Episode #211 Five Things You NEED to Know to Stop Your Dog From Peeing in the House

Are you struggling with potty training your puppy? You're not alone! In this episode, I'll share FIVE essential tips that will help you keep your puppy from peeing in the house. These tried-and-true methods are perfect for first-time puppy parents or anyone needing a refresher.  

Here's what you'll learn:  
1️⃣ **Management:** Set your puppy up for success with the right tools and strategies.  
2️⃣ **Consistency:** Why sticking to a routine is critical for your puppy's learning process.  
3️⃣ **Time Limits:** Understand how long your puppy can hold it and avoid accidents.  
4️⃣ **Recognizing Signals:** Learn to spot the subtle signs that your pup needs to go outside.  
5️⃣ **Positive Reinforcement:** How to make housetraining a rewarding and encouraging experience for your puppy.  

💡 Remember: Patience and positivity are key to successful potty training! Your puppy is learning, and every step counts.  

Chapters

• 0:00 Effective House Training Tips for Dogs
• 8:17 Successful Puppy Potty Training Tips

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

In today's episode, we are tackling a big challenge that so many dog parents face house training. Specifically, I'm going to share the five things you need to know to stop your dog from peeing in the house. Whether you have a new puppy, a rescue dog or even an older dog who's had a few accidents, these tips will help you create a solid plan for success. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hello everybody, Thank you for tuning in to the podcast today. We try to make dog training simple and fun, but also effective. So if you haven't been here before, welcome. If you're new. I'm Amy Jensen. I run Baxter and Bella, the Online Puppy School, and we like to talk about all things dogs here. So today, as I mentioned, we're talking about house training. I'm going to leave you with five tips that you need to know to be successful with this.

Speaker 1: 1:17

House training is one of those things that when you get a dog, it has to be addressed pretty early. One of the first things you're focused on is house training and if this goes well, most people keep their dogs. If this goes poorly, a lot of people don't want to keep their dogs and my goal is to keep as many dogs in loving homes with families they adore as possible. So let's get started First on the list number one, management. Started First on the list number one, management. We pair this with training. They go hand in hand. Management is so effective in setting your dog up for success and training quickly and efficiently, All right. If we don't manage, we just let our puppy do whatever they want. Bad habits tend to form and those are much harder to undo than to just set good habits from the beginning. So this is all about setting your dog up for success by controlling their environment.

Speaker 1: 2:09

Dogs aren't born knowing where to go to the bathroom. If they're given free reign of your house, they might have accidents simply because they don't know any better and they see it as spaces. So if you put them in a four by four pen, even they could say you know what this corner is for potting and I'll play in that corner, I'll eat my food in this corner. I have plenty of space to do all of those things and so we need to teach them. And it starts with management. So we want to use tools like crates, play pens, baby gates to limit our puppies access to areas where accidents might happen.

