How to Potty Train Your Dog

Hello and welcome to Expert Dog Training!

First and foremost, all dogs are welcome here at Expert Dog Training. We take pride in training a wide variety of dogs to excel in obedience, tricks, agility, scent work, and even aggression.

In today's blog, I’m going to teach you a very simple way to POTTY TRAIN your dog

When potty training, consistency is key!

If you do all the things I’m about to tell you, you're not going to believe how easy potty training can be.

Rule #1: USE A CRATE THAT IS JUST BIG ENOUGH OR SMALLER THAN YOUR DOG

I understand people feel bad for putting their dogs in a smaller kennel, but they should be barely able to turn around. Once they are potty trained, you can up the size of that kennel!

The purpose of having a kennel just barely big enough for them to turn around is so they're not comfortable enough to stand up and go to the bathroom in the same spot where they sleep. Most dogs will not do that. There will be a very small amount of dogs that don't agree to this rule, but those are dogs that actually have bladder issues. If you have a dog that has medical issues, I encourage you to talk to your vet, but you can also set up a zoom consultation with me at https://www.experttraining.org/ to talk about your dog’s specific medical needs.

Rule #2: LET THEM GO POTTY EVERY 3 HOURS

For the first three days, your dog will need to go out every three hours. Remember, when you bring a dog home, or you're re-potty training, it's a commitment! But, I promise you, this is just for a short amount of time. Dogs grow so quickly and they learn so fast, as long as you are consistent.

Rule #3: LET THEM EAT IN THEIR CRATE 30 MINUTES BEFORE THEY GO POTTY

This could be two times a day, three times a day, four times a day, depending on the age of your dog. They get five minutes to eat their food. If they haven't eaten within five minutes, you need to pull that food away from them. You're not being cruel or mean, you're letting them know you’re setting a schedule in place.

If you just leave their food in there for them to eat, they will eat throughout the day and have accidents because it's not on a schedule. The best thing to do for them is to feed them in their crate thirty minutes before they’re let out. After thirty minutes, let them go potty.

Rule #4: TAKE THEM POTTY ON A LEASH

They get to drink water when they're outside. They don't get free access to food and water all day, unless you're going to be gone for hours upon hours, and they really need that access to water.

Take your watch or phone with you outside and stand still for three minutes.

If you have other dogs, they don't get to sniff, they don't get to play or rough house together. They go out individually for three minutes on a leash.

Rule #5: REWARD THEM AS SOON AS THEY START TO POTTY

When they are going potty on the leash, you can gently pet them. Not to distract them, just a gentle touch to reinforce, “potty, good girl,” or “potty, good boy,” so you are reinforcing the word “potty” every time they urinate or defecate. That will really help them understand that this is what you're wanting when you're outside and you're standing still with this leash.

I don't recommend using treats for any training unless it's extracurricular. For obedience and household issues, you really don't want to use treats, because dogs get treat dependent, as funny as that sounds! You don't want to build the expectation in your dog that you're always going to have a treat.

Rule #6: AFTER THEY POTTY, THEY CAN HAVE FREE TIME TO SNIFF AND PLAY

After they go potty, you can play with them, give them lots of love, or let them roam around. Sniffing is a reward to a dog! They love to use that sense of smell! So, let them run around and be free for however long you have.

Rule #7: TAKE THEM BACK TO THEIR CRATE UNTIL IT IS TIME TO TAKE THEM OUT AGAIN

This is what you will do day in, day out, until they are potty trained. If you start noticing that they can hold it for longer periods of time, you can work them up. So after a few days, you can go from three hours to four hours, letting them out. Then four to five hours, five hours to six hours. Really, over the course of a week or week and a half, they should be potty trained. However, if they're younger, that process will take longer.

We know this will be helpful for you and your dog and we look forward to testimonies of great communication in your relationship! Feel free to send your questions in at brandi@experttraining.org

I look forward to our next teaching session!

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Thank you again for your time.

Be blessed!

~Brandi Cunningham