I remember very clearly what it was like to toilet train my last dog. I nearly went mad!
We adopted our dog when he was five months old. For all of those months, he had been kept in a pen where he did everything—eat, sleep, play, wee and poo.
“It will be a breeze,” I said to my husband.
After all, how hard can it be to toilet train a puppy or dog?
Well, it took me another ten months to fully toilet train my dog. At 14 months old, he finally went to the toilet outside!
So when a client calls and tells me they are having problems toilet training their puppy or dog, I can fully empathise.
This article covers five common mistakes people make when trying to toilet train a puppy. These points are also relevant if you are toilet training an older, foster or rescue dog.
MISTAKE #1
You don’t make it clear where you want your dog to toilet
When your puppy or dog arrives home, toilet training is not already programmed into their brain.
To a dog, it is natural to go to the toilet almost anywhere. Most dogs won’t toilet directly next to their food or water bowl, but that is often the only rule they have.
In the wild, dogs go to the toilet wherever they like. When they enter your home, they may do the same thing. They don’t automatically know that this is your home or that they shouldn’t toilet inside it.
This is where mistake number one occurs: humans don’t make it clear where the dog should go to the toilet—or reward them for going there.
Humans are very good at telling dogs off when they toilet in the wrong area, but how is that helpful to your dog? What information have you given them about where they should toilet? What makes it worthwhile for them to go there?
Solution
Take your dog outside, wait for them to go to the toilet and reward them immediately afterwards.
Your dog will soon learn that toileting inside gets them nothing, but going outside earns them tasty food.
Your dog will quickly understand that toileting outside leads to something positive, making them more likely to repeat the behaviour.
“Ah, that is where I am supposed to go to the toilet!” your dog says.
MISTAKE #2
You don’t take your dog outside often enough
You may need to take your puppy outside every 20 to 30 minutes to set them up for success and give them the opportunity to do the right thing.
Left to their own devices, puppies will wee and poo when their bladder or bowels tell them to. If that happens while they are inside, then inside is where they will go.
Don’t expect this process to last only a week or two. Toilet training a puppy can take up to six months, so be prepared to spend plenty of time outdoors with your puppy.
Remember, your puppy has a small bladder and cannot hold on for long. This is why you need to make frequent trips outside together.
Dogs over 12 months have larger bladders, so they may be able to wait longer. However, I encourage owners to initially take their dog outside at least every hour to help prevent toilet-training mishaps indoors.
MISTAKE #3
You punish your dog for a mistake you allowed to happen
This is something humans often struggle to understand.
Puppies and dogs should never be punished for going to the toilet in the wrong place.
You allowed your puppy or dog the opportunity to toilet there, so don’t punish them for your mistake.
I have heard of people pushing a dog’s nose into their wee or poo, yelling, screaming, smacking them, sternly saying “no,” hitting them or worse.
It upsets me greatly that I still hear about these forms of abuse being used against dogs for toileting in the wrong place.
Instead, let’s use our big human brains and train our dogs.
If you make a mistake and your dog goes to the toilet in the wrong place, ignore them until they have finished. Then clean the area thoroughly with an appropriate cleaner.
MISTAKE #4
You aren’t consistent with your training
Toilet training requires consistency from the human.
You need to keep taking your puppy outside regularly and rewarding them when they toilet outside.
Never punish your dog if they toilet inside. Restrict your puppy’s access within the home, supervise them carefully and continue the process for as long as necessary.
MISTAKE #5
You give your dog too much access to the house
This is one of the most common mistakes I see people make with puppies and newly adopted dogs.
If you give your dog access to too much of the house, you may not be able to contain or supervise them closely enough to prevent toileting indoors.
The ideal setup will depend on your home. You may want to give your dog access to the lounge room, the kitchen if it leads to the back of the house, and the backyard.
If you are spending time in the bedroom or study, take your puppy into that room with you, close the door and supervise them carefully.
If your puppy or dog only has access to the area where you are spending time and an appropriate outdoor toileting area, you can supervise them more closely.
This helps prevent your puppy from wandering into another room to do their business.
If you would like further help toilet training your dog, please visit our Training and Behaviour page so we can help you get it under control.
Dogaholics Dog Training and Behaviour Services
Dogaholics is a dog training and behaviour service located in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area of NSW.
