Picking up your puppy is probably the most exciting part about puppy raising, but as soon as all the cuteness has warn off (actually some of the cuteness will wear off the first time he piddles in the house) one of the first things you will think about is How To Potty Train A Puppy.
When we first started raising guide dog puppies over five years ago we received a guide dog puppy manual on how to train a puppy. As guide dog puppy raisers we follow all the rules and puppy training guidelines outlined in our puppy manual and when it comes to potty training our puppy we simply turn to page XX in our manual and follow the instructions on how to potty train a puppy. So today we’re going to discuss how we go about potty training puppies.
How To House Train A Puppy
Here are some of the basics we are given on how to potty train a puppy from our guide dog puppy training manual:
House training is obviously one of the first things you’ll want to teach your puppy. If done properly, house training is not difficult. The key is to be consistent. Never allow the puppy to be unattended or out of your sight. If you are unable to do this remember to use confinement as a means of prevention. Keep your puppy on a schedule. Feed him at regular times and always give him a chance to relieve himself right after being fed. Using a designated area in your yard, let your pup have plenty of time (fifteen minutes) to relieve itself. Encourage the puppy to go by using words such as “Get Busy”. (That is the command used at GDA). When the puppy has done his business, praise him lavishly. A good rule of thumb to follow is to give your puppy a chance to relieve himself at a minimum of these times:
- First thing in the morning.
- After each meal.
- After a nap.
- After playtime.
- Right before you and your pup retire for the night.
Remember your puppy should always relieve on leash. It is important to train the puppies to relieve on leash in a variety of surfaces (grass, gravel, cement etc…)
The moral of the story? It’s important to train your pup to pee on a variety of surfaces and all of our guide dog puppies have learned to pee and poop on cement, grass, gravel, rocks, wood chips, dirt, and any other place you might imagine.
How To Potty Train A Puppy
More Potty Training Tips One of the great things about being a guide dog puppy raiser is the incredible network of knowledgeable puppy raisers and guide dog trainers we have at our disposal. Some of the members in our Orange County group have been guide dog puppy raisers for 20+ years and have raised a dozen or more puppies. I guess we’re relative neophytes as Dublin is only our third puppy in training and this is only our fifth year as guide dog puppy raisers. As guide dog puppy raisers we are required to enroll our puppies in a minimum of one Puppy Kindergarten and one basic Dog Obedience Training class. One of the first questions we are asked at Puppy Kindergarten is how are you doing with potty training your puppy? Even our most experienced puppy raisers will still sometimes have questions on how to potty train a puppy. Here are some of the puppy training tips and hints I’ve learned over the years when working on potty training with my own puppies: 
- Keep an eye on your puppy – We learned pretty fast that it’s important to keep a constant eye on your puppy. Use puppy gates (same as baby gates), tie downs, and leashes to make sure you can always see your puppy. If you see him start to sniff around, circle, whimper, or squat then quickly scoop him up and take him out to his designated potty place in the yard. Give him a ton of praise when he potty’s in his spot. It’s important to keep your puppy under constant supervision not only for potty training purposes, but to keep him out of trouble in general. We’ve found many a chewed up shoe, cell phone, remote control because we didn’t keep a close eye on our puppies. This can be both costly and dangerous for your puppy.
- Keep a puppy potty schedule- If you keep a puppy potty schedule you’ll notice your pup can be fairly predictable with his potty times. We just use a sheet of paper and write down every time our puppy potty’s (you’ll start to notice trends on your puppy’s potty schedule). Here are a few potty times that should automatically be on your schedule.
- Your puppy will always need to go potty shortly before and after eating or drinking water. We feed our pups twice a day at specific times which helps control the times they go poop.
- As soon as your puppy wakes up. Puppies almost always go potty right after waking up.
- As Linus’s dog trainer used to say: “Play makes pee!” It seems as though every 10 minutes or so your puppy will pee when playing.
- Be Consistent – stay free from variation. Stay consistent so your puppy knows what you want him to do. Be consistent by taking him out the same door to the same potty spot. Be consistent with your puppy potty schedule. Be consistent with your puppy’s feeding schedule. Be consistent and make sure everyone in your household abides by the same puppy potty training rules. If you do not stay consistent then it will take longer to potty train your puppy.
- Be Persistent - continue firmly with your potty training your puppy in spite of any difficulty. At times it may seem like your puppy just does not get it, but don’t waver and be persistent. It took our Aussie mix, Linus less than 2 weeks before he was potty trained. It took about 6 months to fully trust Stetson with his potty training. Stay persistent!
- Be Patient – defined as the ability to suppress annoyance…puppies are adorable, but they will also test your patience. Try to remain calm and don’t get upset with your puppy. It takes time to potty train a puppy. Be patient and you will be rewarded
- Praise Your Puppy – The most important thing when we raise our guide dog puppies is to give them tons of praise every time they do something right. Don’t forget to give your puppy a ton of praise every time he goes potty in his designated potty area. This will help reinforce the behavior with your puppy.