Speaker 1: 2:42

If you're not actively supervising them meaning watching your dog like a hawk 100% of the time, they need to be in a safe, confined space. Now crates they'll be able to hold it for several hours at a time and then they're going to need a break. If they're in an exercise pen, I would take them out every 20, 30 minutes. With an eight-week-old puppy, If they're a little older. They with an eight week old puppy, If they're a little older, they could possibly hold it longer. But if they're in that pen, again, that's big enough that they might potty in the corner. So I've got to be somewhat supervising. If they're laying down, chewing something and I can kind of see them out of the peripheral vision or I kind of hear what they're doing, I know what they're up to. You don't have to watch them as closely as if they were just running freely through your home. So that exercise pen is helpful, but in the beginning you wanna make sure you're giving them faster breaks in that pen so that they're going to the bathroom outside and they're keeping that pen clean Once they can keep that pen clean.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Okay, now we're practicing. Let's start with one room of our house and let's just spend every day, even from the get-go, a few hours in that one room, closely supervised as the get-go. A few hours in that one room, closely supervised, as your dog matures and grows and the training starts to become habit. Then we can introduce the second room and the third room and the fourth room of our home, etc. I know some people feel hesitant about using a crate, but when introduced correctly, it becomes a really cozy bedroom for your dog. Plus, most dogs naturally avoid going potty in their sleeping area, so a crate helps them learn to hold it until it's time to go and we give them plenty of breaks throughout the day. Now, management isn't forever. It's just a way to prevent bad habits while you work on building good ones. Think of it as your safety net.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Number two is create a routine. Dogs are creatures of habit and they thrive on consistency. If you are serious about stopping these indoor accidents. You need to create a schedule that your dog can count on. We want to take them outside at the same time every day, if possible, or pretty close when they wake up after meals, after naps, after playtime and definitely before bed. Make sure they've gone Now. For puppies, this might mean taking them out every hour or two. For adult dogs, every four to six hours might work. The key Think of it like this the more predictable the routine, the easier it is for your dog to learn when and where to go. Over time they'll start to anticipate potty breaks, which means fewer accidents inside your home.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Tip number three is to respect your dog's time limits. This is especially important for puppies or newly adopted dogs who might not yet have full bladder control and recognize when they first come to your home they're in a state of anxiousness. Your dog can be experiencing a lot of stress during their transition period, so for one to two weeks their bathroom routines might be a little bit off. So do your best to set a regular schedule for them, something that's predictable and they will feel more safe. Here's a good guideline Puppies can usually hold their bladder for one hour per month of age.

Speaker 1: 5:33

So a two-month-old puppy, an eight-week-old puppy can go about two hours in their crate before needing a potty break. A three-month-old puppy three hours and so on. Now, of course, this isn't set in stone. Activity, water intake and excitement can all shorten that time. So if your puppy's out of the crate, if they're in an exercise pen, I wouldn't expect them to hold it for two hours. I'd take them out every 45 minutes to an hour or even, in the very beginning, possibly 20 to 30 minutes if they're a little puppy. I'm never leaving my dogs in crates longer than four hours. So no matter their age, even if they're five or six months old, at four hours I'm letting them out, giving them a break. We're having a play session, a training session, we're going for a walk. They're getting interaction with me.

Speaker 1: 6:10

Tip number four is to watch for signs. Your dog needs to go. This is such an important skill because dogs often tell us when they need to go. They just don't use words. They don't speak English, right, they speak dog. So what should you watch for? Common signs include sniffing the floor, pacing, circling or suddenly stopping whatever they're doing. Maybe they were busy playing with a toy and suddenly they stop and pause. They might need to go. Some dogs will even go to your door or maybe start whining. If they've learned that that's how they get outside, Maybe they start to bark at the door or sit at the door. They'll start to show you hey, I need to get outside to that area. The more training you've done, the more they'll start to gravitate towards that door to show you they need to go. If you notice any of these signals, stop what you're doing and take them out immediately. Being proactive here can prevent a lot of accidents.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Tip number five is keep it positive. Positive reinforcement is your best friend when it comes to house training a dog. When your dog does their business outside, throw a party. Or if you live in an apartment and you have an indoor potty area, if your dog uses that indoor bathroom, throw a party. We want this to be a good thing. We want our dogs to realize that, hey, going to the bathroom, where the humans want me to do it, is a highly rewarding activity. So praise them enthusiastically. Offer them a high value food reward, Play a quick game. If they love games, maybe praise them, pet them, whatever they love. Dogs thrive on rewards and by making that experience fun and positive, you are reinforcing the behavior you want.

Speaker 1: 7:42

And here's something just as important we want to avoid punishing our dog. Accidents are going to happen. We want to limit them as much as possible, but when one does happen, we don't want to punish them, as that can confuse our dogs and even make them afraid to go potty in front of us, which really leads to them running off and hiding and doing it somewhere where we don't want them to. So instead, simply clean up the accident calmly, focus on rewarding your dog when they do get it right, and maybe just take them out more often and remind yourself hey, I've got to do better supervising my puppy.

Speaker 1: 8:17

All right, that's it for today. Five tips to keep your puppy from peeing in your house. Remember, this takes patience and consistency, but I promise you and your dog can do this. Thanks for tuning in to the puppy training podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.