There are many sources online that share great information on house breaking puppies. Below, we will share just a little of the knowledge we have accumulated through research and years of experience.
First of all, patience is key. We do everything we can to give your new puppy a jumpstart to potty training by starting them on litter box training before they leave for their new homes. However, any change of environment (such as a new home) will take time to adjust to, so be sure to give your new puppy a few weeks to settle into his or her new environment before setting too high of expectations on them.
Secondly, recognize that all puppies are different and will vary greatly in how easy or hard they are to house break. However, with effort, and consistency, you can have success in training your new puppy.
By starting them on litter box training, we are attempting to make this road to potty training success a little smoother for their new families. While litter box training doesn’t necessarily train them to go outside and potty, it does teach them that there is an appropriate place to potty, which makes the transition to housebreak them much easier for new families. In addition, once the puppies are about 6 weeks old, we also provide a doggy door for them to have access to an outside potty area. By this point, most of the puppies are exclusively going outside to potty when the door is open. However, they will need continual and consistent training once in their new home as well to build upon what we’ve started.
Ideally, new puppies should be taken outside to potty as often as possible. New puppies should be taken out every couple of hours, upon waking, and a short time after eating. When owners can’t take the puppies out often enough, crate training is very helpful. This is because dogs instinctively want to keep their “dens” clean. A dog is less likely to have an accident in a crate. We have also had success with a small indoor pen as the puppies got a little older. The key is to not allow the puppies free rein of the house unless they have just had a potty break outside. Once a puppy has an accident in the house, they are more likely to do it again, especially if the smell isn’t completely eliminated. That is why it is so important to thoroughly and promptly clean up any accidents.
When you take the puppy outside to potty, it is a good idea to be “all business”. We recommend having them on a leash and not allowing them to run and play. Don’t play with them or pay them any attention until they potty. Then, when they potty, lavish them with praise, and if time allows, let them have a little fun running and playing with you before taking them back outside. This will teach them that they are rewarded for pottying outside and also hopefully teach them to potty quickly once they are taken outside.
When you take them back inside, it is a good time to let them have a little free play inside as long as you don’t leave them out of their crate so long that they begin to need to potty again and risk the chance of them having an accident inside. Be sure they go back into the crate or play pen before they have a chance to have an accident. Then, repeat this whole process every few hours. The amount of time that a puppy can go between potty breaks will increase as the puppy grows. We recommend a minimum of two hours when you first bring them home, and gradually increase as they grow.
Another useful tip is to tether them to you while inside so that they don’t have an opportunity to have an unnoticed accident. If you can catch them just before they potty and get them outside before they go, they will learn what is expected of them much more quickly.
Lastly, we do not recommend the use of puppy pads. In our opinion, they just prolong the training process by allowing them to potty inside at all. (The only time we use puppy pads is when traveling with puppies before they are fully vaccinated in order to avoid parvo)