- Crate Training Puppies – we crate train all of our guide dog puppies in training. Many people feel like crate training is like imprisoning your puppy. However, crate trained puppies enjoy the safety and security they feel when in their crate as they will find it much like their den had they lived in the wild. In fact, many of our puppies in training have grown so accustomed to their crates that they will often go to their crates and sleep any time they are tired. Crate training is great for potty training as it’s your puppy’s natural instinct not to potty where he sleeps. For more information on crate training check out our page on crate training puppies. For starters here are a few basics on crate training:
- Place the crate in your bedroom where the puppy can still see and hear what is going on.
- Put a blanket or towels in the crate for bedding. A pup will rarely soil the crate, however, if he does, try removing the bedding.
- A crate should not be too big, but large enough for the puppy to stand, stretch and turn around.
- When placing the puppy in the crate, use word “kennel” or “kennel up”.
- If he should happen to fall asleep somewhere else, pick him up and place him inside and quietly shut the door.
- Don’t use the crate for punishment.
- Take your puppy outside to potty before putting him in the crate.
- Take your puppy outside to potty as soon as you take him out of the crate.
Puppy In Training TVEpisode 2 reviewed several puppy training basics including a short clip on taking your puppy to his potty spot (approximate 2:15 in the clip below).
Check out our other Puppy In Training TV episodes. If you’re interested in sponsoring an episode please let us know by sending us an email through our contact form.
DO NOT RUB YOUR PUPPY’S NOSE IN HIS ACCIDENTS!
We need to reiterate…Do not Rub Your Puppy’s Nose In His Accidents! Do not hit your puppy for an accident! Do not punish your puppy if you find an accident! Never punish your puppy after the fact. Your puppy will think you are punishing him for whatever is happening at the time of the correction. Your puppy will not make the connection that this is an area that he previously soiled and that is why you are punishing.
Puppy Clean Up
If your puppy pees or poops on the floor or carpet make sure you clean it up immediately (I’m sure I really didn’t have to say that). However, if your puppy smells the pee or poop on the floor then he will return to this spot to pee again. In order to remove all the stain and order we like to use an enzyme-based remover like Nature’s Miracle. Nature’s Miracle claims to permanently eliminate all stains and odors even urine odors other products fail to remove. We’ve used Nature’s Miracle with all of our puppies and have found it to be very effective.
One final note…always remember to bring some dog poop bags when you’re out on your walks. One of our biggest pet peeves is the person who does not pickup after their puppy. It’s bad for the environment and for some reason the bottom of my shoe seems to always find the dog poop that was left behind. I hope this little guide helps you with your puppy potty training basics.
If you have any questions about how to potty train your puppy then please feel free to leave us a comment in the comments section below. If you want to read more great puppy training tips then please subscribe to our blog at any one of our channels(or if you’re slightly more daring all or our channels): Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS, Newsletter.
very helpful
Some great tips and links, thanks
I normally do not do this because I hate giving out my email but I had to this time. I am so happy I stumbled across this website!!!! I am ready and even more excited to train Sophee! I have been doing most thing you said here except for keeping her on a schedule. So I will have a paper ready. I want to write so much but I am not I and just going to say thank you thank you thank you!!!!
@Tisha, thank you for leaving a comment. Hopefully our experiences as puppy raisers will help you train Sophee. If you have any questions please let us know. Best of luck with your Puppy Training!
Yes thank you for posting all this information – love the puppy tv! We are presently in the process of adopting a non-qualifying guide dog here in Canada. I know I will be back to this site for more information in the future. Can you post updates on how Dublin is doing with his training? My kids and I have been talking about him since watching all the episodes this weekend!
@Diane, I’m glad you and your kids enjoyed Dublin’s videos. We actually have a few more episodes to post and will get those up on the site in the next couple weeks. We recently returned Dublin to the Guide Dog school for his formal training. This will last about six months. Over the next six months Dublin will send us post cards updating us on his progress. I haven’t received my first post card yet, but when I do I’ll share it here on the blog. Until then I’ll make sure I get working on his last few Puppy In Training TV videos. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me through our contact form at http://PuppyInTraining.com/contact/ or just leave us another comment in the comment section of this post. Take care and keep us updated on how things go with your guide dog puppy in training.
Hi Colby,
I have a question about potty training my guide dog puppy in training. He’s 3.5 months old and I just got him this Sunday. They forgot to include the handbook and I’m waiting to receive it in the mail. Until then I’m hoping you can help me out. I live on the third floor of my apartment and as you can imagine it’s very hard to make it down to the first floor in time. I also feel like the scoop and sprint down three flights of stairs method has a great potential to become an accident much worse than potty on the carpet. Plus he usually forgets he needs to go by the time we reach the bottom of the steps or he’s gone somewhere along the way down. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!
@Paulina, what school are you raising for? You should call your schools puppy training department to get advice on exactly how they want you to handle this situation. I think depending on the guide dog school they may want you to handle getting your pup down the stairs in different ways. By the way, has he had any potty training up to this point?
