How Long Does It Take For Puppies To Potty Train?

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but they’re not always our most obedient friends. Potty training your dog can be difficult and frustrating for both you and the pup. It takes time, patience, consistency, and a little creativity mixed in with some old-fashioned discipline to get the job done.

So let’s get to the core. How long does potty training your puppy take? You may be surprise but it can take anywhere from 3 months to a year! Or even more, if you don’t take the proper steps to potty train your furbaby! How effective your potty training is can spell the difference between a few months to a few years.

Our goal for this blog post is to nail your potty training basics so you can have a fully potty-trained Fido in just 3 months (or even less!) It may take more dedication, but it will all be worth it in the end.

For sure, it’s much better to put in the effort now while your doggo is teachable. So grab your favorite drink, sit back, get a pen and a notebook, and let’s dive right into potty training basics.

7 Tips To Speed Up Potty Train For Your Dog

If you’re wondering how long does it take for puppies to potty train, you’ll be happy to know that the process can really be sped up. Below are 7 tips to help you come up with a toilet training plan for your pup.

1. Establish Fido’s Living Area

When your puppy has just arrived home, you need to establish his living area. If you don’t limit their space and you give them a free run of the house without housetraining, you will have unleashed a formidable force of destruction. They may poo and pee everywhere! You may have to scour the house to find the “accidents.”

And if you don’t properly clean the accidents, the scent will encourage them to keep laying waste around the area. This will effectively delay potty training!

So give them their own corner where you can keep an eye on them and teach them proper doggo manners right from the start. You can give them their special bed and toys, so they’ll truly feel it’s their special space. As they begin to understand that this corner is their living area, they’ll try to avoid using it as their toilet.

This leads us to the next point.

2. Designate Your Doggo’s Toilet Area

To speed up potty training, you want your pup to learn his designated toilet area in the house. It could be an indoor potty system you set up or a potty area in the backyard.

Whenever your dog needs to eliminate their wastes be sure they have access to this place. Until they develop a strong habit of eliminating there, you must go with them every time.

If you don’t keep an eye out for them, they’ll release themselves somewhere else, thereby establishing an unwanted potty area in the process.

3. Clean Up Accidents

It’s essential to keep track of the soiled areas in your home.

If you find an accident, clean it as thoroughly as you can. Puppies have a keen sense of smell. If they smell areas with the scent of their pee or poo, they’ll most likely assign it as their potty place.

You may want to try this Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odor Remover to get the job done quickly and easily. It’s organic and designed to remove the toughest stains and smells!

4. Set A Potty Routine

To make the potty training process easier, it’s best to establish a routine. Puppies need to have a consistent routine they can follow. They need to know when they can play, when they can eat, and when they can pee.

This will not only be helpful for Fido, but it will also help you and your family stay on track. If every morning at 7 AM, you take your fur buddy out on the yard after giving them breakfast, they’ll start associating that time with going potty.

So set up designated times during the day when your doggo can pee or poo. The American Kennel Club recommends that you give them potty time after waking up, eating meals, playtime, and naptime. Also, don’t forget to give them a go before bedtime!

5. Teach Your Substitute About Fido’s Potty Routine

If another family member is assigned to keep an eye on your pup while you’re away, it’s best to teach them the potty routine you’ve set in place.

Tell them what words you use when you encourage your furbaby to pee or poo. And show them where the potty area is. Consistency is crucial to speeding up the potty training process. If you break the routine, your puppy may end up confused and anxious.

6. Understand How Long Fido Can Hold Their Pee

Puppies can’t control their bladder until they’re about 16 weeks old. After that, in general, they can only hold it for the same number of hours as the number of months on their age plus one – so a four-month-old puppy could last five hours!
The main reason why puppies often urinate accidentally is that we expect them to hold it in for way too long. That’s why it’s important to recognize signs they show when they want to pee or poo. It could be restlessness, barking, or sniffing.

So keep an eye on your doggo, and if you see any of these signs take them to their potty area. If you don’t have an indoor potty system and they don’t have free access to the yard, maybe you’d like to give Dog Doorbells Premium Quality For Potty Training a try.

You can put these doorbells to give Fido an easy way to inform you that they want to use the potty. With this tool in place, there’s no need to worry about the guessing game anymore. In time you’ll say goodbye to accidents and door scratches!

7. Give them lots of treats!

The best way to repeat desired behavior in Fido is to give them treats when they’ve done a good job. Make sure you have doggy treats in your pocket when you lead them to their potty area. Right after they finish eliminating, give them lots of praise and doggy treats. Tell them what a good doggo they are, and they will surely learn the proper potty manners faster!

Final Thoughts

No matter how long you think it will take to potty train your dog, be patient. When you take the proper steps consistently, it won’t be long before Fido is fully potty-trained. This can be as quick as 3 months! But if they take longer, it’s okay. Keep going.

If you’re wondering how long does it take for puppies to potty train, just remember to give them their own potty area, establish a consistent potty routine, and clean up accidents so that the process is faster.

What are your favorite tips so far? Don’t forget to bookmark this post for future reference!