Not sure about you, but one of the few rules in my house for my dogs is no toileting in the house!

But how do we get them to toilet outside?

First things first, if they do happen to have an accident indoors, clear it up, keep calm and carry on. 

But Katie, if he pees on my expensive rug, I'm gonna get mad!

Be mad on the inside! This way, you don't break the bond of trust your little puppy is building with you. He is a newbie at this stuff, and needs you to guide him and teach him how he learns. Getting mad at them won't train them to go outside, it will likely train them to be wary of you and they will probably become more secretive about their toileting habits!

There are still some myths out out there there that frankly, make me want to curl up into a tiny ball and wish I hadn't looked. For instance when my dog was a puppy 14 years ago, I was informed to rub his nose into any accidents he had, no matter how long ago he had done them...can you even imagine what your poor puppy would be feeling as you, 5 times his size come rushing over, grabs his face then shoves in some poo or wee, forcibly and likely yelling at the same time? How long would it be before he became frightened of my approach and go scarpering off when I entered the room? Not long I can assure you and I would do another accident on my way out too if I was that scared! And no, I didn't do what I was advised by those people, I didn't raise my kids like that, so I wasn't going to raise my puppy like it either, in case you wondered!

A colleague of mine used to say ' If puppy has an accident in the house, get a rolled up newspaper, then hit yourself on the head with it saying "bad owner you should have watched the puppy better!"' Not sure that's absolutely necessary but you get the idea, right?

So how do I toilet train my puppy then Katie?

Here's what I've found works reliably from teaching hundreds of puppies. It will involve some short term effort from you, so brace yourself, wee wee is coming! Teaching a very young pup when you first bring them home to learn to control their bladder and bowels involves taking them out fairly regularly, or taking them to where you'd like them to toilet regularly. Upon waking, after play, excitement, frustration or scary times, and maybe 20 minutes after a meal (approximate for each pup), and while young maybe every hour building up to a couple of hours during the day. The context changes at night with sleep wake cycle being different, so there won't be as much going outside to toilet while you all sleep but you'll also need to be prepared to set an alarm to wake up earlier than normal to get them out before they have an accident.

Hang around a bit and wait for them to 'go' meanwhile observe what they do just before they do, so notice any little signs they may give like twirling, sniffing the ground where they may have peed before, scratching the ground or running in huge circles. As they toilet, calmly praise them - don't get too excited here as they may stop mid flow! 

When they are done, maybe make a big fuss of them if this doesn't overwhelm them or give them a tasty treat and go about your day, noting the place they went and the substrate (e.g. grass, concrete, wood mulch etc) as they may have a preference of what to do it on! Most seem to like something soft, so be warned if you have rugs or carpeting and have some enzymatic animal safe cleaner ready. 

Naming the behaviour

You can also introduce a name or cue for the action if you wanted, I have heard some inventive names for puppy toileting over the years! They will learn by association the action of toileting paired with your chosen word ' go potty' and the reward and begin going on suggestion, over time. Eventually you'll be able to say to them, 'wanna go potty' and they will likely get up and follow you outside for a wee! In my house, a high pitched, 'wee wees' does the trick, ears go up and they race for the door.

Troubleshooting

If they don't go while out, clip their lead on before entering the home, play with them a bit while they still have the lead on for a few minutes then go back outside again, as the play often makes them excited and this makes them want to urinate! Try to avoid using puppy pads or newspaper as they may take longer to toilet train if they think they can go indoors! Unless you live in an apartment building where they can use an indoor toilet like these (click HERE), then take them to this if this is your preferred location for toileting for puppy.

Some dogs will prefer to hang on until they are out for a walk, rather than use their garden, so be aware of this as you'll need more patience with these ones. Leashing the puppy while in the house can also prevents accidents from happening, if you can't proactively supervise them while they are awake, use a puppy pen to contain them with some age and size appropriate chew toys, some water and a blanket should they get sleepy and keep half an eye on them incase you spot they need the toilet. 

Observe them in the house and see if you can spot the toilet tells, the physical signs they need to go, they may even begin waiting by the door or even barking, whining or staring at you - one of my Bull Terriers would just stand and stare intently at me, like she was sending me telepathic messages that she needed a wee! I strongly urge you to keep track of their toileting habits, so note times they go, how long between each one, where, what and how (e.g. do the give a clear signal or just release the flow, do they cock their leg or squat, go over someone else's wee that sort of thing), as it really helps you to understand their needs as they grow and learn to go where where you find appropriate. 

What about older dogs Katie?

Same rules apply. Dogs don't arrive at your home freshly adopted or boarding, knowing where to go or have a manual on how to live with humans. If you have dogs already and another one comes to visit or stay, they might notice the other dogs toileting and copy them, or be good at generalising to other humans and contexts when they notice them going towards exit points in the house and understand enough that they may be required to empty bladders. Fantastic, job done. If they don't then starting from scratch helps the new guy to learn where to 'go'.

This video from my friend Rebecca Lohnes and her amazing rescue work at LOLLYPOP FARM is packed full of good tips on this.

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