Putting the "Pee" in Potty Time - Tips for a Young Puppy's Success

One of the most harrowing woes of a parent of a new puppy is tackling housetraining - teaching the pup to potty outside instead of on your hardwood floors, Turkish rug or bed.  Nobody likes finding (or worse, stepping in!) a soggy puddle of puppy pee.  And we've all heard horror stories of pups who painted the walls of their crate or a laundry room with their own poo! 

Some breeds, such as Yorkies and Dachshunds, are known for being notoriously difficult to housetrain.  And some breeds are known for learning more quickly because they are fastidiously clean and do not like to be dirty.  Shiba Inus are supposed to be this way but read on to learn about Sheba's potty training experience!   

Regardless of your puppy's breed, sex or age, you can make the concept of potty training easier for any puppy to grasp by providing clear parameters and working in small slices to build your way up to your final goal.  The more clear and consistent we are in having good training opportunities, the faster your pup will become housetrained!  These are the "rules of potty training" that I share with my clients and that I am practicing with Sheba...
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The Steps:

1. It's a good rule of thumb to give a puppy a potty opportunity upon first waking in the morning or from a nap, shortly after eating or drinking, right before being put in their crate or pen, whenever the excitement level is higher (when a guest is over, after/during playtime with other pups, etc) and if they are in a new/stimulating place where the arousal will speed up their body processes and they will be more likely to need to go.
2. We pick Sheba up and carry her out (so she doesn't have an accident on the way there) to potty in the same spot in our yard each time.  Try to pick a spot with the least amount of distractions.  Even if you have a fenced yard, I recommend keeping the puppy on a leash initially - this will limit her options and minimize distractions.  In Sheba's case, however, she is so curious and even insecure (as Shiba Inus can tend to be) that she gets distracted by literally anything - a leaf blowing, the wind, a noise from a few houses down, a car passing, a smell of something random in the grass (which then commences intense nose burrowing to try to get through the grass to whatever the heck it is she smells!).   Aghhh... it's a process.  But patience is the key and we will get there eventually!
3. I typically recommend standing still and calmly in that one spot and not engaging with the puppy too much.  If you move from place to place, let her wander all around, or if she thinks it's playtime because we are interacting a lot with her, she will likely get distracted and not go until she comes back inside (when all the extra stimulation has gone away and she can pay attention to her bladder/bowels).  With Sheba, sometimes moving about a bit stimulates her bladder or bowels to move, so we will sometimes walk back and forth in the same area of the yard only - especially if we think it's about time for her to go #2.
4. Give your pup just the length of a regular 6-ft leash (I would avoid retractables and I wouldn't let a pup go beyond the parameter you are setting, even if they try).  Sheba is being introduced to a little skill called "frustration tolerance" - an important lesson that we can't always get what we want when we want it.  This is particularly important for strong-minded dogs and breeds that tend to be sassy, like Shiba Inus.  So when she keeps wanting to pull to go further down the driveway or chase leaves, we do not let her.  After a few seconds of whining (she is a persistent pup!) she finally gives in and accepts the boundary set for her.  Good girl, Sheba!!
5. Calmly use the verbal cue that you want your pup to associate with going potty - we tell Sheba to "get busy."  I would only say the cue once or twice so as not to accidentally pressure her, since she is still getting used to what that cue means.  And if she feels pressured, she will not go.  Give her 5 minutes to sniff and figure out she feels the urge to potty.  If you spend too much time, the pup can get frustrated and/or confused about what she is out there to do.
6. When your pup does relieve herself, calmly praise her (think "yoga voice") and repeat the verbal cue so she clearly associates the cue with the action she is performing.  Be careful not to be too enthusiastic - you do not want to excite your pup and interrupt her elimination!   
7. You are welcome to use a treat as a reward immediately after so long as you do not reach for the treat while the puppy is still in the act of eliminating (this can also interrupt their process).  I have been using some tiny liver treats with Sheba so she realizes it is much more rewarding to potty outside when asked instead of on my office floor whenever she feels like it!  Once your pup has eliminated, you can walk her around, play, or let her off her leash in a fenced yard.  But I strongly recommend that we do not make "potty time" and "play/walk time" always one in the same for the pup as this can be confusing.
8. If your pup doesn't go in 5 minutes' time, bring her back inside but limit her options (put her in a crate/pen or keep her on leash with you) and then take her out again 15-20 minutes later to give her another opportunity to learn.

Troubleshooting tips:

​What do you do if your pup looks completely confused?  Sometimes it can help the pup make a clearer connection if they smell their urine in the area where you want them to relieve themselves.  This is one of the reasons why dogs tend to go in the same spots or go where they smell other dogs have gone - in addition to that marking behavior, of course ;-)  If your pup has had a potty accident inside the house, somehow "scoop/suck some up" - like in a spoon or syringe - and then place/pour outside in the area where you want the puppy to go.  

What if I just had my puppy outside, she did nothing, and then she potties in the house 5 minutes later?  I would keep the pup's options limited in the home to a smaller space until she has better control over her bladder/bowels.  This could mean the crate when unattended, or being gated in the same room where her people are, or on leash with her people - probably fluctuating between these depending on the situation.  This way someone is either able to observe her at all times - to watch for signals that indicate she is getting ready to go - or she is confined to a small enough area where she is less likely to want to potty due to space.  Avoid allowing her to move from room to room or around furniture, as puppies will often go around or into a corner to potty where it is out of sight/they don't have to stay close to their excrement.

