Chapter 6
Heading to the Outside: Outdoor Housetraining
IN THIS CHAPTER
Looking at the outdoor housetraining process
Starting off right and creating a schedule for puppies
Training adult dogs to potty outside
Troubleshooting bathroom boo-boos
Avoiding bathroom confusion
If you’re like most people, you’re planning to teach your puppy or adult dog to do his business outdoors. There’s one very good reason to consider keeping a dog’s bathroom business outdoors: not wanting to deal with dog doo inside one’s house.
Face it: No one truly likes to deal with canine waste (I’m having fun writing about it, but that’s a whole other issue). Doggie doo stinks, and so does doggie pee. Plus, both stain any fabrics that they touch. Worst of all, dog poop is full of germs, bacteria, and other unlovely organisms that can literally sicken both you and your dog.
Beyond the obvious, though, are plenty of other good reasons to teach a dog to limit his bathroom maneuvers to outdoor turf. For one thing, the owner of an outdoor-trained dog doesn’t have to allocate one bit of floor space to newspapers, litter boxes, or other types of dog potties. In addition, the outdoor potty can go just about anywhere that you and your dog go; all you need are some bags with which to perform cleanup. Finally, outdoor time with your dog is good for both your mental health and his.
This chapter shows you how to teach your dog to potty outdoors, no matter what his age.
Understanding How Outdoor Training Works
Outdoor training is the process of teaching your dog to eliminate only when he’s outside. You can consider your pooch to be successfully outdoor-trained if she consistently holds her poop and pee until you take her outside — or if she takes herself there.
Achieving such success can be surprisingly simple. Every time you think your dog needs a potty break, you take her outside to her potty spot to do her business. At first, you do this according to a set schedule. Sometimes, though, your dog needs to diverge from that schedule — and in all likelihood, she’ll communicate somehow that she needs to go. (Chapter 8 tells you how she’s most likely to communicate that need and how you can teach her to ask you for a bathroom break in a way that you’ll readily understand.)
At all other times, you either confine her to her crate or watch her continuously for those pre-potty communications. The objectives here are to prevent accidents from occurring and to encourage your dog to do her business outdoors — and outdoors only. Within a matter of weeks, she understands that it’s okay to potty outside and takes it upon herself to make sure that she doesn’t eliminate inside.
Outdoor training needn’t be difficult, but it does require time, attention, and patience from you. Training puppies takes a little more work than training an adult dog — for one thing, puppies need more potty breaks — but either way, you can introduce your dog to her potty spot, set up a schedule, and get training off to a good start.
Introducing Puppies to Outdoor Training
The great thing about outdoor training is that you can start doing it right away. And if you’re really lucky, your puppy’s breeder has started the process for you. In this section, you find out how to show your dog his potty spot, how to encourage your dog with verbal cues, and how to develop a pup-sized training schedule.
Getting an early start
Many breeders start introducing puppies to doing their business outdoors when the pups reach the age of 4 or 5 weeks. This is the time when the mama dog starts to push the puppies out of the den so that they don’t do their business anywhere nearby. A good breeder often gives the mother some help by taking the puppies outside in nice weather and encouraging them to eliminate there.
If your breeder hasn’t started outdoor training, or if your puppy comes from an animal shelter or rescue group, you can set the process in motion even before you and your puppy hit the road and head for home. Start by asking for a piece of paper towel or cloth that’s scented with a bit of the pup’s urine. You’ll use this pre-scented cloth to help your puppy figure out where he can potty.
Taking the first trips outside
Housetraining can and should start as soon as you bring your new friend home. In this section, I describe when and how the first outdoor bathroom breaks should occur.
Visiting the potty spot after the ride home
As soon as you and your puppy arrive home for the first time, take your puppy to the outdoor potty area you’ve chosen (see Chapter 3 for tips on choosing one). Car rides often trigger a puppy’s I-gotta-go-right-now reflex, so let him do the doo and/or take a whiz before you head into the house. Place a cloth scented with your puppy’s urine on the ground and let your puppy sniff it. Then, when your puppy opens his floodgates and/or makes a solid deposit, praise him enthusiastically. Let him know that he’s done exactly what you wanted him to do. (Check out the later section “Responding when your puppy potties” for details.)
If he doesn’t go, give him a little more time to explore. And even if he does eliminate, don’t head back into the house right away. Many puppies need to pee two or three times during a potty break before they’re completely empty.
If the outdoor potty area is in an unfenced area of your yard, leash your puppy before taking him to do the doo.
