As a pet parent, teaching your dog to pee outside is ideal. Fortunately, you can use a couple of tips for housebreaking your puppy if you are a beginner.
Having a four-legged friend as an additional family member comes with benefits such as unconditional love and loyalty. Dogs know the shortest route to our hearts.
However, the hardest part is usually to teach the canine how to pee outside. Unlike their human friends, it does not come naturally to avoid the mat and only poop or pee at specific places. You need to teach them to do so with patience, understanding, and positive reinforcement.
Article Summary
Tips on Helping Your Dog Learn To Pee Outside
Before you can start training, make sure the outdoor area you intend to use for potty training is dog-friendly. It should be safe and comfortable for the dog, and you’ll experience the least resistance.
There are two ways you can use to teach the dog to associate going outside with peeing. The first one is barking and opening the backdoor to allow them outside.
Let the dog sit by the backyard and only open the door when they bark. If barking is not your thing, try the bell method.
Using a Bell
Potty Bells are an extremely efficient way dogs can communicate to their parents when they need to pee outside. Many pet parents have found great success using bells whenever they bring home a new puppy. Even better, it’s fairly straightforward to bell train a dog.
The first step is to teach the pup to jingle the bell. Move the bell close to their nose and let their curiosity get the best of them. If they boop or touch the bell, reinforce with their favorite treat. Repeat severally and move the bell a distance away so that the mutt takes a couple of steps to reach it.
Once the poodle relates the touching of the bell with sweet treats, hang the bell on the doorknob of the door they’ll use to exit the house. Ensure they learn to touch the bell and reinforce with a treat before moving on to the next critical stage.
Your pet pal needs to understand that ringing the bell means opening the door so that they can go outside. Open the door every time the doggo touches the bell and take him out where you reward them. Give him an extra treat if he pees on the designated area, and then take him inside. Repeat the exercise every time you want the pup to go outside, and make sure you are not keeping them waiting too much. Eventually, you can upgrade to an electronic dog door so that your dog can let themselves out, as long as your yard is safe for them on their own.
But be careful not to let them play too much after letting them out. Otherwise, they will associate the bell with playtime outside, and which is not the primary goal.
Using a Sitting Rug at the Door
Sometimes, the barking can become excessive and irritating as a potty cue. But you can always adjust it to something else like sitting by the door.
Place a rug close to the door and let the canine know that doing so means going to potty outside. The process is similar to the one used when using potty bells.
Normally, the trick is to shower the doggo with praise and treats when they sit on the rug by the backdoor. Open the door every time they sit by it, and reward to reinforce the behavior. Next, take the poodle outside and give them a treat when they pee at the spot you want them to. Repeat for several times until the behavior becomes permanent.
Potty Training on Pads
A pet parent may not have a yard for peeing, but that should not worry you. Other plausible reasons for not potty training outside just yet may be the pup are receiving their shots.
It is always best to train the pets inside and then transition them outdoors in such a case. Potty training your puppy on pads ensures the dog relieves themselves in the correct spot indoors, and which is what you want.
The first phase is to select an appropriate room for the dog training pads, such as the laundry room or the bathroom. But make sure the room you choose is puppy proof and easy to clean in case of accidents.
Get rid of any harmful products in the room and use pee pads to cover the room. Next, put the doggo’s bed in the corner of the room.
Communicate to the doggo of the area you want them to pee by placing a piece of the soiled pad on top of the new one. The scent will tell them that it is the right spot for peeing or for potty.
Remove the used pee pads as soon as possible and thoroughly clean any accident spots within the house. Once the dog learns to pee in the spot, you can remove the potty pads closest to their sleeping area. Gradually remove the rest of the pee pads until you are left with one or two.
If the pup learns to use one or two of the sheets, expand the area they can access. After all, they now know where they can go when they need to pee. Reduce the area when accidents begin to happen.
Using a Crate When No One’s Home
You will not always be home every time the dog needs to pee. Confine them in a dog crate to reduce the likelyhood of your dog peeing in the house when you are not around to read the pee cues.
But before you can begin crate training, make sure you pick confinement with the correct size. Ideally, the dog should be able to stand inside the crate comfortably. But keep in mind that the space shouldn’t be too large to pee in one corner and sleep in another.
A space they can turn around, stand straight and lie down is sufficient.
Some crates will have dividers for adjustment as the dog grows.
In some cases, your dog may not take the confinement too kindly, and it can leave them stressed. Make it easy for them by throwing their favorite treat inside the crate. Shower them with praise when they go inside and let them come outside after getting the treat.
