Potty Training Your Puppy
By: Tiera Watson,
Proud Puppy Owner/ Adopter
Okay, so back when it was about day #2 with my new puppy baby Maxy and I was approximately on my third roll of paper towels. I thought to myself, how can a creature so tiny pee so often? I needed to get to the bottom of the situation fast because the amount of money that I was projected to spend on paper towels that month would’ve just been unholy.
That entire potty-training phase was just not meant for the faint of heart.
I researched as much as I possibly could have. I watched tons of YouTube videos, read every article on Google that I could find, and spoke to all of my friends with dogs to find out how to potty train my puppy.
After learning all that I have and going through the potty-training phase with baby Maxy, I came up with a simple, easy-to-read guide to training your puppy in 4 simple steps/weeks. Before you know it, your puppy will be the perfect little pooper, making your life so much simpler and easier, just like the good old days. Kidding!
I like to think of step 1/week 1 as the patience phase. This is the phase where we as adult humans need to realize that we are dealing with a tiny puppy that was never told that he/she has to pee or poop in one spot all the time. The puppy was usually accustomed to using the restroom anywhere, at any time
They do not realize that there is something very wrong being done here. For me, this was the hardest step. Mainly due to the fact that I get frustrated very easily and my puppy picked up on those vibes and seemed to find great enjoyment out of seeing me upset so she started using the bathroom in the most inconvenient of places.
At the airport, in my lap in my car, on my daughter’s prom dress on the big day, on my bed, and all over my white carpet; just to name a few. I just want to take this time to say thank you so much to Rocco & Roxie’s Stain & Odor Eliminator (link to Amazon) for helping me to get rid of all those yellow polka dots on my carpet, you will always have a place in my heart.
Although it will take time for you to build up some restraint and patience with your puppy it will be totally worth it in the long run. So many headaches were avoided and so much money was saved.
In step 2/week 2 which is very simple to implement yet a bit harder to be dedicated to is “placement consistency”. I’ve found out that a way to accelerate the time it takes for your pup to become 100% potty trained, or pad training in this case is to place the pads in the same spot every time your puppy uses it.
I found that placing it near their beds is best to avoid accidents. If you put the pads in a different spot every time this may confuse your puppy and they may go to their favorite pee spot to use the bathroom even if a pad is not there. Yikes! But if you want your dog to use the bathroom outside completely and not inside the house you may need to take them out of the house about 4-7 times a day to avoid any mishaps.
My secret recipe for getting my puppy to use the pad was the Bodhi Potty Dog Training Spray (link to Amazon).
If you have never seen this sprayer before it is a complete problem solver. Puppies will usually sniff around to find the perfect potty spot. Simply spray this outdoor smelling time-saving, heaven-sent potion directly on your puppy’s pee pad and this will cut your puppy’s potty-training learning curve in half.
In step 3/week 3 which is my favorite, I’m sure in which my littly Maxy would agree to is when pee meets pee pad then comes treats. Whenever you get your puppy to do whatever you intended for him to do you need to congratulate them.
Things like treats, simple praises or a belly rub will signify to your puppy that you are pleased with them and they will seek your glorification time and time again. If you notice that your pup is begging for a treat or a belly rub then stop giving them what they want. Ignore, ignore, ignore, never let your puppy get rewarded without doing anything that deserves a reward. Do not reward them until they perform an activity or do an action that was intended for them to accomplish.
Step 4/week 4 is to monitor. Monitor very closely and very attentively. At this point in time, your puppy should be using the pee pads consistently and confidently but you must remember that mistakes do happen and that nobody is perfect.
If you notice that your puppy is starting to use the pads about 7 out of ten times a day or more and more each time then you and your puppy are on the right track. They will get used to it and they will become better at aiming. (hopefully)
But, in some rare occasions where your puppy is using the pad less and less then you may need to consider either revisiting step two or consider laying down maybe two more pee pads just to make sure that this isn’t an instance where your pup is just not making it to the pee pad on time.
Poor thing! With my puppy, I realized that we would never make a mess on the floor anymore after step 4/week 4 except for when I had guests over. I told you, my puppy just enjoyed seeing me frustrated, embarrassed, and upset. My only solution for fixing this was trying to get my puppy comfortable with my guests then she would find no problem in using the pads in front of them.
Me and little Maxy are still currently going strong with over 500 wins and 0 losses against the pee pads and my white carpet. She has made no accidents yet and she always knows exactly when she needs to pee or poop and she knows exactly where she needs to go to get the job done.
I took all of this as a learning experience and found out that maybe sometimes in life the problem isn’t what we think it may be, but instead, we are the problem and we must find the solution within ourselves before we attempt to fix what is going on in the world around us.