When you first bring your dog home, you want him to have time to adjust to you and his surroundings before you start formally training him, but there is no need to wait to begin communicating with him – especially if you like clean carpets. You should start housebreaking your pup right from the beginning.

If you allow him to go “potty inside” because he is new, he is not going to understand a sudden change of social order and will take longer to adjust. He may even hold on to the old behavior longer as he will see that as how things are supposed to be since that is what he was shown. For this reason, paper training is a very bad idea. It does nothing but confuse your pet. Train him to go outside right from the start.

It may be hard to arrange to let a young pup out as often as he needs to go – which can be frequently. Remember he is a baby and no matter how good his intentions he will not be fully in control of his body until he gets a bit older. It is important for you to spend the puppy’s first few days at home with him, and arrange to have someone let him out while you are gone if you must be away for an extended period of time. The person you leave in charge must also be fully versed in your training methods so the pup won’t become confused by a difference in care routines. Once they are more well trained, they can handle some variations – but now is not the time for that.

You want to call your puppy by name often the first day he is home. He will realize very quickly what his name is. Every time you do something with him, call him by name. Every time you say a word to him, say the word by itself first. Then say the word again with your puppy’s name. For instance, if you are going to take your puppy into another room tell him “go”. Then repeat “go” again with his name – “Fido go”. You are going to use this technique to housebreak your pup.

By saying words separately, then together, and/or mixing up the order of words (i.e. Get fido’s ball. Ball is toy”) the dog will begin to understand that phrases contain different words and he will eventually be able to pick the words out of a phrase. Later this knowledge will allow him to learn more complex ideas. It is the same method in which children learn to understand language. Start slowly, with one word at a time, though. You will find more instruction on this technique in the training step explanation below.

It is important the first day to take your puppy outside often. Your attempts to housebreak your pup will be greatly aided if you can be outside when he goes to the bathroom his first time or two to begin with. Each time you take your puppy outside, tell him “outside” as you go out. First say “outside”, then “Fido outside”, then “go”, then “Fido go outside”. In this way he is not only hearing each word alone but also hearing it in a string. When you say these words while actually performing the action, he will start to associate each word with a particular action. You must talk as you are doing the action for the dog to be able to learn the word. If you say “outside” as you take him out the door each time, he will learn where outside is very quickly. “Go” will also sink in rather quickly if you tell him “go” every time you take him anywhere, including just to the next room.

Repeat this process when you go back inside, just substituting the word “inside” as you go in the door. It is important for your puppy to learn the difference between “outside” and “inside” right away. Outside is where “potty” happens.

Try to go outside often enough that your puppy will go potty while he is outside before he tries to do so in the house. It won’t defeat your purpose if he goes inside first, but it will make it much easier if he does so outside the first time. When he goes potty while outside, tell him “potty” while he is going. Then say “potty outside”. Then make a fuss. Tell him he’s a good boy to “potty outside” and pat his head. Be lavish with the praise. Do NOT feed him a treat for his accomplishment – praise is his reward. He is new and learning something new and your excitement will be enough for him. He will be excited, too.

Sooner or later you will catch him trying to go potty in the house. When you do, pick him up quickly and tell him “NO potty inside” and take him outside while telling him to “potty outside”. If you do not catch him in the act but find he went inside later, show him his accident – you don’t need to rub his nose in it at this point, but do take him to the place and show him and tell him “no potty inside” then take him outside while saying “potty outside”. When you come in have him with you watch you clean up the mess. Believe it or not, they notice that you are needing to clean it up and it will sink in that the spot they chose isn’t the right one. Talk about “no potty inside” “potty outside” while you clean it up. This talk while cleaning is just a bit more reinforcement of the idea of where to go potty for your puppy.

A day is usually all it takes to make most puppies understand “outside”, “inside”, “potty”. If it takes two or three, don’t get aggravated. He might need to get caught going inside several times before he gets the drift of why he is a good boy outside, but not inside.

Also note that you need to train your dog that both urinating and a bowel movement are considered “potty”. If you have been able to make your dog understand that urinating in the house is potty – he will still not understand that a bowel movement is the same thing as far as you are concerned. To him they are totally different actions. Because dogs do not need to move their bowels as often as they need to urinate, a puppy may take a bit longer to learn not to move his bowels in the house. If you have a male dog, you will also go through this routine again when he is old enough to start marking territory. Your male dog will not consider marking territory as “potty” until you point out to him that it is.

Teaching your dog his name, “inside”, “outside”, and “potty” are the only things you should teach your dog his first day or two. While you have also used the word “go” a few times, it will take some actual “going” for him to to get the full idea of the scope of this word.

About the Author

Tristan Andrews is a freelance author who writes articles about dogs and dog training.