Seems like you just got yourself a puppy and you are planning to teach it some house manners. By that, I mean house training, or you can say potty training. The first question in your mind is how long does it take to potty train a puppy and the answer is–It Depends. Your dog or puppy must get the potty training, so you don’t have to clean your house again and again. The reason why I said, It Depends is because every dog and puppy is different. Smaller dogs can’t hold urine or potty much, while larger dogs can!
It can take somewhere between two to three weeks for your puppy to be fully potty trained. Here in the article, I will help you with how to potty train a puppy but before that let’s learn some basics.
Logic Behind Potty Training
Have you ever noticed street dogs or dogs with a mother dog? They will never poop where they live. The mother dog trains their pups to pee and poop outside the den, so she doesn’t have to clean up their smelly waste. Whenever a mother dog sees a pup peeing or pooping in the den for the first time, she will shoo it away. Hence, the pups with the mother dog will never poop or pee in its den (House).
Lesson Learnt: Just like a mother dog, you’ll also have to potty train a puppy. Being a mother or a father of a puppy pet, you can definitely do that. However, I will recommend buying a pup from a breeder only after it is 8 weeks and has lived with its mother in an open place and not a forced cage.
Now, you have an idea on starting how to potty train your puppy effectively. Mother dogs can shoo them, but you can’t. So, you will have to train them for it. Let’s start.
How Long Does It Take to Potty Train Your Puppy?
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As mentioned above, there’s no specific time or age that your puppy will be trained to potty at an appropriate place. Some dogs and puppies will take two to three weeks, while some will learn it in a week. The key is consistency. I will help with how to potty train a puppy, but you will have to keep the consistency in training and you will see the magic happening.
How to Potty Train a Puppy?
A few things you will require are patience, lots of love, and treats for your puppy. Learning how to potty train a puppy is not that hard but making a puppy be potty-trained is a bit tricky. So, without further ado let’s move ahead and learn how to do it!
Step 1: Introduce to Its Den
You’ll have to have a den or playpen for your puppy. Make sure it is not too big or not too small. The right size will do. Don’t allow it to pee or poop in its den. If it’s pre-trained not to do the smelly business in the den, you’ll see him pee and poop in the house.
Step 2: Make a Puppy Potty Training Schedule
The puppy potty training schedule is not 1 or 2 hours a day, instead, it is taking your puppy out every one or two hours for peeing and pooping. Take him to the same spot where you want it to do its business. This will make it understand that whenever it wants to pee or poop, it has to go there.
Give it a healthy treat once it finishes its pee and poop. It will encourage and show them that they did a good job. And yes, even at night time you’ll have to take it out for the potty training every one or two hours. Don’t worry, it’s for a few weeks only, till your puppy is potty trained.
Step 3: Expand Its Den
Slowly slowly, you’ll have to make your pup learn that this whole house is your den and you should never pee or poop here and there. Keep the puppy potty training schedule intact and you’ll have a successfully potty trained puppy.
Few Things to Keep in Mind While Potty Training a Puppy
Source: media-be.chewy.com
Above were the steps on how to potty train your puppy, and this section is things to care for while doing so! All dogs and pups are different, but here are a few things that will accelerate the process.
#1: Keep the eating schedule tight. Give it food at specific times and make it consistent over time. No in-between food breaks!
#2: For one week, take the puppy for a walk every 30 minutes to understand the time pattern of its pooping. Keep a track of when it needs to pee and poop.
#3: if accidents happen in the house, clean it properly, there should be no smell left. Why? The pee and poop smell tells your pup that this is the place to do the smelly business.
#4: Give your puppy 5 minutes and watch if it’s pee-ing or pooping when outside, if not take it in and go back again after 30 minutes.
#5: Note how much your puppy can hold the urine in its bladder, you don’t want to have accidents in the den. Or do you?
#6: handle your pup with love. Suppress your urge to scold or punish it, when accidents happen. Take it outside to do the poop or pee and give it a treat. This will help a lot in your potty training.
#7: Punishing and beating a dog and pup will make things worse, won’t only it become rebellious but you will have an awful pet.
#8: Take care you don’t give treats (even by mistake) when it is peeing or pooping in the house or inside its cage, playpen, or den.
#9: Don’t rub its nose in the poop thinking it will understand that you didn’t want it to poop here. Instead, just take the dog outside to finish the poop
#10: Take your puppy out immediately after giving it meals, whenever it wakes up from naps, and after vigorous playtime.
#11: Take it out on a walk first thing in the morning (after it wakes up) and the last thing at night. Train it after every walk at night it’s sleep time.
Also Read: 7 Ultimate Essentials For Dog Training
How Long Can a Puppy Hold It?
Source: familyhandyman.com
This is a kind of cheat sheet for you, and you can’t always rely on it. The time we will be mentioning is average and that can vary from puppy to puppy. I will advise you to take it out frequently and learn its holding time.
- 2-month-old puppy – Holding stamina for 2 hours
- 3-month-old puppy – Holding stamina for 3 hours
*Note: You should never force or allow a puppy or an adult dog to hold pee and poop for more than 6 hours. It will affect their bladder very badly.
Summing Up Potty Training a Puppy in a Few Lines
It is the task of the best parent in the town or with this, you’ll be the best pet parent in the town. In this article, you read the information on how long does it take to potty train your puppy and how to do it properly. All-in-all you’ll have a perfectly trained puppy.
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