Taking your pup out after he sees the house
After your puppy does his business outdoors, take your puppy inside and let him explore your abode for a little while — but keep an eagle eye trained on your new friend. You need to watch for any signal that he’s about to do a repeat potty performance. Here are some signs he’s just seconds away from unloading:
- He calls a sudden halt to his investigations.
- He begins to sniff in a direct and purposeful manner.
- He starts walking around in a circle.
- He actually begins to drop his bottom downward.
Quickly — and I do mean quickly — scoop him up and take him outside to the same spot he anointed or pooped on earlier. The odor of his previous encounter will probably prompt him to perform an encore there. When he does, praise him and give him a treat.
If for some reason you don’t see any signs that he’s about to go and he surprises you with a little puddle or pile, say nothing. Simply clean up the mess — and promise yourself that you’ll watch your little darling more carefully in the future. (Meanwhile, check out Chapter 8, which describes pre-potty signals in detail.)
After your puppy explores his new home for about an hour, he’ll probably be pretty tired. Put him in his crate so he can snooze for a little while. Do keep an eye on him, though, so you can see when he wakes up. That’s because a puppy who’s just up from a nap is often a puppy who needs to pee. Take your little sleepyhead to his potty spot, and when he does his business, praise him and give him a tiny treat.
For your puppy’s first day or two in your home, take him out every hour or two. After you’re familiar with his habits, you can set up a schedule, as I discuss later in “A matter of timing: Setting up a puppy potty schedule.”
Responding when your puppy potties
The way you behave while your puppy potties can either speed up or slow down his outdoor housetraining progress. That’s because puppies have very short attention spans, and they can have a hard time staying focused during their potty breaks. Your behavior can either help your little guy get down to business or make him forget to do his business.
Going out to the potty spot
To help your puppy concentrate on bathroom activities, get him thinking about those activities before you reach the potty spot. As the two of you head out to your pup’s bathroom, ask him, “Do you want to go potty?” or announce to him, “It’s potty time!” in a lively, can’t-wait-to-get-out-there tone. Use the same expression and same tone of voice every time you take little Fido out, and soon he’ll associate both with heading out to the bathroom.
Take the fastest, most direct route to the potty area and use the same route every time your puppy needs a bathroom break. Your consistency conditions little Fido to expect that when he treads that path, he’s going to eliminate shortly thereafter.
As you go to the potty spot, make sure you don’t walk him anywhere near the mailbox or your prize rhododendron. The dog should not be allowed to pee just anywhere, particularly in the housetraining process. Even after your dog is housetrained, if you’re walking him outside, keep him off other people’s lawns and confine his bathroom activities to the median strip between the sidewalk and street.
Have treats at the ready — in your coat pocket, in a small dish from which you can grab one or two — so you’ll be able to give your puppy one of those treats while the two of you are outdoors. It’s important to reward him immediately after he does his good deed so that he associates the reward with the deed.
Letting your pup do his business
When the two of you arrive at the potty spot, don’t do anything. Don’t talk to your puppy and don’t play with him until he’s figured out where he’s going to go and is clearly about to do so. Let him walk around a little bit — no farther than the length of a 6-foot leash — and don’t let him leave the area until he’s unloaded.
As your little guy squats (male puppies don’t start lifting their legs to pee until they’re older, and most females never do), give him a command such as “Go potty” or “Do your business.” Repeat this phrase every time he eliminates. By doing so, you up your puppy’s chances of learning to pee and poop on command — a handy skill for him to have. (More info on how to teach your dog to poop and pee on command — and what to do if he’s one of those dogs who can’t or won’t acquire this skill — is in Chapter 8.)
As soon as your puppy is finished, praise him for his performance in a high, happy-sounding voice (but don’t get too loud, or you may scare the little guy). Give him a very small treat, take him for a walk, play with him, and indulge in a love fest. You’ve both earned it!
A matter of timing: Setting up a puppy potty schedule
Putting your puppy on a regular potty schedule can shorten his housetraining learning curve considerably. Your pup, even at his young age, is a creature of habit. He learns through repetition. If you take him out to pee and poop at the same times each and every day, his body will become accustomed to that schedule. He’ll be conditioned to do his business at the times you want him to do it.
A regular potty schedule also eases your job as your dog’s caregiver. That’s because a change in a dog’s regular bathroom behavior often signals that he’s sick. But if your dog potties unpredictably, you won’t be able to pick up any such signals.
During your puppy’s first few days at home, you should note — preferably in writing if your memory is anywhere near as bad as mine is — when he goes and whether he poops, pees, or does both. You’re likely to see a pattern emerge that can help you anticipate when your new family member needs to eliminate. You can use that knowledge to create a sleeping, feeding, and bathroom schedule to help your four-legged friend become a housetraining expert in a surprisingly short time.
