So, your dog peed in your house, AGAIN.

Have a seat, go ahead and take off that pee-soaked sock, and lets chat. It's not your fault, everything you've been told about potty training was just... wrong. Since we're cool, I'll share our foolproof potty protocol (say that 5 times fast). It's really very simple:

Step 1: Go grab your puppy potty pads.

Step 2: Very gently... throw them away.

Unless you want your dog pottying indoors on surfaces that, to little toe beans feel a whole hell of a lot like your expensive rugs or carpets... we're not ever going to encourage a dog to potty inside. End of discussion.

Instead, let's set the scene for success: your dog needs a crate. Not a pen, not an entire room, a crate. Just big enough for them to comfortably stand, turn, and lay down. Think of this as their crib... just a little space with the bare minimum meant for resting, intentionally kept kinda boring for their safety and to encourage them to embrace the naps while they can enjoy them. Until puppy has gotten the hang of potty training, and learned not to be a complete menace to society. this is going to be where they should be spending a good deal of their time.

But, isn't it cruel to leave a puppy in a crate for a good part of the day?

No.

Your puppy naturally will spend about 20 hours per day sleeping, as their body will be constantly burning energy as they grow. Don't believe me? Go ahead, google it. I'll wait. As cute as a passed out puppy is, giving them the consistency in a space to nap thats all their own will help them in ways that are too numerous to list in this one blog post... we'll come back to that in another. For now:

If you are not directly engaging with or supervising your puppy, crate them.

Now we can get started! First, let's manage those expectations... how long should you really expect your dog to be able to hold their bladder?

Generally, 1 hour for each month old that they are, up to 10ish hours on average. 30-45 minutes for small breeds and seniors.

So if you have a 3 month old dog, you need to be giving them an opportunity to potty every 3 hours or so. Yes, including when you're tired, have to get up early to contemplate your existence before work in the morning, and are questioning why on earth you chose to get that adorable little ball of fluff at this point in your life.

When you take them outside to potty (yes, I said OUTSIDE), be sure to keep them on a leash, and plop them right into the clean area that you desire them to potty in. Your pup can have the length of the leash to go around you to find their spot, and maybe 3-5 minutes to do so. If they haven't gone by then, they probably dont have to!

If puppy does potty: PARTAYYYYYY. Mark and reward that dog! During your waking hours, this is now your time to train, play, snuggle, etc with puppy. If you choose to play, and after 15-20 minutes of play, you start to see that little button nose drop to the ground...get that little butt outside again for another potty opportunity, stimulation and physical activity will often get things moving through their system! If after they potty, it's time to go in and relax (or go back to bed), go ahead and neutrally put puppy back into their crate.

If puppy doesn't potty: Back into the crate! Neutrally put them back in, and I would set an alarm to try again halfway to your next prescribed potty time. Rinse and repeat.

The other thing to consider is that what goes in, must come out. You would do yourself a favor to be mindful of your dog's food and water intake, again for many more reasons than we'll get into in this post, but for now because this will help you to make educated decisions as to when it's time to potty again! Your pup will need to potty at maximum 45 minutes after eating or drinking, so be smart about when and how much you're giving them of these resources! Be sure to keep them hydrated and with adequate nutrition, but keep track of what and when they're eating or drinking.

Remy the Dachsund Puppy Potty Training!

That's it! Stay consistent to this protocol for a week, maybe 2, and indoor accidents will be a thing of the past! Keep in mind that your dog is not a robot, and there will be some struggle initially, but stick with the program. If your dog does have an accident, be honest about the last time that they went out, their food or water intake, and the level of supervision they were under at the time that they pottied. I hate to break it to you, but most incidences where dogs are pottying inside are OUR fault. There is no punishing for this... if you're rubbing your dog's nose in their mess, one of our friendly training staff will be showing up at your house with a smile to rub your nose in your toilet too.

This potty protocol has yet to fail us when folks stick to it, but there are always unique scenarios and situations that occur, so if you feel like there are questions that you have about this, please reach out to one of our training staff for help!