Toilet training, or house training, means teaching a puppy to wee and poo outside rather than inside the house. Toilet training can start inside with the use of puppy pads or good old-fashioned newspaper. But the end goal is to train your puppy to go to the loo outside.

How to House Train a Puppy

Puppy bathroom training can start as soon as you welcome your new bundle of fluff into their new home. They’ll need to know straightaway where they’re allowed to do their business. You can choose to toilet train outside in a secure garden from the start, or you can slowly build up to it using a particular toileting area inside.

Start by placing newspaper or puppy pads in the designated area. Whenever you notice your dog showing signs of needing the toilet, move them to the toileting area and use a verbal cue like “wee wees” or “go do a wee”. If they do, make sure to give lots of praise, or even reward your puppy - encouraging them to use that spot again. Clean the area as soon as they have used it to prevent unwanted smells and to encourage your puppy to go there again.

You may be wondering how to train a puppy to go toilet outside? Once your puppy is reliably using the newspaper, you can move the newspaper outside to encourage your puppy to toilet in a different location. Slowly reduce the size of the paper over time until you can remove it completely. It won’t take long for your puppy to toilet on a new surface like the grass.

When training your puppy to toilet outside, make sure you let them out regularly and spot when they go to the door or signal that they need to go. It’s also a good idea to give them extra time to have a sniff around after they’ve been. If you bring them inside as soon as they have been to the toilet, they’ll be reluctant to go as they’ll start to associate toileting with the end of outside time.

Most importantly never punish your dog, even if your dog has an accident in the house - they have no sense of right or wrong! Your puppy will only toilet in an inappropriate area if they feel there’s no other option. So, if you keep the toileting area clean, give them plenty of opportunities to go, and don't make a fuss if they get it wrong, they should never feel the need to go elsewhere.

If you need to clean up puppy wee and poo, use an enzymatic cleaner specially designed for this. If you run out of cleaner, you can also use a biological washing powder. This reduces the smell so your puppy will be less likely to toilet in the same place again. Temporarily moving the wee or poo to the desired toileting area can help to establish associations with toileting in that area.

How Do I Know When My Puppy Needs to Toilet?

When your puppy needs to go to the toilet they’ll become restlessness, start to move around in circles, or head towards a location that they have previously toileted in. Generally, when your puppy is awake, they’ll need to go for a wee every couple of hours. The following are other circumstances when your puppy is likely to need to go out:

• Within 20 minutes of eating
• When they wake up
• Shortly after a drink
• During or after an activity or period of excitement

If you give them plenty of opportunities to go the toilet and can recognise the signs of them needing to go, you’ll be less likely to have accidents and have greater success toilet training your dog.

How Do I Toilet Train Overnight?

A puppy will need to go the toilet less overnight than during the day as they’ll be less active, won’t be eating, and will drink less. But a puppy’s bladder is small, and they haven’t yet learnt bladder control, so you’ll need to let them out regularly.

Start off by setting an alarm and letting them out every few hours. You’ll be able to gradually increase this time as they get used to the routine. Make sure you let them out last thing on a night before you go to bed and first thing in the morning when you get up.

What Should I Do When I Need to Leave the House?

Ideally, during the toilet training process you should leave your puppy alone for as little time as possible. Any accidents inside the house will delay training. If you do need to leave for a short time, leave clean newspaper in the usual toileting area. As soon as the newspaper has been toileted on, they’ll not want to use it again so will probably go elsewhere.

An indoor kennel, puppy play pen, crate or similar can be used to confine your puppy to a certain area while you are gone. Line the floor with newspaper to help maintain the toileting training.

How Long Does It Take to Toilet Train a Puppy?

There’s no set timeframe for toilet training a puppy as every dog is different. The more you stick to a routine the quicker you’ll see results. If your puppy toilets outside of their toileting areas, it will delay their training.

Puppies don't have full bladder capacity until they are around a year old, but most dogs can control their bladder overnight by around 6 months old. Although it sounds like a long time, it won’t feel like it as your puppy will learn more each day and the time between going to the loo will get longer sooner than you expect.

Puppy toilet training takes patience and perseverance. Never punish your puppy for toileting in your home, instead praise them for toileting in the designated areas. Use verbal cues to teach your dog where to go to the loo and keep the area clean. House training a puppy can take some time but keep in mind that they’re learning bladder control, and their digestive systems are still developing. 

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