- How do we get our dogs to toilet outside?
- Can I use puppy pads?
- How long can our puppies (and adult dogs) hold their pee?
- What do I do if they have an accident?
- How often should I take my puppy out?
- My adult/teen dog is still peeing and pooping inside, what do I do?
So many questions, but don't worry, we try to answer as many as possible here. First of all, lets tackle house-training from the start; how we do it, how to prepare for our new puppy's needs, how to get it right from day 1!
Bringing home a puppy or new dog (and expecting a clean floor too..)
When you go to pick up your new puppy, let them pee and poop at the rescue or breeders house first before popping them into the car to come home. Once home, bring your puppy onto the grass or straight out the back garden to empty their bladders and bowels again. Once they've toileted, you can let them come inside to explore their new home.
Your new home should have a designated puppy or new dog area, a place where your new dog can hang out safely with a bed and some toys, limiting the space that they have access to, and thus limiting the amount of places they can toilet. Supervise puppy carefully, and only let them explore larger sections of your home when you're sure they've just toileted outside. There's no need to put down puppy pads if you're supervising well; puppy pads often teach our puppies to toilet indoors, as they prefer softer substrates like rugs, pads or mats. Lets keep them peeing on grass outside instead. Remove fluffy rugs from the area so as not to confuse your puppy too.
Bring your new dog outside every 1 to 2 hours as they will be unable to hold it longer than this, and keep a schedule of when they toilet, along with a log of any activities or behaviours they've done just prior. You will have to stand out in the garden for a few minutes each time with them, and make sure you have treats on you. When your puppy toilets outside, give them lots of praise and treats, we want it to be a great thing when they go! Examples of activities that might indicate your dog has to toilet soon are:
- After eating/drinking
- Sniffing lots
- Playing with toys
- After a nap
- When guests arrive
- After stressful events (such as a visit to the vet or a car journey).
When you have to leave your puppy or go out for a couple of hours, toilet your dog outside first, and then confine them in a crate or confined space with a chew toy such as a stuffed Kong to keep them occupied whilst you're gone. Bring them out to toilet immediately upon your arrival back to them.
If your puppy has an accident, it's best to clean it well with good floor cleaner and disinfectant that can break down the ammonia and remove smells. There's no need to scold or reprimand your dog; they had to go and don't yet know where they should be going. We just have to up the level of supervision that our puppy requires. Log the accident on your schedule; although it was inside, it's still important to keep track so we can prevent the next accident.
Yes but my adult dog or puppy is STILL going inside!
There's lots of reasons our dogs may still be toileting inside as an adult. Maybe you've just gotten your new dog as an adult rescue and they've never learned to toilet outdoors, or maybe we just weren't as strict with the toileting routine as we had thought. The best thing to try is to restart it all. Lets confine our puppy or dog to a safe space with restrictions from free roaming the home when unsupervised. If you have had success with puppy pads, a great suggestion from Anied Ireland (another fabulous Irish dog training school) is to place some of the fake grass squares that you can buy over the puppy pads, and slowly transitioning from inside the house to outside.
Start again, this time being really strict about logging toileting times on our schedules, about taking our dogs out every 1 - 2 hours and waiting with them until they go and about supervising and logging their activities, so we can get a clearer picture of times and events that our dog is more likely to need to toilet during or after.
Should your adult dog be suddenly toileting in the house again after being clean for a long time, or if you're concerned about the frequency or lack of progress with your puppy, consult a vet and get a health examination to rule out any health issues that could be causing your dogs indoor toileting. If your dog is only going in the house during your absence, consult a qualified trainer in your area for further guidance and support.
To further help you, we've included a house-training schedule which you can download here to assist you in training your dog.
*We wish to thank AniEd Ireland (www.anied.ie) for many of the ideas within this post.*
