Puppies & Potty Training

Potty training, properly called housebreaking or housetraining, proves to be a challenge for many puppy owners. Generally, a puppy can only hold its bladder and bowels for one hour equal to how many months old it is, according to "The KISS Guide to Raising a Puppy." A two-month-old puppy needs to go outside every two hours around the clock, for example. Smaller breeds of dogs will often need to urinate more often because their bladders are smaller. As they grow, puppies have the potential for better bladder and bowel control, but they do need a patient owner to train them on the correct time and place to relieve themselves.

Things You'll Need

  • Enzyme-based cleaner
  • Old rags or paper towels
  • Dog training crate (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Observe your puppy's behavior. Puppies often walk around in small circles, sniffing the floor right before they squat to relieve themselves, according to "The KISS Guide to Raising a Puppy." Take the puppy outside immediately if it displays this behavior. Take the puppy outside, even if it has already relieved itself. Praise the puppy when it does go outdoors.

    • 2

      Clean up all accidents with enzyme-based cleaners, old rags or plain white paper towels. These will not leave traces of an ammonia-like scent, which may be mistaken for urine by a puppy. Puppies tend to search, by scent, for traces of urine or feces. They then remark the old potty places. Completely cleaning the stain removes these traces, according to the American Society for the Protection of Animals.

    • 3

      Keep to a housetraining schedule. Puppies should be taken outside every hour when they are awake, five to 20 minutes after every meal, and as soon as they wake from sleep or a long nap. Playing vigorously outside may also stimulate the puppy to urinate or defecate. The fetch game is a good outdoor activity for dogs of all ages.

    • 4

      Use a dog-training room or crate to keep the puppy in when it cannot be supervised. The crate needs to be large enough for a full-grown dog to turn around in. If a crate cannot be used, then designate one room in the home, such as a basement or kitchen, into a training room. Puppies instinctively try not to soil their beds or the rooms where they sleep, unless they have been raised in puppy mills or wire cages, according to "The KISS Guide to Raising a Puppy." Even if the puppy has an accident, the mess will be contained to one space in the home.