You may think that housebreaking a puppy is an easy task – after all, how hard can it be to teach them to go outside? Well, as you’ll soon find out, it’s not quite as simple as you might have thought. However, if done properly and with patience, housebreaking your new pup should take about 5 days or less.
Start Early and End Early
If you wait too long to housebreak your puppy, they may go potty inside the home. Start early by taking them out as soon as possible so they can relieve themselves before it becomes a habit. You should also end their play time or mealtime early – this will help get them ready for bed in anticipation of going outside one last time before sleeping.
Recognize Potty Urges in Your Puppy
Before you start, it’s important to recognize how your puppy might give signals that he or she is about to potty. They will most likely sniff the ground and circle around before going
If you see any of these signs, take them outside as soon as possible so they can relieve themselves. Additionally, make sure all family members are on board with this idea too – if not, then housebreaking may be more difficult than anticipated!
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Stick To a Schedule
Take your puppy outside every hour on the hour. A consistent schedule lets your puppy know when it is acceptable to go potty. It also gives them peace of mind in knowing they will be taken out soon.
You may have to take them out between scheduled trips if you start to spot any urges. on their face or they start sniffing the ground.
Keep Toys Available Outside
When you are outside, make sure to keep a toy available for your puppy to play with and relieve themselves. It can be difficult to housebreak if there is no place in the home that is designated as theirs alone – so designate an area of your yard where they will go potty instead!
Limit Food Intake at The Beginning of Housebreaking Process
Puppies don’t need much food when they’re first being housetrained because it’s just not how big of an appetite they’ll have yet. That means less accidents inside too! You may want them on a diet higher in protein until this process has been completed which helps them feel full longer.
Clean the Accident Area
If there were any accidents while inside, use an enzyme cleaner like Nature’s Miracle so that the scent doesn’t linger too long in the carpeting or on upholstery or curtains. You want your pet to learn quickly, and having their potty scent indoors will set you back.
Nature’s Miracle works to remove any scent of urine from your flooring and furniture. Make sure you clean thoroughly, but do not use ammonia or vinegar that can produce bad odors for pets. The two products mentioned are also unsafe if ingested by animals so it is best to avoid them.
Obtaining A Crate
It may be necessary to provide an area where they feel safe in order for housebreaking training success. This could be achieved with a crate which will help reduce accidents indoors because puppies often need more time between potty breaks when compared to adult dogs (sometimes up to three times as long).
Feed Your Puppy at The Same Time Every Day
Feeding your puppy at the same time every day helps with sticking to a schedule.. This will ensure your puppy is not eating too quickly and still has time to take care of their business. This will also give you a better idea of when to expect your puppy to need a potty break.
Be Consistent With Your Routine
By following a routine with how often you feed, how long they spend outside in between breaks, how much exercise they have on each day, etc., it makes housebreaking training easier because the same events happen daily so for example if a dog needs to pee before bedtime then this becomes part of the nightly routine.
Give your Puppy Plenty of Water
Drinking lots of water will encourage peeing, and the more water they drink, the more teaching moments you will have with your puppy. Dogs learn through repetition, and the more times you teach him a proper potty session, the faster he will learn.
Keep your Puppy in a Small Area
Dogs like to roam, and unless you want an accident on the carpet or furniture, use baby gates when possible. Keep them in this area for at least 30 minutes before giving them another space so they don’t learn how to wait until they get outside. If you are going out of town make sure someone is taking care of your dog! (This could be as simple as paper training).
Maintain a Clean House
Not just during housebreaking but always because that will teach your puppy how things should be treated which will help with potty training. Make accidents less likely by keeping things off the ground such as throw rugs and chairs.
Giving them treats and praise when they do it right
Talk to them when they’re doing it right! “Good puppy!” or “You found your spot!” are appropriate phrases that will make housebreaking a lot easier for you and your pup. Positive reinforcement works wonders with all animals so this is something we recommend using as much as possible even after the process is over, how else would you know how good of an idea it was?
The other thing that’s great about talking to your puppy during potty training is that if they don’t understand what you want, then at least they can hear how pleased you are every time they do get it right – no confusion here! If there’s one rule in life, never punish or use force to get what you want from your puppy.
Keep treats on hand to reward him for doing the right thing. Before you know it, you will have a successful housebreak and your puppy will simply know how and what to do in under 5 days.
Gradually increase the time between potty breaks
Give him bigger breaks between trips outside and soon enough, he’ll be housebroken! This how to housebreak a puppy in five days. This how to train them not pee or poop inside the home and that it’s ok to go outside.
Gradually change the time from one hour between breaks to two hours, then three and then four.
