When you bring a new puppy into your home, you expect there to be some changes. You’ve got to be careful about leaving your shoes or cords on the floor where he can chew on them, for example. You will probably also have to get used to some whining for a few nights as your puppy adjusts to living without his mother or siblings. But one of the biggest changes is going to be to your schedule. When you are house training a puppy, you also need to adjust your schedule to work with his and this can sometimes be the most challenging part of the entire process.

 

Before you begin house training a puppy, you need to know the pros and cons of the available options, as well as the best type of schedule to use to maximize positive results.

 

Options for Potty Training Your Puppy

Even before you make the decision to bring home a new canine, you should be planning on how to begin house training a puppy. There are a couple of options available but not all of these will work well.

 

Option #1 – Newspaper or Potty Pad Training

One of the oldest forms of training is to place the puppy in a room when you are not there and place newspapers or potty pads (pads scented to make dogs want to use them as bathrooms) on the ground to catch any mistakes the dog has. While this might help your dog not make a mess in the house when you’re not home, you are also teaching your dog that it’s perfectly acceptable to use the bathroom indoors. That makes real potty training more difficult.

 

Option #2 – Keep Outdoors

Some people don’t even bother with potty training and instead keep the dog outdoors most of the time. However, outdoor dogs are usually less socialized and are more likely to become aggressive. They also cannot be brought into the home later easily because they do not realize they can’t just go to the bathroom whenever and wherever they want.

 

Option #3 – Crate Training

With this option, you keep your puppy in a plastic or wire crate when you are not around. The dog associates the crate with his den so he won’t make a mess and can more easily be taught to “hold it” until you get outdoors. When combined with a good schedule, as well as praise for using the bathroom appropriately, this method is usually the most successful.

 

Option #4 – Litter Training

Some dogs can be taught to use a cat’s litter box as a bathroom. This is a good option for many very small dogs, such as Yorkshire Terriers, because their bladders are so small they cannot “hold it” as long as larger dogs. The training isn’t much more difficult than potty training but the smell can be pretty bad if the box isn’t cleaned regularly.

 

Setting up a Schedule

No matter which method you choose for house training a puppy you will need to establish a good schedule for your pet. First, you need to know how long your puppy can “hold it.” This depends on his age. Just as small children cannot control their bladders as long as adults can, neither can puppies.

 

One of the most commonly used formulas for estimating your puppy’s ability to wait before going outside is to add 1 to the puppy’s age in months. Of course, this only works until the puppy is around 7 or 8 months of age but by then he should be house trained. If you’ve gotten your puppy at eight weeks of age, he is two months old and can “hold it” for no more than 3 hours. Remember very small dogs might not even be able to hold it for that long.

 

With this knowledge, you know that the puppy needs to go outside to his potty spot at least once every 3 hours. If you work an 8 hour day, you’ll need to come home to let him out, hire a dog walker or pet babysitter, or ask a family member to help out until your puppy is old enough to wait longer.

 

Even once your dog is fully potty trained asking him to wait longer than 7 hours is really not a good idea. Imagine what you would feel like if you had to wait that amount of time before being allowed to urinate.

 

Some Other Scheduling Tips

When you get up in the morning, you need to take your puppy outside to use the bathroom. Chances are good that he’ll need to go. Be sure to have a command, such “Potty” or “Use the Bathroom,” so your dog will learn what you want from him when you go outside. If he goes, praise him a lot. Dogs want to make you happy so this praise will make him want to repeat the effort again and again.

 

If you feed your puppy in the morning, be sure to take him out again no longer than 15 minutes after he has eaten or consumed more than a few laps of water. It doesn’t take long for the food to need to come back out again from an active puppy. Also do not leave food or water out for your puppy when you are gone. Otherwise, you increase the risks of accidents.

 

When you come home, immediately take your puppy outside and praise him for going to the bathroom. Give him some water and take him outside again before you leave to return to the office.

 

In the evening, you should repeat the process. Make sure to give your puppy his second meal of the day a few hours before you go to bed and to take up the water at least one hour before you take him outside for the last time. Of course, you’ll probably still need to take him out every 3 hours but this reduces the risks of an accident if you don’t hear him whimpering.

 

With consistency and praise, your puppy should be fully potty trained in only one to two months.