Ep. 30: Potty Training Your Puppy

In today’s episode Kayla Fratt of Journey Dog Training and Marissa Martino of Paws & Reward talk about house training your puppy! Everyone’s favorite pastime! The first half of the show walks you through a specific case study and during the second half of the show they share their ideal puppy house training set up. 

Perfect PUPPY house training set up:

PREPARATION:

• Tools needed: 
  • Ex pen
  • Shower liner mat 
  • Litter box area 
  • Crate
• How to Crate Train

Process:

• Take the puppy outside every hour, more frequently if the puppy has been playing, sleeping, eating, or drinking.
• The puppy is only allowed out of the crate/pen area with active supervision (read about active versus passive versus reactive supervision here).
• Make sure all potty breaks are on leash and boring until the puppy is empty. 
• If the puppy doesn’t go to the bathroom, place the puppy back into the crate/pen area for 10 minutes and then try again outside. 
• If the puppy is crying, take the puppy out and see if they need to go potty. Make sure it is a short and quick break. 
• If accidents happen, clean them up and try again. Keep note of when and where accidents happen to see if there are any behavioral patterns. 
• Pick up water before bedtime if puppy is having a lot of accidents at night. This applies to puppies that are 12 weeks or older. Expect midnight breaks for super young pups. 
• Add one hour per month of age to support building bladder control ONLY after the puppy understands the concept of holding it.

Other resources:

Poop school

Journey Dog Training Resources: