House-training your puppy: a step-by-step method

House-training is the first thing we expect of a puppy, and the one that tests our nerves most. The good news is that the method is simple and works with every puppy. It rests on three ideas: go out very often, reward in the right place, and never punish an accident. Allow a few weeks of discipline for years of peace.

What a puppy can physically do

A puppy doesn’t hold on out of stubbornness: its bladder is tiny and it doesn’t yet control its sphincters. The usual rule of thumb is that by day a puppy can hold on for about as many hours as its age in months, plus one. At two months that is three hours at the very most, and much less right after play, a drink or a nap.

At night it lasts a little longer because it is asleep, but a two-month-old will need a night-time trip outside for a few weeks. Most puppies are reliable between four and six months. Small breeds often take longer than large ones.

When to take it out

Don’t wait for the puppy to ask: it doesn’t know how yet. Take it out systematically:

• as soon as it wakes, in the morning and after every nap;
• within ten to twenty minutes after every meal;
• after a play session or excitement;
• after drinking a lot;
• just before bedtime;
• and, apart from these moments, about every two hours at first.

Learn to recognise the signs that come before: it sniffs the floor insistently, circles, wanders away from the group, heads for the door or for a corner where it has gone before. The moment you see one of these, take it out without delay, carrying it if it is small.

The method, step by step

1. Always take it to the same spot. The smells left from earlier trips encourage it to go again. Choose a quiet corner, not too far from the door.
2. Stand still and quiet. This is not the time to play. Give it five minutes to sniff.
3. Link a word. When it starts, calmly say the same phrase every time, such as “go potty”. In time, this word will help it go on request.
4. Reward immediately, on the spot. As soon as it has finished, praise it warmly and give a treat. The reward must come outside, not once you are back indoors: otherwise it is rewarded for going in.
5. Play or walk afterwards. If the outing ends as soon as it has gone, it will learn to hold on to prolong the walk.

If nothing happens after five minutes, go back in, keep it close to you or in its pen, and go out again a quarter of an hour later.

Supervising indoors

Between outings, a puppy with the run of the house will have accidents without you seeing. Reduce its space until it is clean:

• keep it in the room where you are, with the doors shut;
• tether it to you with a light lead when you are busy;
• use a puppy pen or a travel crate when you can’t watch it.

The crate is a valuable tool, provided it is presented as a pleasant refuge and never as a punishment. Dogs naturally avoid soiling where they sleep. It should be just big enough for it to stand, turn round and lie down. A puppy shouldn’t spend more than two to three hours in it by day.

When there is an accident

Accidents are part of learning. How many you get depends mostly on your vigilance, not the puppy’s intelligence.

If you catch it in the act, interrupt with a short “no”, without shouting, pick it up and take it outside. If it finishes out there, reward it.

If you find the accident afterwards, say nothing. Clean up. A puppy makes no link between a ten-minute-old puddle and your anger. Rubbing its nose in it, scolding or hitting it teaches only one thing: that going in front of you is dangerous. It will hide to go, behind the sofa or in another room, and the learning will take weeks longer.

For cleaning, avoid bleach and ammonia-based products: their smell resembles urine and draws the puppy back to the same spot. Use an enzymatic cleaner or, failing that, diluted white vinegar, and rinse well.

Training pads and newspaper: should you use them?

Teaching a puppy to go on a pad and then teaching it to go outside means teaching two things instead of one. If you can take it out often, go straight to the outdoors.

The pad remains useful in some cases: an upstairs flat with no lift, a puppy whose vaccinations aren’t finished in a neighbourhood with many stray dogs, or an absence of several hours. Put it away from the bed and the bowl, always in the same place, then move it gradually towards the door before removing it.

In a flat with a terrace or balcony, a tray with artificial grass or litter can serve as a transition area.

At night

• Take the water bowl away an hour before bedtime, except in strong heat.
• Take it out last of all, just before switching off the light.
• Have it sleep near you, in its crate or basket: you will hear it whine or stir.
• When it wakes the house, take it out calmly, without playing or talking, then put it back to bed.

By around three to four months, most puppies sleep through the night.

When it isn’t progressing

If, despite a rigorous method, your puppy isn’t improving, or if a clean dog starts going indoors again, get it checked. A urinary infection, intestinal parasites or a digestive problem may be the cause. Submissive or excited urination, when the puppy pees as it greets you, is not a house-training problem: it fades with age if you greet the puppy calmly, without leaning over it.

A vet will rule out a medical cause, and a trainer can watch how you go about it and correct the details that are holding things up.

Key takeaways

Take it out more often than seems necessary, reward outside and within the second, supervise indoors, and never punish an accident. House-training isn’t a matter of drilling but of habit: the more the puppy succeeds, the more it will succeed. Once this milestone is passed, carry on with the basics of training.