What's the best way to toilet train a puppy?
If you’re a new puppy owner, you’ll want to know the best way to toilet train a puppy. We asked our community of dog owners who have been through the puppy toilet training experience to share their top tips. Here’s what they told us:
Plan ahead
The best way to house train a puppy quickly is to be ready to take them outside every time they want to go to the toilet. Not leaving your puppy alone in the early weeks and months so you can be on constant puppy watch will help to keep accidents in the house to a minimum.
Use praise and reward
Toilet training a puppy takes time and requires plenty of patience. Say your chosen cue such as "toilet" and praise and reward your puppy every time they go to the toilet outside. This will help them to learn in a positive way. Be prepared for accidents – particularly with young puppies who have tiny bladders and little control. Don’t tell your puppy off if they have an accident – they won’t understand what they have done wrong and may become worried about troileting in front of you outside. Instead, just clean up the mess and praise your puppy when they get it right.
Be consistent
You can help your puppy by getting into a good toilet training routine from their first day at home. There are certain times when your puppy will need to go to the toilet. These are: as soon as they wake up, have had some food, have finished playing and before they go to bed at night.
Don’t forget night times. It will be some time before your puppy will be dry through the night. Until then, you can expect some night time toilet trips to the garden. This means some broken night’s sleep for you. In the early weeks with your puppy, it can be a good idea to set an alarm a few times during the night to take your puppy outside. You can increase the length of time between night time toilet trips as your puppy grows.
Spot the signs
By closely observing your puppy, you will soon learn to spot the signs that they need to go. The signs to look for include sniffing, circling and whining. Some people find it helpful, during the toilet training phase to leave a lead on their puppy. That way, when you spot the signs, you can respond quickly and guide your puppy outside.
Use a cue word
The last thing you want at night is a puppy who takes their time exploring the garden before they go to the toilet, while you’re standing there freezing and yawning. You can help your puppy to understand that it’s time to go to the toilet by using a cue word, such as ‘toilet’ to encourage them to go. And don’t forget to praise them each time they go.
In summary, the best way to toilet train a puppy is to plan your time so focus on your puppy’s training, use praise and reward, be consistent with your routine, learn to spot the signs and introduce a cue word. Happy puppy toilet training!
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“I just thought it was extremely convenient, extremely well planned and extremely well led. I have no faults or critiques and when we eventually get another puppy, would look to come back again. We were always offered treats and different toys if needed, as well as just generally a lot of calming presence in what was at most times a very overwhelming scene for the puppies.”— Cassie
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“Puppy School has been an all round excellent package from start to finish but the greatest asset to this training was Sally! Sally was calm, clear and responsive to us all so you feel you get the benefit from being in a group of handlers and puppies with all the benefits of that but also individual attention to support you and your puppies specific needs/issues. Banjo is a nervous puppy, Sally was very sensitive to this and managed situations so Banjo benefitted from all the training exercises and interaction in a very positive way. She also gave me lots of support in how to help him outside of class. It was also brilliant to have a booklet and online access at home to watch reminder supporting material videos of the things taught in each session. There were also a range of vouchers and free trial bags of different foods which has proven helpful in determining what works for Banjo. I have had several puppies over the years, and have been to several classes, this has been the best experience yet for both me and my puppy. Thanks especially to Sally! ”— Maria
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“Kelly is a fantastic tutor and clearly is knowledgeable about her subject. I have learned a lot from this course and will be able to teach my puppy much more effectively. ”— Katie