Turn puppy mess into puppy success. Potty training your puppy isn’t just about keeping the carpets clean. It’s also about developing the foundation of how you and your new companion will work together, for many years to come. It will take observation, patience, commitment and lots of consistency, on your part. The better you are at keeping to a schedule for feeding and toileting, the faster and more consistent your new pup will get at letting you know when it's time to "go". What you’ll need a puppy a crate a schedule high-quality food the right cleaning products patience What matters in the first few weeks Use your powers of observation in order to develop an elimination schedule based on your puppy’s behaviour. Keep your puppy in an area where you can keep an eye on what's happening. Puppies should not have access to the whole house initially. Increase the pup's ability to roam, gradually. More accidents happen when your puppy is given too much freedom, too quickly. Signs puppy needs to go You should start to be able to pinpoint when to take your puppy outside: If he or she starts to whimper If his or her tail is rising. For short-haired breeds, you can usually see the anus start to bulge If he or she starts sniffing the floor in circles If he or she actually scratches or stands by the door If he or she begins to squat. Don't allow your puppy to finish (and don't scold). Instead, interrupt with a gentle "Agh, Agh", and whisk puppy outside to finish. If there is more to finish while your outside, praise and reward Any time your puppy appropriately eliminates outside, praise and reward, right after the event Realistic expectations for the first six months. Understand that your puppy won’t really have good bowel & bladder control before four months and don’t expect your puppy to be fully house trained before the age of six months. For the first few months, it’s on you to set your puppy’s routine for eating, drinking, and when and where to eliminate. Note that smaller breeds often cannot wait as long as a large breed pup so small breed pups should be going out a little more often. Feed high-quality puppy food. If your puppy is digesting food well, it means fewer bowel movements, firmer stools and a more consistent elimination routine. If he or she is not digesting food well, bowel movements will be looser and less predictable. Your responsibilities Depending on age, your puppy is going to need to go: First thing after leaving the crate in the morning (keep the crate on the main level so you can reach the back door in time) Shortly after each meal After a nap After playing or any kind of excitement After smelling another dog's poo or pee Before entering a new place he or she has never been before, and after exiting your car Just before going to bed Praise and reward any time your puppy eliminates in the correct place. Reward right after the event, not before. As time goes by and your puppy is reliably going to the back door and asking to go out, you can slowly wean off the treats but continue to praise. A basic guideline for scheduling At 2 to 3 months, toilet every 2 hours and once during the night At 3 to 4 months, toilet every 2 hours and try eliminating the late-night outing. For small breeds, it may be a bit later At 4 to 5 months, try toileting every 3 hours with no night time outings After 5 months, expect that puppy will need to eliminate, 4 or 5 times a day with no night time outings Gastric Colic Reflex: what it is and why you need to know about it Dogs are built to eliminate shortly after eating, within 30 minutes after eating (and expect sooner). The first action of eating triggers the second event of elimination. Use this bit of information to set your routine. Map out your puppy’s anticipated times for elimination, and be consistent about getting the puppy to his or her elimination place, when you can expect the need. It may be helpful to create a schedule and put it on the fridge to keep yourself on track. Why using a crate is the most effective method of house training your puppy Along with schedule making, let’s not forget the second essential tool for potty training, that’s the crate. Dogs are denning animals that naturally prefer not to soil their dens. Using a crate helps you to keep your puppy on schedule since he or she is less likely to want to “go” in his or her den. In addition, if he or she takes nap time in the crate, it means you can more correctly pinpoint when the need to pee or poo is going to happen; pretty much in the few minutes just after the crate door is opened. If you are crating your puppy based on a schedule, pretty soon, those elimination needs will line up with that schedule. It’s a myth that puppies and dogs won’t soil their crate. They just prefer not to. If you leave them in too long, eventually they will. This is not a habit you want your puppy to develop so be sure you are taking your puppy out of the crate, and to his or her elimination place, based on: At 2 to 3 months, toilet every 2 hours and once during the night At 3 to 4 months, toilet every 2 hours and try eliminating the late-night outing. For small breeds, it may be a bit later At 4 to 5 months, try toileting every 3 hours with no night time outings After 5 months, expect that puppy will need to eliminate, 4 or 5 times a day with no night time outings Use your crate for times when you can’t directly supervise your puppy but do keep to his or her “outside” schedule for toileting. At first, when not in the crate, try keeping the puppy on a leash and nearby if, for instance, you are on the computer or fixing a meal. Keep an eye on the time though and ensure you are keeping to his or her schedule for bathroom breaks. Keep the crate on the main level so you and your puppy can reach the back door in time. Don’t make the bedding too thick or absorbent as this invites accidents. Never leave a collar, leash or harness on a puppy when crated Make sure there’s no electrical wiring close enough to the crate, where a puppy could pull it inside And… don’t feed or water while your puppy’s in his crate. Your puppy should not be crated long enough to require hydration or food. By feeding or providing water inside the crate, you’re going to throw off your puppy’s elimination schedule. The whole idea of using the crate is to slow your puppy’s digestion while resting, so you can be more successful at regulating his or her toilet needs. If you crate train your puppy you’ll find it just becomes part of the daily routine, even into adulthood. Once your puppy no longer needs the crate to toilet train, you can still use it. My dog is going on 13. She freely enters her crate, on her own at times when there are guests in the house and she needs a quiet place to “get away from it all”. A note about food and water Do maintain a consistent feeding schedule for your puppy. Don’t leave food on the floor for your puppy to graze at will. You won’t get a puppy trained this way. Leave his or her food on the floor for maybe 20 minutes, then pick the bowl up whether all the food has been consumed or not. The same applies to water. Ensure your puppy has access to water 5 or 6 times a day but pick it up after 15 minutes or so. You can start leaving water on the floor all day, when he or she is a little older, and fully house trained. In addition, don’t water or feed while your puppy in the crate. A puppy shouldn’t be in the crate long enough to require water or the next meal. How to properly address accidents Expect that: Accidents will happen but don’t allow them to happen often. Frequent accidents lead to unwanted habits. When they do happen, eliminate all odour. Use an Enzymatic cleaner (which actually breaks up the scent molecules). If possible, cover the spot with an object, like a chair or potted plant, to stop your puppy from returning to that spot. Puppy pads: to use or not to use It’s better to train your puppy to go outside, right from the start, if you have the time. Puppy pads are convenient initially but can cause confusion for the dog and ultimately delay proper training down the road. My opinion on puppy pads loosens up when considering small breed puppies, in the middle of winter. In this case, using the pads may be a necessity until the weather warms up. Litter boxes for apartment dwellers Be fair, if you can’t get your dog along the hall, down the elevator and across the lobby, in time, three to four times a day, on a daily basis, it may be time to consider the use of a litter box if you live in a condo or apartment. You can easily purchase a litter box or construct one from corrugated plastic sheets (more feasible for small to medium dogs, I will admit). It should be something like 5 feet x 3 feet and 3 to 4 inches deep, to allow for circling behaviour. Cut out a semi-circle on one side to allow easy access. Leave two sides higher, for males. I had to do this for my very short-haired, three-pound puppy, many years ago, when I brought her home mid-October. I used newspaper in the box (cheap and easy to replace on a frequent basis), then moved the box outside when spring came. She started scratching at our town home’s back patio door right away, to reach her box. Within a week, the box was removed entirely, as by then the backyard offered a much greater allure. It should be noted that all standard potty training procedures still apply to litter box training. You still need to follow a consistent schedule, and get the puppy to the box, just before he or she needs to go, with praise and reward based on successful results.