A Guide to Toilet Training Your Puppy

Welcoming a new puppy into your life is an exciting adventure, but it also comes with its share of challenges!
One of the first & most important tasks you’ll face is toilet training.  It can sometimes seem overwhelming, but with a clear plan and a bit of patience, you and your puppy will soon master it.
Tips for Success

1. Outside Is Best
   While puppy pads can be helpful in some situations, they can also create confusion by signalling that toileting indoors is acceptable. It's better to start training your puppy to toilet outdoors from the beginning.
2. Establish A Schedule
   Puppies do best on predictable routines. At eight weeks old, take your puppy outside every 20-30 minutes (when they’re awake.) Keep a toilet diary so you can begin to track and predict their toilet habits, this will help you begin to extend the gaps between garden trips as they grow.
3. Go With Them
   Always accompany your puppy outside so that they are confident and you are there to praise and reward them after they go.
4. Don't 'Access All Areas'
   Don’t give your puppy unsupervised access to the whole house.  If you’re not right there to supervise, pop them into a safe, smaller area like a crate or pen.
5. Handle Accidents Calmly
   If your puppy has an accident indoors, clean it thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner to remove odours and prevent repeat incidents. Never scold or punish them – more on this later.
6. Stick to regular feeding times.
   Stick to consistent feeding times to help regulate their digestive system and make toileting times more predictable. Avoid free feeding your puppy. Regular meal times are best.

Learn The Signs
Pay attention to your puppy’s body language and you will soon spot the early warning signs, these include things such as;

• Sniffing or circling
• Moving towards the door
• Whining or barking
• Disengaging from play
• Looking at you expectantly

Be sure to take your puppy to their toilet area if you spot any of these tell tale signs.

Key Times
As well as taking your puppy outside every 30 minutes or so, you will also want to take them out after events that make them more likely to need the toilet, such as:

• Immediately after waking up
• 15 minutes after eating
• After play or training sessions
• During or after periods of excitement, e.g. when visitors arrive

Common Mistakes To Avoid

1. Relying on Puppy Pads
   Unless absolutely necessary, avoid using pads as they delay outdoor toilet training, teaching your puppy that it's ok to toilet inside.
2. Leaving Your Puppy Unsupervised
   If your puppy roams freely, accidents are more likely. Supervision is essential until they’ve mastered the basics.
3. Skipping Night-time Toilets
   Puppies can’t hold their bladder all night at first. Be prepared for a few trips outside during the night in the early weeks.
4. Being Inconsistent
   A clear and consistent routine works best. Share your puppy’s schedule with all family members to keep things consistent.
5. Accidentally Punishing Them For Going
   If your puppy enjoys being in the garden and you take them straight inside after they toilet, they might begin to hold off on toileting because they learn it will end the fun.  Avoid this by letting them have a little free time after they’ve gone as a reward. 
6. Grabbing and Scaring Puppy
   If your puppy does begin to go in the house, it can be tempting to try and grab them to quickly put them outside.  However, this can make you quite scary to the puppy who doesn’t understand why their human is suddenly rushing at them!  If you’re not able to use an attention noise (eg the kissy noise) to get them to come outside, it’s better to wait for them to finish, calmly clean it up and chalk it up to experience.

 
Why Punishment Isn’t Helpful – And Will Likely Make It Worse!

Old fashioned advice to yell, shake a bottle of stones, hit puppy with a rolled up newspaper or rub their nose in it are not only unethical and cruel, they can actually lead to more problems, not just in the relationship you are trying to forge with your puppy, but with the toilet training process itself.
 
Punishment can lead to your puppy trying to hide when they need to toilet, which makes accidents harder to predict and address.
Your puppy can associate the act of toileting itself with being punished, and can become too scared to toilet in front of you, leading to unproductive garden trips and hidden accidents in the house.
 
What to Do Instead

• Focus on setting your puppy up for success with regular opportunities to toilet in the right place.
• Celebrate and reward every success with treats, praise, or play to help them associate toileting in the desired location with positive outcomes.
• Be kind and patient—accidents are a natural part of learning. Simply clean up accidents calmly and thoroughly to prevent lingering odours that might attract them back to the same spot.

 
Final Thoughts...
Toilet training is a process, but with patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement, it can be a smooth and rewarding experience.
Remember, every puppy is different, and their ability to control their bladder will develop over time.
​Stay encouraging and celebrate small wins along the way!
 
Need more help? Get in touch.
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