A Look at how we Potty Train Your Puppy

In my early days of being a dog breeder, the question that I asked most often of my mentor breeder was, "How do you keep the puppy pen clean once the Mama dog stops being the cleanup crew.". To be honest, I never got an answer and so I started off into the realm of potty training and keeping puppies clean and sanitary on my own.

Around the same time, I talked with different puppy owners about their experiences in bringing home their new puppy. Many of them didn't feel like any potty training preparation had been done. On the other hand, I think that it is important to realize that potty training a litter of 6-12 puppies looks different than potty training a single puppy. Every dog breeder that I know has a different approach, so I wanted to give you a picture of what our early potty training looks like. At Loving Doodle, I love that my job and my goal is to set you up for success so that potty training is an easy process for you and your new puppy. Ultimately, knowing what you are doing as a new puppy owner will finish the work that we have started.

At Loving Doodle, we begin potty training when the puppies are just over 2 weeks old. At this time, they are able to move around the whelping box and their eyes and ears are open or opening. As well, at this point, their instinct to keep their sleeping areas clean kicks in making this the perfect time to start potty training. We add a small shallow plastic tray containing puppy pads into their whelping box. It usually takes up about 1/4th of the whelping pen, making it an easy distance for them to go when they need to go potty. Most puppies are able travel 1 ft per week they are old to go to the bathroom, so we are trying to make the "potty box" easily accessible. We put them into the potty area after all their meals to help me them know where to go.

As soon as the puppies start becoming destructive, we switch them to pine bedding pellets. This usually happens around 3 weeks. Puppy pads can be shredded and eaten and very harmful for a puppy. You may wonder, "Pellets in the pen with 3 week old puppies! Don't they eat the pellets?". We have actually found that by starting pellets well in advance to starting solid food, that our puppies do not eat the pellets. They clearly learn to smell the difference and seem to decide early on that pine pellets are unsuitable for breakfast.

The start to potty training. A small area where the potty box is easily accessible.

As the puppies get older, we keep the potty box smelling like what it is, but separate out their sleeping area and food area. Our goal is to keep the pen very clean other than the potty area. I have a shop vac dedicated to puppy clean up, since the one downside to the pellets is that they do crumble and make everything quite dusty. Daily vacuuming is great for keeping the puppies clean and giving them sound stimulation.

As no accidents happen, the puppies get more space.

These strategies can help you have an easy transition once you take your puppy home. I recommend an appropriately sized kennel for night use and for anytime you cannot give your puppy undivided attention. Most potty training frustrations come from giving a puppy too much freedom and territory in their new environment. You want to keep them on a leash or in sight and know the signs that they need to go potty. They will give you the signals, you have to interpret them and react accordingly. I also recommend using a timer and making sure to take them out to their potty spot every hour during the day the first few days that they are home. When they do their business in an appropriate spot, make sure to shower them with love and praise.

Our puppies are very smart and eager to please. They have been set up for potty training success because what puppies learn first, they do best! Happy Potty Training!!!