My Puppy Pees Outside Then Pees Inside!?!? Please, Stop The Madness!
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What do you do when your puppy pees outside then pees inside the house? Why does he have to pee twice…sometimes thrice in a matter of minutes!?
I already raised 2 puppies before I witnessed this phenomenon…or maybe I was somewhat oblivious raising and training Linus and Stetson (chalked it up as a regular potty accident)…or maybe I was more aware of what was going on (catching the potty accident before it happened).
Anyhow Derby was the puppy that introduced me to the wonderful world of “My puppy pees outside then immediately pees inside! What the heck!?!?“
QUICK TIP: If your puppy has an accident in the house it’s important to clean it up with an enzymatic cleaner so your puppy won’t be able to smell the potty spot and be tempted to pee there a second or third time. We recommend Rocco & Roxie Stain and Odor Eliminator for cleaning up potty accidents.
Shouldn’t I feel safe from potty accidents if my puppy already went potty?
Apparently, the answer to that question is a resounding “NO!!!”
If you recently brought home an 8-week-old puppy then you probably know what I’m talking about. The good news is you’re not alone.
This is a common puppy potty training problem, but the question now is why does my puppy do this and what can I do to prevent it from happening.
Look no further true believer (my inner Stan Lee coming out) as we present the solution to one of puppy’s little mysteries.
QUICK ACCESS: If you’re having puppy training problems then you should join our Puppy Training Tips email list and get instant access to our New Puppy Owner Checklist PDF. To get started CLICK HERE.
Why Does My Puppy Pee Outside Then Immediately Pee Inside The House?
If you go back to my posts on how to crate train a puppy and how to potty train a puppy (you should go through both of these articles if you haven’t already mastered potty training your puppy) and sift through the hundreds of comments you’ll find the answer to this question on several occasions.
Today, you get the blog post version of that answer with awesome pictures illustrating the madness.
Actually, I don’t think I have any good pics illustrating the madness, but maybe a cute puppy pic or two 🙂
The answer to this one is simple: Your puppy lacks bladder control.
Your puppy has only been in this world for 8 weeks.
What were you doing 8 weeks ago?
You are maybe hanging out with your friends, eating dinner, or having a drink.
This puppy was still in his mother’s womb 8 weeks ago and unfortunately, his bladder is not yet fully developed.
So what’s going on here:
- Your puppy finishes eating breakfast (we feed our puppies Wellness Core Puppy Formula) and you think this is probably a good time to give him a chance to potty.
- You take him outside to his potty spot and voila! He pees, you praise. Everyone is happy. Until…
- You step back into the house and immediately your puppy squats and another piddle underneath him. What the heck!?!
- Is this normal? Why did this happen? What can you do to correct this problem?
Let’s first start with:
Is This Normal For My Puppy To Pee After Going Outside?
Yes, this is totally normal. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This happens all the time as witnessed by ME with dozens of puppies to my resume and as written all over this blog by you: the READERS.
Why Did This Happen?
At 8 weeks of age your puppy does not have full control of his bladder. This means when you take him outside and he goes pee he does not always “get it all out” Almost as soon as you get him back in the house: squat, piddle, UGGHHH!!!!
A puppy not having full control of his bladder explains many of the puppy potty training mysteries.
Just think back to other accidents your puppy has had around the house.
Sometimes it’s difficult to predict potty accidents because your puppy doesn’t exactly know when he’s going to have to potty until that very moment.
QUICK RECOMMENDATION: If you’re having problems training your puppy we recommend Puppies for Dummies. This book will give you a solid foundation on how to raise and train your puppy. By the way, did I mention this was the first book we purchased before bringing home our first puppy, Linus?
What Can You Do To Correct This Problem?
The answer to correcting this infamous (if you’ve seen The Three Amigos then you know what this means) behavior:
After your puppy does his business outside you praise him and then give him another few minutes to make sure he “got it all out”. There’s a good chance he’ll piddle a second time. If so, rinse, wash, and repeat till he “gets it all out”.
Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!
While the answer to why a puppy pees outside then pees inside is not all that much of a mystery I think what we were all wondering is Is This Normal Behavior For A Puppy?
Yes, your puppy is normal.
The good news is as your puppy gets older he will have better control of his bladder which equals fewer accidents in the house and eventually “getting it all out” in one squatting.
This coupled with teaching him the proper place to potty will have your puppy house trained in no time!
QUICK RECOMMENDATION: We recently started training our puppies to alert us when they have to go potty by using a potty training doorbell called the Smart Bell. It requires a little bit of training, but it’s a good alternative to your dog scratching up the backdoor.
One last thing to mention. We have on occasion come across puppies with bladder infections.
If you think this might be a possibility you should take your puppy to your veterinarian for a checkup.
That’s it folks! What do you think? Did we nip this one in the bud?
Do you have any other puppy potty training questions?
Do you have any puppy potty training answers?
Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.
Before ending this article let me give you two quick tips to help keep your puppy from peeing outside and then again inside:
- As mentioned earlier, always thoroughly clean up when your pup has an accident with an enzymatic cleaner like Rocco & Roxie’s Stain and Odor Eliminator. Your puppy’s nose is thousands of times more powerful than yours and if he can smell urine he’ll want to pee in that spot again.
- Manage your puppy’s behavior 100% of the time and you will probably catch that second potty accident before it happens although it can be tough because I usually let my guard down after my pup pees outside. If you can’t watch your pup when you get back in the house let him get some alone time in his crate (we recommend the Midwest Life Stages Crates).
That’s all folks! Let me know if you have any questions.
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I just got a puppy few days ago, ive been doing the crate training for potty. This morning I gave him breakfast and water, I waited about 20 mins to take him outside to potty, he pooped and I praised him for that, I walked him around the yard a lil longer to see if he will pee, after just walking around and waiting for him to go, I decided that he didnt need to go yet. I brought him inside and placed him in his crate, 2 secs late he squats and pees a little in the crate, I got so mad I yelled at him “NO!”. How do I correct this? So that it doesnt happen again, he has been doin well going outside to potty and I reward him with treat and praise when he does.
In this situation I would definitely wait longer for your puppy to pee before bringing him back in the house. Also, I choose one spot for my puppy to potty and always go to that same spot in the yard. I don’t like to walk my puppy around the yard because he usually gets distracted and forgets he’s outside to potty. If your puppy had an accident in his crate then I’d check and make sure it’s not too big. It should only be large enough for your puppy to stand stretch and turn around. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!
8 week labradoodle this article gives me a little stress relief, so we’ve had our puppy a week or so now and having the same issues with 3-4 accidents a day, we called our breeder and he suggested to limit free access to water and to instantly take him
out after he drinks water , we pretty much have been taking him out every hour or two regularly it seems like we see him pee and he comes back in and pees more , is restricting the water normal and we live in florida we are concerned with dehydration
The guide dog school we work with recommends not restricting water because puppy’s can get in the habit of loading up on water when it’s available which can sometimes lead to more accidents and other issues. Also, it’s important that your puppy always reminds hydrated especially during the hot summer months.
I’m sorry but it was very painful getting through your puppy peeing in the house article.
All that you needed to sum that up is, your puppies bladder isn’t fully developed at 8 weeks and it’s normal for this to happen. Try keeping him outside a bit longer after he pees to make sure he’s done. Voila
Thanks for your response. I’m sorry I can get a little long winded when writing to my blog. I think your sum up of the blog post is great. However, there are a few other points I’m trying to get across:
1. This is normal behavior
2. Thoroughly clean up all accidents
3. Your puppy could have an infection
4. Puppy management is important
5. And of course your puppy’s bladder is probably not fully developed at 8 weeks
Also, I like to tie in some of my own personal story in my blog posts.
Wow! I’m so sorry that person felt the need to write that response. If she felt it was so awful to get thru she should have just quit reading and moved along. I have found your posts very insightful! It makes me feel better to know that my puppy’s not the only one out there doing this. Thank you for taking the time to help us out there needing help with our newest family members!
