Take your puppy outdoors often at least every two hours and immediately after they wake up, during and after play, and after eating or drinking. Choose a place to go to the bathroom outside and always take your puppy (on a leash) to that spot. While some dog owners turn to urination pads (or urination pads) and paper for convenience, or because they believe that their puppies cannot go out while they are still in the process of receiving their vaccines, we, along with many trainers, recommend not using this method. Without a doubt, you can start potty training as soon as you have an older puppy or dog, lessons can take longer to sustain if they have had a lot of time to develop bad habits.
Burch says using puppy pads and paper training can be “tricky because you're reinforcing two different options for the puppy. Potty training for a puppy doesn't have to be overwhelming, in fact, most puppies I work with are potty trained from the first few days of getting home. Learning to teach puppies to go to the bathroom at the right time and place is one of the most important first steps you can take to have a long and happy life together. You can start potty training a puppy when they are around 8 weeks old (ideally, they should be with their mother at least until 8 weeks of age, if not longer).
During the initial stages of potty training, it's best not to leave your puppy alone until the routine is well established. Potty training is a lot of work, requires a lot of patience, but it's easy if you follow the four steps below. It usually takes 4 to 6 months for a puppy to be fully trained at home, but some puppies can take up to a year. Most puppies don't have bladders strong enough to withstand going to the bathroom all night, so expect a little mess in the mornings during the training period.
Potty training for a puppy doesn't have to be overwhelming, in fact, most puppies I work with learn to use the toilet within the first few days of getting home. Overfeeding can also lead to a case of diarrhea, which will only make the task of training at home much more difficult.
