This journey is not for the faint-hearted. If you can't bear the idea of cleaning up doggy diarrhea - this is not for you. Part of the "beauty" of being the parent of an adorable pup is that you will need to clean up a lot of oopsies whilst maintaining your Zen after the thousandth puppy bite. If you're lucky, you will spot a potty accident and clean it before stepping on it with your socks on. The bright side of all of this is that there is an end in sight, and you will eventually become very proud of your well-trained pup. But it takes two to tango! Your pup will most definitely learn gradually, but you need to provide lots of patience and consistency! We broke down the stages of potty training into 5 parts below :
Stage 1: The "I'm tired of cleaning pee" Phase: Your puppy has no clue where they're supposed to go. Every corner of your house is a great option. At this point you can't even call it an accident - it's just common occurrence and you've been promoted to a professional cleaner. You will need to carefully watch your pup at all times, and start to learn hints of potential incoming pee or poop time. As soon as you see them sniff or sense they might need to go, put them on the nappy and start using your keywords like 'go pee!' or 'go poo! '. If you spot them midway, grab them quickly and place them on their designated area whilst using your keywords.
Stage 2: The "There's a Glimmer of Hope" Stage: Is it luck, or are they actually learning ? Your puppy seems to have gotten a vague idea of where they should go potty, but the chances of it happening are about 40/100. Sometimes they get it right, but other times...well, your carpet knows the drill. Do not get angry at your pup or shove the deed into their faces as some people tend to do. As soon as you spot them carrying out the deed somewhere else, just grab them, put them where they should be, and strongly say your keyword. You might end up with a trail of pee, but it's worth it. I said it was going to be messy - didn't I? It will also help to spray Dont Pee Here Deterrent Spray on areas of previous mishaps, to prevent them from doing it there again.
Stage 3: The "Almost There" Stretch: Now we're talking! You start to see some progress. Your pup is starting to connect the dots in their little brain. They're having fewer accidents, but you still need to keep an eye on them. It's like when you start teaching your toddler how to pee in a toilet : every now and then, accidents still happen.
Stage 4: The "I Did Not Expect This From You" Phase: Bingo! Your puppy is consistently doing their business where they should. They even start giving you hints when it's potty time and they can't go by themselves. You're extremely proud of your pup and perhaps shed a tear or two at the happy realization of not having to endure cleaning any more runnies from your carpet... until you come across a pee patch. At this stage, once in a blue moon you still get a pee or poop inside, and this is generally when you miss all the signals given by your pup that they need to go and cannot! Or if it's a completely new environment. Rodrigo was around 6 months of age when he reached this point.
Stage 5: The "Proud Parent" Status: Congratulations, you've finally both made it! Your pup is now a full-fledged potty pro, and you're their proud parent. They know the routine, signal you when it's time to go, and have mastered the art of keeping their safe haven clean. Accidents are a thing of the past, and you celebrate this moment with a well-deserved doggy popsicle. This stage for us was achieved around the 1-year mark. Before that, there would still be the occasional accidents due to over-excitement, but eventually, this was conquered as well.
Extra Tips :
This was an extremely high-level summary of the 5 stages of potty training your pup. Some other very useful things to consider are :
Age vs Needs: Based on your pup's age, you will need to take them out more, or less frequently. A quick summary below :
Puppies and younger dogs may need to go out every hour at first. As a puppy gets around 4 months old, you can add one hour for each additional month of age.
Senior dogs can usually manage 4-6 hours between visits outdoors.
Adult dogs typically need to go out every 6-8 hours at a minimum. Be wary of times when they drink more water than usual, as they'll probably need to pee sooner.
Crate-trained dogs and those whose pet parents are frequently gone for longer hours may be able to hold for as much as 10-12 hours. This is, however, fairly uncommon and should not be expected of your dog.
Pee Pads vs Outside: We started off Rodrigo on pee pads due to the high risk of parvovirus, which is a deadly virus to pups and dogs in general. Before pups have their full course of vaccinations, they are not safe against parvovirus, so we only upgraded to outside as soon as he had all his vaccinations done. This transition wasn't too difficult considering we consistently used the same keywords.
Positive Reinforcement: Similarly to humans, Dogs learn better with praise and positive reinforcement than they do with fear. If they pee/poop in the correct place, mention the keyword, praise them excitedly (they can feel your energy!), and reward them with a treat that they love.
Routine/Habits: Slowly slowly, you will start learning when your dog will need to go potty. Whether its 10 mins after drinking or 1 hr after eating, try spot common times and encourage them to potty in their designated area whilst saying the keyword. Once they get older and get a better hang of it, keep a routine of potty times. For example, take them out as soon as you wake up, at lunchtime after they eat, and in the evening (adapt with more or less times as necessary)
To conclude, potty training your puppy will be a gradual journey filled with moments that will test your patience, but in the end, it will be very rewarding and worth every swear word. The more you are consistent with your pup and acknowledge things that they did well and reward them with yummy treats, the faster they will learn. Remember, there are millions of dogs across the world that have been successfully potty trained, and your pup too, shall become one of them. Also, the better trained they are, the more places you will feel confident taking them with you to !
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