How to Potty Train a Puppy in Seven Days

You can train your new puppy, no matter how young or old it is, to be a well-adjusted, housebroken member of the household in just seven days. It is more a matter of training yourself, and then having the puppy learn to adjust. When you follow the schedule, training accidents may happen, but when they do, it is your fault for missing the puppy's cues and getting the timing wrong.

Things You'll Need

  • Crate
  • 6-foot leash
  • Collar
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Instructions

    • 1

      Buy a crate that is the right size for the puppy at its current size. This means buying bigger crates as the puppy grows, especially for large breeds, or buying a crate big enough for the puppy as an adult but dividing it into smaller sections. The area you allow your puppy to be in must only be big enough in which to stand and lie down.

    • 2

      Buy a 6-foot leash and a collar the right size for your puppy. To get the right collar size, measure around your puppy's neck at its thickest point and buy a collar 2 inches larger so there is some room to adjust up and down.

    • 3

      Take the puppy out to the spot where you want it to eliminate. Do not let the puppy loose in a yard, even if the yard is fenced in. It is harder to keep track of the puppy when it's loose, and you can't stop it from playing.

    • 4

      When the puppy eliminates in the proper area, praise it profusely and pet it.

    • 5

      Stay at the area you want the puppy to use for no more than five minutes. Come back in the house regardless of whether the puppy did its business.

    • 6

      Put the puppy in its crate if it did not use the time to eliminate outside. Take the puppy back out to the spot every 15 minutes until it does eliminate. Praise the puppy and then bring it back in the house.

    • 7

      Allow the puppy to stay on the leash next to you to relax or play. Loop the end of the leash through a belt loop on your pants, or around your wrist or ankle, so the puppy is firmly anchored to you and cannot roam your house freely. During this time you must pay close attention to the puppy and make sure it does not squat or look for a place to eliminate. Because the puppy just eliminated outside, it is unlikely to do so again right away.

    • 8

      Place the puppy back in its crate and take it outside in another hour. Come in after five minutes. Leave the puppy loose on the leash attached to you if it eliminated outside. Put it in its crate if it didn't. Repeat this throughout the day.

    • 9

      Stretch the time in the crate out to equal one hour for every month of the puppy's age. For instance, a 3-month-old puppy can control its bladder and bowels for up to three hours. Do not leave a puppy in its crate without the opportunity to relieve itself for longer than the appropriate number of hours.

    • 10

      Follow this procedure for seven days and you will be in the proper rhythm for keeping your house free of accidents--and gaining a rewarding relationship with your new puppy.