How We Start Potty Training (Before Your Puppy Comes Home)

By the time your puppy goes home with you, they have already started potty training in our living room. They know when they need to go out. They know that going outside is a good thing. Here is the routine that gets them there, and the easy way to keep it working in your home.

We take puppies out at the same handful of moments every day. Right after a nap. Right after a meal. After a short play session. And first thing in the morning. Those four moments are the ones that matter most in the first weeks at home.

Pick a single spot in your yard for the first month. Same patch of grass every time. Puppies learn fast when the place stays the same. Walk them to the spot on a soft leash and say a short cue word, the same one every time. We use "outside" and "go potty." Praise the moment they finish, not five seconds later. The praise has to land while they are still squatting or they will not connect it.

Accidents are about timing, not character. If a puppy peed in the house, you missed the window. Watch for the circle, the sniff, and the sudden stop in play. Those three signals mean they are about to go. Pick them up gently, take them straight to the spot, wait a minute, then praise the result.

Feed on a schedule, not free-choice. What goes in on a clock comes out on a clock. Three meals a day for the first few months. Water goes up after seven in the evening so you are not racing them to the door at midnight.

Crates make this easier, not harder. A puppy will not normally soil a small clean space. We talk about crate training in another post, but the short version is, use the crate for naps and you cut accidents roughly in half.

Expect a few setbacks at twelve to sixteen weeks. They are testing the rules. Hold the line. Stay calm. Repeat the routine. By five to six months most of our puppies are reliable in the house, which is fast for a small breed.

If you have a question we did not answer here, send us a note. We are here for the lifetime of your puppy.