How to Potty Train a Dog

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Are you thinking about adding a canine companion to your family? Puppies are fun with all of their crazy energy and puppy kisses. Still, there is a lot of hard work and responsibility involved in the potty training process. Potty training naturally comes with the territory, and it can easily be exhausting, especially with no plan or structure. 

And puppies aren’t the only ones who may need housetraining. There are several situations in which you may find yourself needing to house train an adult dog:

• Dogs who have never learned the appropriate place to go potty (whether a puppy or not)
• Adult dogs who were once housetrained but are, for whatever reason, have regressed
• Incontinent dogs – having potty accidents involuntarily

Essential Tools to Make House Training a Success

• Leash
• Favorite treats (high-level as defined by the dog)
• Appropriate size crate
• Carpet cleaner for potty accidents
• A consistent schedule
• Verbal praise
• Patience
• Pen and paper for creating a schedule and keeping a journal

How to Potty Train a Puppy or Adult Dog

While house training using pee pads can be very beneficial, it can be challenging to train your puppy to potty just on the pee pad and not in other areas of the house. You’ll want to train your new dog to do their bathroom business outside for the best success and each step is important.

Take Your Puppy Out Often

Generally speaking, a puppy can control their bladder for one hour per age in months. So your three-month-old puppy can usually hold it for approximately three hours. Any longer than this, and you’re likely to have an accident to clean up. In reality, you should try to take them out every 30-60 minutes until you build up to that time. Just because they’re three months old doesn’t mean they’ll automatically make it three hours. It also varies by breed; the smaller the dog, the smaller its bladder. 

These are the times you should take your puppy outside for at least the first few months:

• First thing in the morning
• After eating
• After drinking
• After being in their crate
• After waking up from a nap
• After playing
• After chewing on a toy or bone
• Last thing at night

Your Outside Routine Matters Too

When potty training, use these tips:

• Use a leash to keep them close and less distracted
• Take them to the same spot every time
• Keep the excitement and talking to a minimum so they can focus
• Reward them right after they go
• If they don’t go, bring them back in and confine them in their crate
• Once you recognize the signs that your dog is about to potty, like sniffing or squatting, use a verbal cue – say it right before your dog goes potty. Timing is critical here so that they connect the cue to the action. 

Stick to a Feeding Schedule

Depending on their age, puppies may need to eat two or three times a day. If you adhere their meal times to a consistent feeding schedule, their potty time will more than likely get on a routine as well. 

Use Positive Reinforcement

Make sure to reward them immediately after they’re finished. Lots of praise or treats will let them know what they’re doing is correct. It may be easier to walk them on a leash, so they’re close by when they go instead of way across the yard. 

Know the Signs

Until your puppy is house trained, it’s best to keep an eye on them at all times indoors. Using a six-foot leash, tether your puppy to you or a piece of furniture. 

Possible signs that your puppy needs to go:

• Barking or scratching at the door
• Squatting
• Restlessness
• Sniffing around
• Circling

When you notice any of these signs, take them outside to their bathroom spot immediately. 

Restrict Water Intake at Bedtime

Roughly two to three hours before bedtime, pick up their water dish. This will reduce the likelihood that they’ll need to go potty in the middle of the night and reduce unnecessary accidents. 

Use Crate Training

Puppies take a lot of time, but everyone has other things going on in their lives, and there will be times you’re unable to watch your puppy. Restrict them to an area small enough that they won’t use the bathroom there. If you don’t have a crate for housetraining, a baby gate is another good tool to use. 

If you’re going to be away from the house for an extended period of time, it may be beneficial to consider hiring a pet sitter to drop by to let your puppy outside.

Choosing a crate size. Crates for housetraining should be big enough to stand, lie down, and turn around comfortably.

Older dogs may need some extra help getting used to crate training.

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How Long Does It Take to Potty Train?

The amount of time you can expect it to take depends on the consistency and diligence of you and your puppy. 

In general, four to eight weeks is the average amount of time. But it’s not unusual for it to take longer, even up to a year, for a dog to be fully potty trained. This means they are not having accidents at all – unless sick. 

Size can be a factor as smaller breed dogs have smaller bladders that will require more trips outside. 

Also, if you are trying to break bad habits in an older puppy or dog, that can factor into needing extra time and training. 

House Training Problems & Solutions

When accidents happen, immediately take them outside without a lot of drama. If they finish there, give them lots of praise and a treat. Don’t punish your dog for having an accident. This will likely lead to them just hiding it. 

Cleaning up accidents. It’s essential to get the smell of urine out of the spot where the accident occurred so that they don’t continue to be attracted to that area. An enzyme cleaner is preferred to remove the compounds in urine, but a vinegar-water mixture can also work to remove odors.

Accidents keep happening. If things aren’t improving, it likely comes down to not enough close supervision and/or not enough potty breaks.

If your fully housetrained dog starts going potty in the house, you should take them to the vet before ruling out behavioral reasons or anything else. Medical problems such as urinary tract infections can affect bladder control and cause accidents.

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Potty Issues That Are NOT Housetraining Problems

There are times when dogs may involuntarily go potty that have nothing to do with housetraining. Here are some of the most common reasons for unwanted accidents that aren’t associated with housetraining. 

Excitement. Some dogs will urinate when they get overly excited, especially greeting you when you come in the door. 

The best way to reduce this is to downplay greetings and other exciting situations by ignoring or casually greeting them. 

Submission. This occurs out of appeasement or fear. The dog may be responding to a person’s body size, voice, or other characteristics that trigger an innate submissive response. 

Some solutions may include downplaying greetings and coaching people who seem to trigger this response (avoiding direct eye contact, looming or reaching over, and loud body language and voices). 

Incontinence. Age and illness can cause incontinence. A vet can help you find a remedy and accessible steps that help and may include the use of dog “panties” and potty pads. 

Trainers that reviewed this article

There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers. The trainers that review our content are reviewed by other trainers to ensure that we have the best quality filters on our content. 

This is the trainer that reviewed this article:

Karen Beattie Massey CPDT – KA
MayaLu Training - Manners, Sports Prep, Agility Trainer Argus Ranch and Kinship Dogs

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