When you put together a potty schedule for your puppy, keep in mind that most juvenile canines need to poop and/or pee at the following times:
- First thing in the morning
- Last thing at night
- During the night (if the puppy is under 4 months of age)
- After energetic playing
- After being confined in a crate
- After a nap
- After chewing on a toy or a bone
- A few minutes after eating
Armed with this knowledge, along with your observations of your dog’s individual potty pattern, you can create a schedule that gives your puppy enough time to pee or poop and also gives you some predictability. Table 6-1 shows how you may structure a schedule for a 3-month-old pup. Note that all trips outside are just to the potty spot — the puppy should come inside after he’s finished unloading. Note, too, that puppies younger than 3 months are likely to need go out more often. (This schedule requires someone to be home during the day to give the puppy daytime potty breaks. If you can’t be your little darling’s daytime bathroom escort, check out Chapter 11.)
TABLE 6-1 Outdoor Training Schedule for a 3-Month-Old Puppy
Time |
Tasks |
7:00 a.m. |
Take puppy outside. Feed puppy. Offer water. Take puppy outside. Play with puppy up to 15 minutes. Take puppy outside. Put puppy in crate. |
Midmorning |
Take puppy outside. Offer water. Play with puppy up to 15 minutes. Take puppy outside. Put puppy in crate. |
Noon |
Take puppy outside. Feed puppy. Offer water. Take puppy outside. Play with puppy 15 to 30 minutes. Take puppy outside. Put puppy in crate. |
Midafternoon |
Take puppy outside. Offer water. Play with puppy up to 15 minutes. Take puppy outside. Put puppy in crate. |
5:30 p.m. |
Take puppy outside. Feed puppy. Offer water. Take puppy outside. Play with puppy up to 1 hour and/or let puppy hang out with the family in the kitchen. |
7:00 p.m. |
Take puppy outside. Play with puppy up to 15 minutes. Put puppy in crate. |
Before bed |
Take puppy outside. Put puppy in crate. |
During the night |
Take puppy outside if necessary. |
You may be groaning inwardly at the prospect of having to take your four-legged friend outside for a middle-of-the-night potty break. Alas, that’s one of the few disadvantages of raising a puppy instead of an adult dog. A canine youngster who’s under 3 or 4 months of age just can’t hold his poop or pee for the entire night any more than a human infant can sleep through the night without filling his diaper. So when your puppy fidgets, whines, or cries in the middle of night, know that he probably has a very good reason to do so. Heed his plea and take him out.
Know that as your puppy gets older, he won’t need to go outside in the middle of the night. The same will be true of the midmorning, midafternoon, and 7:00 p.m. pit stops, as well as the noontime feeding. Think twice, though, about giving him unsupervised freedom in your house, even if he’s completely housetrained. Chapter 8 details how quickly you should give your juvenile housetrainee run of your premises.
Scheduling Outdoor Training for Adult Dogs
Teaching an adult dog to do her bathroom business outside is similar to teaching a puppy. The difference between the two is that the adult dog doesn’t need nearly as many bathroom breaks as a puppy does. But the principles and procedures are the same: showing your four-legged friend that her bathroom is outside and doing whatever it takes to keep her from eliminating inside (see the earlier section “Introducing Puppies to Outdoor Training” for details).
Table 6-2 shows a sample schedule for outdoor-training an adult dog. As soon as your adult dog has mastered her housetraining basics — which can happen in just a few days — you can eliminate the noontime potty break and consider giving her a little more freedom in your home.
TABLE 6-2 Outdoor Training Schedule for an Adult Dog
Time |
Tasks |
7:00 a.m. |
Get up. Take dog outside. Feed dog. Offer water. Take dog outside. Play with dog up to 15 minutes. Put dog in crate. |
Noon |
Take dog outside. Offer water. Play with dog 15 to 30 minutes. Put dog in crate. |
5:30 p.m. |
Take dog outside. Feed dog. Offer water. Play with dog for 1 hour and/or let her hang out with the family in the kitchen. |
7:00 p.m. |
Remove water. |
Before bed |
Take dog outside. Put dog in crate. |
Dealing with Boo-Boos
Yes, I know: Your puppy or dog is the most wonderful creature ever to have graced the planet (aside from yourself, your spouse, and your kids). But alas, even this paragon is not perfect; she makes mistakes — and many occur during the housetraining process. Despite your best efforts to teach her bathroom manners, your four-legged friend may not understand immediately what she’s supposed to do or not do. She’ll demonstrate that lack of understanding by pooping or peeing inside your home instead of outside in her designated potty area.
