House training a new puppy or shelter dog is usually one of your first goals when you come home. Successful potty training for dogs is about consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement; the goal is to instill good habits since the start and to build a loving bond with your pet.
Everyone—whether two- or four-legged—is happier when the puppy knows the rules of the road about where and when to go potty. In this guide we share our expert advice to potty train your pup in 5 simple steps.
That largely depends on how consistent you are and how long your puppy can hold it. It typically takes 4-6 months for a puppy to be fully house trained, but some puppies may take up to a year. Size can be a predictor, for instance, smaller breeds have smaller bladders and higher metabolisms and require more frequent trips outside. Consider that puppies begin to master their toilet bowls after the first three months of age, so we recommend starting potty training from that age on.
At the beginning of training your puppy to go to the bathroom, confining the pup to a defined space is highly recommended, whether that means in a crate, in a room or on a leash. As your puppy learns that they need to go outside to do their business, you can gradually give them more freedom to roam about the house.
Find a spot that will become the “potty spot,” (outdoors or indoors) and always take your dog to the same spot on leash at least once every 30 minutes while you are home. Make sure that you do this on frequent, regular intervals, six to eight times a day: after eating, drinking, playing, or sleeping. At night, one or two outings are enough for most puppies.
Pro Tip: Feed your puppy at set times each day, and remove the food bowl after 20 minutes. This will create regular intervals in which the puppy will have to go to the bathroom.
Stand still and quietly, wait until the puppy has finished pottying. You don’t want to interrupt the puppy and have them finish that potty indoors!
Pro Tip: If the puppy is learning to relieve themselves, creating noise or distracting him will hinder their learning.
As soon as you’re sure the puppy is done pottying, praise lavishly. Say “good boy/girl!” then give the pup a yummy treat.
Pro Tip: While your puppy is making his/her bowel movements, if you repeat the same phrase (for example, "go potty" ) every time your puppy goes outside to relieve himself, they will understand that this phrase means that it is the right time and the suitable place to remove.
After the puppy relieves themselves successfully, play with the puppy outdoors, or give the puppy up to 15 minutes of carefully supervised time in the house (whichever the puppy prefers).
Pro Tip: If the puppy does not pee or poop, that’s OK—take the puppy back to a confinement area for 10 to 20 minutes, and then outside again.
Repeat these steps throughout the day.
Make sure to pay attention to the signs that tell you that your puppy wants to go to the bathroom: whining, circling, sniffing, barking, or scratching at the door, are all signs they need to go. Take them out right away.
Pro Tip: Proper management and supervision are crucial to successful house training.
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We do appointments by scheduling only as we are not open to the public. No dog is permitted on our property without undergoing a complete behavior assessment and temperament test.
Where do I begin. My husband works for a company based in Florida but runs the Boston office, we are back and forth a bit and wanted to take our French bulldog, bear (his name) with us. Bear was trained with a sit command but that is really where it ended with his discipline. I wanted a dog I felt comfortable flying with. We did a bunch of research and came across Full potential K9 inc. After reading through their webpage we set up an appointment with the owner. He came to our home, met us, met Bear and did a bit of an evaluation. We settled on a customized board and train program. The next day, with a huge lump in my throat I dropped bear off to The owner/founder/head trainer Dillon. He was very kind and respectful of the fact that it was really hard for us and that for me particularly hard. Bear is an emotional support dog for me and Dillon was going to start the process of getting him to service dog status. Within days of Dillon having our dog, we all discovered a bunch more about Bear, good and bad that needed work and extra attention. Bear was a bit slow to learn as Dillon had to first work on behavior modifications such as crate and sometimes people reactivity. The constant communication we had with Dillon whether it was a quick text, video or phone call was vital for us in getting through giving up our dog for what would end up being almost ten weeks. Dillon as well as his whole staff, was available when ever we needed anything. They also went above and beyond with vet visits, filling prescriptions and respecting Bear’s need to be on very specific dog food. After a few weeks of training my husband and I had a long FaceTime chat with the staff (we were back in Boston at the time) about Bear’s progress, and difficulties. The honesty, detail, love and compassion the whole staff had for Bear was evident. We as a group decided to extend Bear’s training and really dive into a bunch of commands and boundaries we all knew would be best for both bear and his owners (myself, my husband and our two children). WHAT A GREAT CHOICE!! The leaps and bounds he has make with listening and following a bunch of commands is unreal. Bear is now home with us but it is unbelievable how much he has learned and how much we have all learned. Dillon went the extra mile by meeting me several times in high traffic areas like Home Depot so that Bear and I could be tested and perhaps occasionally fail. Dillon was right there, to get us back on track. The other piece of this perfect puzzle known as full potential K9 is their care and detail in teaching the owners. I really didn’t appreciate my role in keeping Bear safe, happy and successful as a well mannered animal. I think at the end of training we all agree .. the owners are the harder ones to train;) so THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE STAFF AND a special thanks to Dillon and Emma for giving me back my dog with all these amazing tools to be his best self! When you leave the training facility and the loving staff you know you have a new, extended family in them. They made it clear and have checked in often to let us know they are one phone call or visit away if we ever need anything! Don’t walk.. run to Full potential K9. If dogs could talk they would thank you for that;)