Thanks Nicole, I appreciate your response. I’m glad you and others find my blog helpful. If you have any questions please let me know.
We have two 3-4 month old puppies (exact age is foggy since they are rescues). One puppy has gotten potty time down pat with very few accidents. The other does not. We have done everything suggested in this article, but she still can’t seem to grasp it. We praise her and give her lots of treats when she goes in the front yard or the back yard, and give her lots of time afterwards for a second or third time. But she doesn’t seem to understand that inside is still a no. She will do it in the house without hesitation or warning us like her brother does. We aren’t sure what else to do. We use positive reinforcement only except for clapping and saying NO while she is peeing inside to stop her, but no punishing or more yelling. Just calmly cleaning it up. She doesn’t have a specific spot in the house either (we’ve made sure to scrub). It’s whenever and wherever. I understand that it can take more time to learn, but her brother has grasped it quite well and we aren’t sure what other method to use with her.
What works best for us is constant supervision and getting your puppy outside to potty before she thinks she has to potty. The more accidents your puppy has in the house the longer it will take her to understand where she’s supposed to go potty.
Hello! This post relieved some of my anxiety about my puppy. He’s 10.5 weeks old and I’m having trouble finding a direction for potty training until he’s vaccinated. I live in an apartment without a yard (I have a cement base balcony where I was take him for potty break, but I’m worried he will permanently associate the balcony with potty time especially since it’s where he currently gets exercise). Do you have advice of what to do in the meantime until I can take him out the front door to the common ground to potty train him? He’s having accidents inside even with a potty pad in his small play pen. He does fine in his crate (he’s had a couple accidents right after coming in front outside, my fault!), I had given him the play pen so he can play a little on his own while I’m working, but I’m thinking I should go back to him being in the crate rather than the play pen. I haven’t found any articles speaking to my specific situation!
Congratulations on your new puppy! Your puppy will start to associate the balcony as his potty spot. However, I wouldn’t be concerned. You can easily re-train him to go to the front door when your ready to take him to your front yard. Most puppies will have to be trained to go on a potty pad. If you’re using a play pen then you can start working on potty pad training.
I work from home with my puppy and I keep him on a tie down near my desk most of the day. If I need a little break then I’ll crate my puppy for an hour. I don’t use a play pen with my puppies, but it’s perfectly fine to use a play pen just make sure you work on teaching your puppy the proper place to go potty.
Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!
I appreciated this article! However, I still have a question.
Our 17 week old puppy is semi-potty trained. He knows to not go in house, and his communication is very deceptively quiet–he would just walk over to the front door and wait. Sometimes when we notice that he’s by the door a little too late, he would go right there. He doesn’t pee in his crate anymore, even when we leave him for the day and he holds his bladder and poop all night. So he DEFINITELY can hold his bladder. Yet, sometimes when he has just returned from outside, he would pee shortly after! For example, today, we let him out in the yard and saw him pee. Less than 10 minutes later, we have him inside, he goes to our stairs and pees right there! I said “NO!” and he quickly ran into his crate, waiting for us to close it because he knew he broke the rule. Still, he does it. How can we teach him to not do it again?
Congratulations on your new puppy! One thing we do with all our puppies until they are potty trained is keep an eye on them 100% of the time. We do this by keeping them on leash when indoors. If they show any signs that they have to potty we immediately take them outside. If your puppy is still having accidents in the house you might consider doing the same. While a puppy can hold his bladder in the crate it’s not fair to assume the same when he’s out of the crate playing. A puppy will mostly rest in his crate and not be active. It’s similar to when people sleep at night. It’s not uncommon for a puppy to potty again 10 minutes after the first time. Our current puppy has pee’d three times in 5 minutes. As I mentioned in the article I’ll keep my puppy outside at her potty spot for a couple extra minutes after she goes the first time outside. Also, when you bring your puppy inside you’ll want to keep a close eye on him if he’s awake. My puppy tends to pee every 5-10 minutes when she’s awake. Your situation does not sound uncommon. Just make sure to keep a close eye on your puppy throughout the day rather than give him freedom to roam the house as he pleases. One final thing to note: if your puppy is retreating to the crate after you yell “NO!” then it’s more likely you are scaring him rather than him understanding that he broke a rule. Good luck with your training!