One thing I’d recommend you try is keeping a potty log and be strict about the times you are feeding your puppy. This should give you a good idea of your pups potty habits. Hopefully over time you’ll be able to predict approximately when your puppy is going to potty. When you get him down to his potty spot I’d wait at least 5-10 minutes for him to potty. If he forgot he should remember after 5-10 minutes. Also, we always use the command “Get Busy” with our pups when it’s time for them to potty. All of my pups have learned this command and will always potty even if it’s just a little bit. This makes me feel better before entering a public place like a shopping mall or restaurant.
As I mentioned the best thing would be to contact your guide dog school as I believe each school handles things a little bit differently. Good luck!
By the way, are you attending University of Arizona? That’s my alma mater!
Thanks for the fast reply!
I’m working with Guide Dogs of the Desert International. I don’t think GDDI worked with him much before I got him. They use the “get busy” command as well. All they told me was to take him out on a leash, praise him when he goes saying get busy, and go right back in. He usually goes potty about 10 minutes after drinking, but sometimes he’ll go right after drinking. This morning he started going potty and poopoo before he even finished his meal. Which makes no sense since he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink and was taken out about an hour before. We went on a walk right after this and he stopped to go number 1 and 2 again in the middle of the walk: just stopped in the sidewalk and went. It’s kind of hard to time his poop schedule because he just goes whenever he feels like: sometimes it’ll be right after he eats and sometimes he won’t go for hours. He’s doing pretty good with everything else. He’s crate trained now and doesn’t cry unless he needs to go to the bathroom. He walks by my side and sits or lays quietly whenever I stop or sit down. Overall he’s great. I have high hopes for him!
Yes, I’m currently attending U of A. Go Wildcats!!
It sounds like things are going pretty well. When the pups are real young they do go potty at unpredictable times. I’ve experienced pups going pee outside then coming right back into the house and peeing again. It can get frustrating. Try to stay consistent with your training. Puppy raising definitely tests your patience. As I mentioned try to keep a potty journal and eventually you’ll notice trends of when he goes. It will become more predictable as he becomes older.
I haven’t been back to Tucson in a while. I hope you’re having fun at school. Best of luck with your puppy!
I have a few questions about potty trainning my puppy. Well she is 12 weeks old and she still has not know where the pee pad is. We have a big play pen for her that has her bed toys food and pee pad in it. I find when she is in this play pen she goes on her own but when we let her out she goes on the floor and carpet. I am wondering why this it? Why is it that she goes where she has to when she is in the play pen but when she is out of the play pen she forgets where she has to go so she goes on the floor. I am hoping to remove the play pen and just have her pee pad there so when she has to go she knows where to go. But I don’t know when that will happen cause she is still having accents.
Serena
@Serena, the best thing to do is to consult your local dog trainer or veterinarian to see first hand the exact problems you are having with your puppy. However, here are a few things we’ve done with our puppies…
Your puppy is pretty young and probably doesn’t know where to go when she’s outside of her play pen. One thing we do whenever our pups have accidents in the house is make sure to thoroughly clean the spot with an enzyme cleaner like Nature’s Miracle. If your puppy can smell the urine or poop she’ll want to go back and potty in the same spot.
If your puppy knows to go on the pee pads in her play pen then that’s a good start. However, since she does not know what to do outside of her play pen you have to show her what to do. Make sure you constantly supervise her outside of her play pen and take her to her potty spot (the pee pads) after every meal, any time she wakes up, right before you put her to bed, during and after playtime, and if she’s showing signs that she has to potty (sniffing around, circling). Make sure you give her tons of praise any time she goes potty on her pee pads so she knows that’s the right place to go. If you catch her in the act of going pee/poop in the house then try clapping your handles to startle her then immediately take her to her potty spot. Give her tons of praise if/when she goes on her pee pads. If you ever find she had an accident in the house, but you didn’t catch her in the act never do anything to punish her because she will not understand (this will just weaken the bond between you and your pup).
The fewer accidents she has in the house the quicker she’ll learn not to go in the inappropriate places in the house.
Hey Serena,
In addition to what Colby said, Petco has been having these free potty training seminars (and other free seminars and events such as puppy socialization) lately. Maybe you can call your local petco and ask when they might be having one or where the next seminar will be held. You could also always ask the trainers there and they’ll answer any of your questions. I just went to one on Saturday and it was pretty informational.
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I am getting a new puppy this up coming weekend and I was reading your articles, very helpful, and I now have a question. My husband and I both work 8-5 jobs. I can come home at my lunch break at 1 but Is 5 hours to long for her to be in her crate? She will be about 8 weeks when we get her. Also, we want to crate train her so do but we don’t want her to have to sleep in it. So, while training do we keep her in it and when she’s potty trained she can sleep with us? Any advice?
@Nicole, thanks for visiting our site. You should try consulting a local dog trainer to see what is best for your specific puppy.
We do not leave our 8 week old guide dog puppies alone in the crate for more than 2 hours (except at night for bedtime). When our puppies get older (6 months+) we do not leave them in the crate for more than 4 hours at a time (again except at night for bedtime). All of our guide dog puppies sleep in their crate at night. If it were me I would not allow an 8 week old puppy on the bed until she was crate trained/house trained and new the rules and boundaries of my home.
Hopefully that helps. Best of luck with your new pup!