So you finally decided to grow your family and add a new fur baby. If you don’t know how to already, learning to potty train a puppy should be a top priority.
It’s important to potty train a puppy as soon as possible. Trust me, this will make your life much easier down the line.
The quicker your new puppy learns not to do their business in the house, the less of a headache you’ll have cleaning it up.
There are several ways you can go about potty training your puppy.
How Long Does Potty Training a Puppy Take?
There are many factors to consider during the process of teaching pets anything, so it’s very hard to give a definitive answer.
For instance, a 6-month old puppy may be trained faster than a 2-month old puppy.
You should also consider their old learning habits from their previous owners. These can be crucial during their training.
As the puppy parent, your effort and consistency plays a large part in potty training.
So what are the best methods to potty train a puppy?
Use a Crate for Potty Training
One of the best methods to potty train a puppy is using a dog crate. Although it may be hard to believe, dogs are clean creatures by nature.
Because of this, your puppy will soon realize the crate is their personal living space. Due to their natural instincts, they won’t want to do their business where they live.
So how does this help with potty training a puppy? You take them directly outside before letting them out of the crate. This helps them realize to do their business outdoors.
When choosing the crate size, make sure you find the best one for your puppy.
The ideal crate allows your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down. If it’s too large, they may turn one corner into their own bathroom. Obviously, we don’t want this.
We also don’t want them feeling alone and enclosed. Consider giving them puppy treats or some other type of reward to help them feel relaxed.
Despite the efforts, your puppy may still have some accidents in their crate. It happens. Try to be consistent when you take them outdoors to help this.
Puppy Pads Are Very Helpful
Let’s say you have a busy work schedule for the week. It’s going to be harder being consistent in letting your puppy outside.
This is where puppy pads can be very helpful. You set them out in a designated spot for your puppy to do their business.
It’s not a bad idea to start training with these while you are home as well. Setup a special area where your puppy knows there will be a pad down and redirect them there.
As your puppy starts maturing, you can transition to making the outdoors their primary bathroom. Eventually, the goal is to make the outdoors their only bathroom.
Potty Train a Puppy with a Schedule
If your puppy goes outside to use the bathroom every 4 hours for a few days, then only goes every 6 hours for a day, it throws them off.
This is why, as mentioned earlier, consistency is important while potty training. A hourly planner can help you keep track of this.
Keep in mind, you don’t want to take your puppy out for a bathroom break too often. On the other hand, you don’t want them to wait too long between potty breaks.
Just be mindful that all puppies function differently, so some may need to go more often than others.
Pay attention and learn the habits to make a schedule to help you potty train a puppy.
Ideally, you should schedule to take your puppy outside:
- In the morning, before starting your day
- Shortly before lunch time
- Mid-afternoon
- Before dinner time
- Before going to bed
That’s not the only times, though. Any time a puppy eats and drinks, they need to go potty shortly after. They need to go after playtime or waking up as well.
Just remember, especially in their earlier months and years, puppies will need to use the bathroom outside of the normal schedule.
Closely Manage Their Diet
You can somewhat control how often your puppy needs to do their business by maintaining a healthy diet.
Stick to premium quality puppy food as they work well with their developing digestive system. Like going to the bathroom, you should stick to a schedule for feeding.
If you realize your puppy is doing their business more frequently, you may need to change up their diet. Consult a veterinarian if you need help.
You’re Ready to Potty Train a Puppy
Remember that no puppy is the same. Some will adapt to routines differently or learn faster than others.
It’s important to stay patient during the training. If your puppy does good, reward them with treats.
If they do something bad, gently scold them so they know not to do that. Don’t forget they’re just kids, essentially.
Now you know how to get started with potty training your new puppy. Hopefully you didn’t forget to choose a name.
