Kroki

Question · Puppy

How do I house train my puppy?

The short answer

Take your puppy to one outdoor spot at the moments it most likely needs to go: on waking, after meals and play, before bed and often in between. Reward it right there with a quiet “Top!” and a treat. Keep it in sight indoors, and clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner without scolding. Very frequent peeing, straining or blood in the urine is a vet matter. Kroki, a reward-based training app for puppies and dogs, has a house-training plan and a free SOS card for house training.

How to do it, step by step

  1. Choose one toilet spot close to the door

    Pick a patch of grass or earth you can reach in seconds, even at night and in the rain. Carry a very young puppy there at first so nothing happens on the way. The smell of earlier visits soon tells it what this place is for.

  2. Go out at the predictable moments

    Most puppies need to pee within minutes of waking up, after eating or drinking, during or after wild play and before they settle for a nap. Go out at all of these times, and in the first days with an eight-week-old puppy also roughly every hour in between. Stretch the gaps slowly as your puppy grows.

  3. Stand still, then reward on the spot

    At the spot, stay boring: no talking, no games, a loose lead. The moment your puppy finishes, say “Top!” softly and give a treat right there, not back in the kitchen. A short sniff around the garden afterwards is a bonus that makes going quickly worthwhile.

  4. Keep your puppy in sight indoors

    Accidents mostly happen when nobody is watching. Close doors, use a baby gate or a small puppy area, and learn the signs: sniffing the floor in circles, sudden walking off, whining at the door. When you cannot watch, a short rest in its bed or puppy area is better than free run of the flat.

  5. Treat accidents as information

    If you catch your puppy mid-pee, make a calm, friendly sound, pick it up and finish outside, then reward. If you find a puddle later, just clean it. Use an enzymatic cleaner, because ordinary cleaners leave a smell that invites a repeat, and make a note of the time so you can go out earlier tomorrow.

  6. Plan one quiet night trip

    Put your puppy’s bed near yours in the first weeks so you hear it stir. If it wakes and fusses, carry it out, wait at the spot in silence, reward and go straight back to bed. Keep the light low and skip the play, so night trips stay short.

Your dog is already grown?

An adult or rescue dog has a bigger bladder but may bring old habits, such as going on soft indoor floors or never having peed on a lead. It also needs a health check sooner if accidents start out of the blue. The page for older dogs explains how to start from scratch with a grown dog.

Why scolding backfires and what the nights look like

Many owners read the hunched, ears-back “guilty look” after an accident as proof that the puppy knows it did wrong. A small experiment with 14 dogs tested this. The look appeared just as often whether a dog had actually broken the rule or not, and it showed up more when the owner scolded, even more so when the dog had done nothing wrong (Horowitz 2009). The look is a reaction to your mood, not a confession, so telling your puppy off teaches it nothing about where to pee.

Dogs Trust, a UK dog welfare charity, warns that telling a dog off for toileting indoors adds to its anxiety and often leads to more accidents, and that dogs may start going somewhere hidden to avoid their person. The same advice recommends an enzymatic cleaner, often sold as a pet odour remover, because ordinary household cleaners do not remove the scent well enough (Dogs Trust).

Nights take time, too. In a survey of over 2,300 puppy owners, puppies at 16 weeks slept less at night than the same dogs at 12 months, and several owners mentioned that their puppy still needed toileting pads overnight (Kinsman and colleagues 2020). A dry night is something that comes with age, not a test your puppy fails.

When house training stalls

  • Your puppy pees as soon as you come back in: you went inside too early. Wait a few more minutes at the spot, and stay out a little longer after the reward.
  • It only goes on rugs or the bath mat: roll up soft rugs for a few weeks and go out more often, because soft surfaces feel like grass to a puppy.
  • It plays outside and forgets to pee: keep it on a lead at the spot until it has been, then let the fun start.
  • It was doing well and suddenly slips: think about what changed, such as a cold spell, a busy week or a new room, and go back to more frequent trips for a while.

Mistakes to avoid in the first months

  • Rubbing its nose in the puddle or shouting. Your puppy learns to fear peeing in front of you, not where to pee.
  • Rewarding at the back door instead of at the spot. By then your puppy links the treat with coming in.
  • Giving free run of the whole home too early. Open one room at a time as the dry days add up.
  • Expecting a young puppy to “tell you” it needs to go. That comes later; for now it is your job to go out on time.

When to see a professional

Accidents are part of growing up. Talk to your vet or a professional if:

  • your puppy pees very often in small amounts, strains, cries while peeing or you see blood in its urine

    Have a vet take a look

  • it drinks much more than usual, has diarrhoea for more than a day or seems tired and unwell

    Have a vet take a look

  • it crouches, rolls over and leaks urine whenever someone bends over it or reaches for it, and this gets worse rather than better

    Get support from professionals

The help pages list services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland only. Elsewhere, ask your vet practice who they recommend near you.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it usually take to house train a puppy?

It varies a lot from puppy to puppy and usually takes months rather than weeks. Small breeds and puppies from a kennel often need longer, and the occasional accident is normal well into the first year.

Should I use puppy pads?

Only if you have to, for example in a high-rise flat with a young puppy. Pads teach that indoors is fine, so place them near the door and move towards going outside as soon as you can.

Should I take my puppy’s water away in the evening?

No, a puppy should always have water. Instead, plan a calm last trip outside just before bedtime and avoid a big drink and wild play right before it.

Why does my puppy pee when it greets me?

Excited or worried puppies often leak a little when greeting. Keep greetings calm and low, crouch sideways rather than bending over it, and greet outside where possible; most puppies grow out of it.

How do I house train a puppy in a flat without a garden?

Pick the nearest patch of green and carry your puppy down at first, so nothing happens on the stairs or in the lift. Keep the lead and your shoes by the door so trips are quick.

My puppy pees in its bed. What does that mean?

Usually the bed area is too big, so one end feels like a separate room, or your puppy was left too long. Make its sleeping space cosier and go out more often; if it keeps happening, ask your vet.

Do I have to clean every accident in a special way?

Yes, use an enzymatic cleaner on every spot. Ordinary cleaners hide the smell from you but not from your puppy, and a lingering scent invites it to use the same place again.

When can my puppy hold it while I am out?

Only gradually, as its bladder grows. In the first weeks plan short absences, ask a neighbour or sitter to take it out, and lengthen the gaps only while it stays dry.

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