I’ve had my pup since she was 6 weeks old. She is now 18 weeks old. She stays in her crate all night and holds it. Immediately whenever someone unlocks the crate she pees in it! Every time! We have yelled at her, put her nose to it, it doesn’t help. We always clean it up and take her out to finish. This happens any time day or night when we let her out of her crate.
Two things I’d stop doing immediately are yelling at your puppy and putting her nose in her potty accidents. These two things could be causing your puppy anxiety that are probably making things worse. There’s a chance your puppy is getting nervous and anxious before you let her out of the crate. Something you might try is make her successful every time you let her out of the crate. Try by only using the crate for a short period of time then letting her out. It could be as short as 5 seconds. Praise and reward her for being a good puppy. From that point you can increase the amount of time she’s in her crate to 10 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes etc…Also, try to be as calm as possible whenever you let her out of the crate. Good luck with your training!
We’ve never had a dog before but I had done endless research on training dos and don’ts, so you can imagine my delight when our 2 new female pups started heading for the door within a couple of days and doing their business outside (the odd accident inside), but now one of the pups is constantly urinating around the house. We take them out regularly and both will still pee outside and given lots of praise. I try not to give any type of attention when she pees inside but its not getting any better, both pups are 9 weeks old
Congratulations on your new puppies! 9 weeks old is still very young for a puppy and every puppy is different and will develop at different times. If you’re puppies are having accidents in the house you want to make sure you thoroughly clean up accidents with an enzymatic cleaner like Rocco & Roxie. The best thing we do when we first start working on potty training is constant supervision or confinement if we can’t supervise. Take a look at this post when you have a chance to give you an idea of how often puppies potty: https://puppyintraining.com/my-puppy-pees-a-lot-is-it-normal-a-puppy-potty-schedule/
I’m really happy I came across this article! I have a 10 week old female Bandog. She is super smart! She picked up on pooping outside the day we got her!! The peeing….it’s half and half. She will pee outside & then pee again inside. And if we see her sniffing we go immediately outside! The problem is sometimes her pee comes with no warning! When we see her peeing inside and we say “no!” She will usually head towards the door to finish outside, but sometimes she will just finish where she’s at. She goes outside about every half hour. And, she has never yet been alone for one minute since we have had her! In fact; we wait to use the bathroom or watch tv, or look at our phones until she’s either sleeping or another human relieves us!
Basically after reading your article, does it sound right for a puppy to have control of poop and not pee at this age? Or can it be a bladder infection if she’s getting one & not the other? I just looked up bladder infection in a dog, and ouch!! I don’t want them to use a needle to extract her urine! :/
I’ve never had a puppy be able to do one outside & not the other. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!
Congratulations on your new puppy! In general with the puppies I’ve raised they tend to have control of their poop sooner then they do their pee. 10 weeks is still pretty young for a puppy to have full control of her bladder.
i have a 6 months old beagle pup. she sometimes pees outside and sometimes dosent . how do i make her pee outside. also if she dosent pee outside and i take her inside , she immediately pees there . what i have observed is that she never sniffs before peeing inside but will pee anywhere inside the house without any warning. ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!! including the sofa and bed( so u have started to stop her from climbing the sofa and bed). PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations on your new puppy! We don’t allow our puppies on the bed or sofa until after they are potty trained. Something I’d recommend if you’re not already doing this is to have your puppy on leash when you take her outside and make sure she does her business in the same spot every time. We crate train all of our puppies so if we know our puppy has to potty and she doesn’t go when we take her out then we’ll bring her back in and crate her for 10 minutes then try again.