freedom. Because Ace stayed in his kennel whenever I left for the first few months, he did not pick up any bad habits and today he has freedom and trust.
Ace did not learn to chew my things or to get away with peeing in the house. Instead he learned to appreciate some down time while feeling secure and knowing I would return.
It’s been a very long time since I potty trained a puppy. Do you have any other suggestions?
Pictured is my parents’ springer spaniel named Sophie.
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August 25th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Fantastic!! As always, great advice. It’s just so, so important that folks know what the heck to do about this. It just takes time and patience. I think the most important tip is #1!! Thanks Lindsay, Bonnie
August 25th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Great tips! Losing one’s temper, hitting, and rubbing the nose in poop are definitely bad ways to train!
Patience is probably the MOST important thing to remember. I’m always one to run the dog outside if I catch them in the act. I didn’t have to train Gus since he was an adult but I just had to get him over his “new house” issues.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Great post! I have been meaning to adopt a puppy for a long time now but always been hesitant as I work full time and do not think it is fair on the new pup to be alone at home – many of my friends think I am overanalyzing the problem but thanks, you have re-enforced my beliefs!
August 26th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Thank you Bonnie and Apryl! I went with an adult dog because I knew I did not have time for training a puppy at the time. Training an adult dog with other issues is hard enough!
Hey Sweta! Perhaps you could adopt an older dog that would fit in well with your lifestyle. There are plenty of older, calm dogs out there. You just have to be patient and wait for the right dog.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Puppy training can be fun.
What a rewarding feeling you get from accomplishing something with your beloved mutt.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
You’re right. Done wrong it can take super long to get a dog house trained.
I recently worked with a client whose dog was 5 years old and still having accidents daily. Best to put in the effort at first and avoid years of problems.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
What’s the biggest mistake you see people make?
August 30th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Great advise! What happens when you dog goes backwards (meaning she has been potty trained) and every time you leave she messes on the floor? When I get home she looks at me with the cutest eyes I can’t possible get mad. I want to avoid crating her. I just don’t know what to do!
August 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Crate her, unless it is a matter of her not being able to hold it. If that’s the case, then don’t leave her as long or come home during your lunch breaks to let her out. Or, hire a dog walker.
If you crate her just for a few months while you are gone, you can probably break this habit so it won’t be an issue for life. The longer you tolerate it, the more likely you are going to have this problem for a long time and the harder it will be to break.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:59 am
The biggest mistake, without any doubt, is people give their dogs way too much freedom (ability to roam without being watched 100%) way before they are ready for that freedom.
That freedom may be while they are home and they allow the dog to sneak off or it may be while they are gone and they allow the dog to roam before the dog has earned that right.
There are several issues with any house training problem but this is the exact same issue that I have seen in 100% of the cases with my clients.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:52 am
Yep, that is what I figured. People need to understand that confining a dog for the first few months or years will allow more freedom for the dog later on.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I hear stories about people getting frustrated with leaving the house with a puppy alone, and coming home to a mess. The biggest mistake is, they’ll then use the crate as punishment which doesn’t help correct the behavior. Instead, everything just repeats.
This is a great list of Do’s and Dont’s.
September 4th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Yeah a kennel should not be a punishment. Instead the dog should be conditioned to view the kennel as a good, relaxing place full of treats.