What if my puppy gives me no signs that they have to go, I just find a puddle/pile on the floor?  Rather than waiting for a pup to give a signal that she has to go out to potty (as she may not know what that should be in the beginning), I would put her on a regular potty schedule - it's better for her to be given more opportunities to go outside when she doesn't go than being given less opportunities to go outside and then more practice going potty indoors because we miss an opportunity.  You can determine how long between potty trips by taking a look at how frequently a pup has been having accidents inside the house - if let's say the majority of incidents have been within an hour and a half of taking her out, then I would offer her an opportunity every hour or hour and 15 minutes to ensure she gets the opportunity to go outside before she needs to go so badly that she goes in the house. 

Can't I use bells on the door to teach my pup to go out?  What if she's not getting it?  While you could use bells to teach your pup to indicate to you that they have to go potty, I do not rely on this method myself because they are not a clear connection to the act of eliminating itself (so many pups will get the wrong idea about what ringing the bell actually means).  Think about it this way if you will...

• Puppies have an extremely short attention span - you have about 3 seconds worth of time to mark or connect a behavior to an antecedent.  If we take the puppy to the door to ring the bell (antecedent), then she goes outside but does not actually go potty (behavior) until 45 seconds to 3 minutes after the ringing of the bell, the puppy does not learn to associate the act of ringing the bell with the act of going potty because too much time has passed for her to make a clear connection.  Instead, she will make the connection that ringing the bell means going outside but not eliminating.  This often results in a pup who will ring the bell anytime they want to go outside, get your attention, are bored, etc - not necessarily need to potty. 
• So, for the sake of clarity (and less annoyance on your part), I recommend taking the puppy out on regular intervals and not trying to teach them to offer a signal in the beginning - they will still learn to hold it until an opportunity is presented to them if we are clear about potty opportunities.  Once they start learning how to eliminate outside, you can start watching for signals they give that indicate they may need to go. 
• For example, with my previous dog Scout, when he came and sat intently in front of me and stared at me, I figured it meant he needed to go out to potty so I would then give him the opportunity to go out.  He learned quickly that every time he sat and stared at me it would result in my taking him to potty, so this behavior got reinforced and became the signal he offered to me throughout his life.

If you do find a puddle/pile on the floor, there is no effective way to discipline your puppy after the fact so please do not yell at, spank, rub your puppy's nose in it, etc.  After a few seconds of completing a behavior, puppies are onto the next thing in their short attention spans.  A pup cannot make the connection that you are mad over something that happened 10 minutes ago.  So if you act out in one of the aforementioned ways your puppy can actually become afraid of you or just think you are crazy (after all, who wants to have their face rubbed in poo?) and this will negatively impact your relationship.  So all you can do is clean up the mess, consider it what I call a "missed training opportunity" and shorten your time between potty trips to get ahead of another accident and help your puppy be successful next time.  Even though I take Sheba out very frequently, sometimes she just doesn't go when it's windy, cold, raining, or she's distracted, and so accidents do happen during the learning process - I just nonchalantly clean it up and move on.  Once your pup is consistently eliminating outside and no longer having accidents in the house, you can prolong the time between potty breaks a little at a time (say, 15 minute increments).

What about those disposable potty pads?  While there are occasional situations where I would recommend a potty pad (such as if a pup is left in a pen because their human has to work longer hours than would be fair for the pup to be in a crate without a potty break, or for people who live on the 20th floor of an apartment building) I typically avoid the use of potty pads.  For most pups these can encourage the pup to think there is an indoor potty option and can be confusing - I would much rather cut out the "middle man" and teach the pup right from the get-go that there is only an outdoor potty option.

What if you have other dogs?  Initially I  would take the pup out separately so she can understand it is potty time and not play time (sometimes if we use those things simultaneously a dog has a hard time telling the difference or respecting potty time).  She may also get extremely distracted by your other dogs.  I would also make "potty time" separate from a walk for two main reasons:  1) often a pup will stay distracted by various external stimulation (sights, sounds, smells) on walks and will not focus on internal stimulation such as their bladder/bowels until they come back inside where all that extra stimulation is gone, and 2) you may not want to get in the habit of needing to take time for a walk if you just want the dog to be able to potty - such as 

What if my puppy potties to get their treat but then they still have an accident shortly after we get inside?  Some pups are so smart and food motivated that they will potty 5 times to get 5 treats rather than just eliminating the first time!  If this happens to you, I would only recognize the first potty in an outing but ignore all of the other attempts.  The goal is we want the puppy to completely eliminate when given the opportunity or "get busy" cue, not just trick us into giving them cookies ;-)  Be sure you are not carrying the treat in your hand - as this often does bribe the puppy and makes them focus more on the treats than the act of eliminating.   If your pup becomes too focused on the treats that they spend all their outside time staring at/jumping up on you instead of looking for a spot to potty, I would not use treats (or use less valuable treats, like their kibble) and would only use verbal praise. 

The length of time it takes to successfully potty train a puppy varies greatly depending on how consistent/clear you are about these parameters, how much activity/food the pup is getting, the age/physical capabilities of the pup, and the environment, among other things.  But with the right direction and understanding, I have seen some pups become potty trained in just a few weeks!   We have had Sheba for less than 2 weeks and we are already having only 1 accident per day on average - woo hoo!  During this process you will have successes and failures, but rest assured that if you take the steps above your puppy will become a trustworthy house companion in no time!