The New Dog Owner’s Guide to Potty Training a Puppy

If you’ve never owned a dog before, there are lots of things to learn; like where they should sleep, what they should eat, and what they can safely play with. But by far, the biggest question is about potty training a puppy.

Potty training is one of those things you should start working on immediately, beginning with the moment you bring your new puppy home. After the car ride and being a little unsure of his new surroundings, take him straight to the grass before you bring him in the house. You don’t want his first impressions to be of you getting mad at him for weeing on your kitchen floor.

Another reason why you want to make a pit stop in the yard first is to give him a chance to sniff around and become familiar and comfortable with his new turf. Sometimes dogs *** when they’re nervous – nervous about the new home and nervous about you, the new owner. So let them sniff, pee, and get to know you a little better first.

Your new puppy is like a baby who pees whenever they feel like it. This means you have to take the pup outside more often than you may realize. The more often you take him outside, the more your carpet will stay dry and the more likely he will begin to make the connection that outside is where the bathroom is.

Try this when you really want him to learn to go outdoors – play with him a bunch, then give him lots of water to drink. Then immediately take him outside and when he goes, make a big fuss over it. This is like potty training a toddler where you sit him on the potty when he’s most likely to go, then he does and you praise him for his success. You can just see the little light bulb go on over his head as he makes the connection.

You need a command word for your dog that signals what you want him to do. Let’s use the word “potty”. Take him outside with the command “potty”. Feign disinterest and don’t play with him until he takes care of his business. Immediately after he goes, praise him while liberally using the word “potty”.