The process should be gradual. Start with something like ten minutes with the mutt inside the crate and increase the time gradually. Over time, the doggo will get comfortable inside the crate and will relax unlike before.
The objective is to let the dog know the crate is their living space. When that happens, you can move to the next stage of potty training. The dog will not want to soil the area they sleep and eat, and so will let you know through different ways when it’s time to pee or potty.
Verbal Commands to Pee
If your dog chooses a particular spot for potty or pee, use it to teach them verbal commands. Put them on a bridle and take them for a walk. The dog may pee when they reach their pee spot. When they do, say something like “pee.” Repeat the phrase every time they pee.
Reward and praise the doggo every time they do as you command for positive reinforcement, But then again make sure the reward is within three seconds of the desired behavior to have any positive effect. Otherwise, the dog will have a hard time associating the behavior with the treat if you wait more than three seconds.
With time, your pooch will associate the word with the act of urinating. You can then utilize it whenever you need your dog to pee.
Choosing the Pee Spot
There is a specific area outside you would want your dog pal to potty, and not any other. You can teach them this as well.
Put the puppy on a retractable dog leash during the last stages of bell potty training and take them to the spot you want them to relieve themselves at. Don’t take a step further until such a time they potty, and then take them to the house.
If the doggo fails to pee at the designated pee spot, don’t despair. Take them inside, try again moments later, and reward them with a treat if they do as you want them to. Complement the treats with verbal praise [1] to make peeing a wonderful experience for the dog.
Timing the Potty Training
Timing the potty training is crucial to ensuring the dog learns to go to the bathroom outside successfully. Create a schedule as early as possible when the doggo is still young. However, take your time and remember the appropriate time the dog may need to go.
Be on the lookout for signs such as sniffing on the floor, quick dashes to another space, whimpering, moving away, and jumping on you. Every dog can act differently from another, and you need to be keen to learn the language they use.
Learn the key moments the pup needs to go outside, such as after drinking, after eating, and after a play session. They may also need to go outside after a scare.
In addition, take the dog outside before a training session or before going to bed. It is also a good idea to take them to the potty before having your friends over.
Be Patient and Encouraging with the Doggo
Potty training can take some time, depending on the breed and other factors. Be patient and encouraging with your four-legged pup.
Avoid harsh corrections and punishment during the training, or they may develop undesirable behaviors such as hiding and go inside the house. Getting annoyed only succeeds in creating some distance with your dog. Be patient, kind, and understanding, and figure out better ways to teach him.
Shower your pet with praise and dog treats every time they do it the right way, such as using a potty pad or ringing the bell to go outside. Reinforce the desirable habit during the initial months of training. Understand the dog is different from you, and they don’t understand the difference between your thick carpet and the grass outside. Meet them at their understanding and gradually teach them what they need to do.
Understand that accidents will happen, and your level of patience is what will make a difference. Clean the floor and resist the urge to scold them; lest, you batter their self-esteem. It is easier to clean the carpet than dealing with a low self-esteem dog.
What to Do About the Accidents
No matter how well you train the dog, accidents will still occur. But what do you do about it?
Identify the triggers and reinforce positive behavior. If they seem stressed, find the stressor and get rid of it. Give the soiled area some thorough cleaning using safe pet stain and odor removers.
But there are a handful of ways to reduce accidents. Typically, keep the potty schedule [2] as consistent as possible, and if traveling over long distances, bring a toy to keep them busy during the trip.
A daily routine is especially critical for puppies since they need to go after every hour. They cannot hold as well as older dogs. Therefore, establish a routine as quickly as possible to reduce possible problems.
Training a dog to go potty outside is an exercise that demands time and commitment. Don’t be in haste. Whenever you feel your pet friend is going off course, start at the beginning and reinforce the positive behavior.
FAQs
1. How do dogs learn to pee outside?
Dogs learn to pee outside on their own when you house train them. Pick a method such as verbal commands while you take them for a walk. Typically, you should say something like ‘pee now’ whenever they pee during a walk.
Repeat the phrase several times when they pee until they associate it with the act. Give them a treat if they catch the verbal command and do as you tell them to.
Whichever method you use to train them, gradually reduce the treats. Eventually, you will not need these treats to have the dog pee outside.
2. How long does it take to train a puppy to pee outside?
There is no specific timeline within which the puppy learns to go potty outside. Numerous factors come into play, such as the breed of the dog, age, and others. The trick is consistency and to reward the dog every time they do it right. Eventually, they will associate the behavior you need them to learn with an enjoyable experience.
3. How do I train my one-year-old dog to pee outside?
The potty bell is one of the popular methods to train the pup to pee outside. You can also use the pee pads when you don’t have a yard for them to use.