In this section, I tell you how to respond to bathroom boo-boos, whether you spot your dog in a squat or find a puddle or pile already on the floor.
Catching your dog in the act
If you come upon your four-legged friend starting to perform that unmistakable potty squat, you have a superb teachable moment. Your objective here: Divert your dog from doing the doo in the wrong place and put her in a position to do it the right place.
Distract your dog from making the wrong move by offering a tiny treat or a toy, clapping your hands, or saying “Oops!” in a cheerful voice. As you do so, hustle her outside to her potty spot as quickly as possible so she can finish what she started but do so in the right place. After she unloads there, praise her lavishly and give her a couple of additional treats.
Finding messes: Don’t scold — just clean ’em up!
Potty mistakes try the soul of even the most patient dog owner. But no matter how irritated you feel, it’s crucial to the ultimate success of your housetraining venture not to take your frustration out on your outdoor trainee. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that any mistakes she makes are not her fault, and don’t scold her in any way. Instead, take your little transgressor back to her crate so you can concentrate on cleanup, but don’t say anything to her.
After your four-legged friend is safely confined in her doggie den, grab some paper towels and some pet stain remover. Follow the directions on the cleaner bottle and completely clean up the evidence of your puppy’s doo-doo boo-boo. Take her out when you’ve cleaned up completely, have calmed down, and can watch her.
Please, please, please do not try to correct your erring pooch by scolding her, punishing her, or rubbing her nose in her transgression. Any after-the-fact corrective efforts will be lost on her.
Folded-down ears, a tail between the legs, and a refusal to look at you do not indicate that your dog feels bad about her bathroom boo-boo. The body language you’re seeing shows that she feels uneasy, distressed, or maybe even scared because of the body language that you’re exhibiting. But guilty? Nope.
So if your dog doesn’t understand what she’s done and doesn’t feel any guilt, what should you do? Simple: Just clean up the mess. Then figure out where you went wrong, as I explain in the next section.
Preventing further accidents
After you clean up a pile or puddle, think about what happened and who should take the blame for your four-legged friend’s mistake. Here’s a hint: Instead of focusing on your dog, focus on yourself. If she peed in your living room, ask yourself what she was doing in the living room unattended in the first place. If she pooped on your kitchen floor, ask yourself when her last bowel movement was and whether you should’ve anticipated that by getting her outside earlier. In other words, try to figure out what you could’ve done to prevent your dog’s accident and what you can do to make sure that she doesn’t do an encore. Table 6-3 can help you get started.
TABLE 6-3 Troubleshooting Your Dog’s Accident
What Your Dog Did |
What You Can Do |
She peed when your back was turned. |
Never let her out of her crate or living area unless you’re prepared to watch her every minute. |
She peed or pooped in her crate. |
Make sure her crate isn’t too big for her; it should be just large enough for her to stand up and turn around. Make sure, too, that she’s not left in the crate for too long — 3 to 4 hours, max. |
She pooped without warning. |
Observe what she does immediately before she makes a deposit. That way, you’ll be able to scoop her up and take her outside before she has an accident. |
She pees on the same indoor spot daily. |
Make sure you clean up completely. And don’t give your dog too much indoor freedom too soon. |
Any canine potty accident contains a lesson — but the lesson is for you, not your dog. By figuring out where you went wrong and making sure that you don’t make the same mistake again, you’ll make a giant leap toward having a truly housetrained dog.
Of course, not all accidents occur because you weren’t watching. For advice on treating special potty problems, such as wetting the bed or marking territory with urine, see Chapter 9. And for info on how bathroom behavior may be related to health problems, check out Chapter 10.
Providing Indoor Potty Areas for Outdoor Trainees
Can you successfully introduce your dog to both the outdoor potty and the indoor potty when he’s a puppy who’s just figuring out basic bathroom protocol? Alas, the answer seems to be a resounding no for any canine genius.
Having an indoor/outdoor dog sounds wonderfully convenient in theory, but it isn’t worth trying to attain in practice. In your efforts to achieve convenience, you’ll probably just confuse your four-legged friend. A dog who’s confused about his household’s bathroom rules often expresses his confusion by having multiple accidents in the wrong places and not knowing what he’s supposed to do when you take him to the right place. Such confusion is totally unnecessary. All you need to do is decide whether you want your dog to do his business inside or outside and train him accordingly.
However, there is at least one situation in which you may need to provide a temporary indoor potty for your outdoor trainee: if you’re out all day and have a puppy who’s less than around 5 months of age. A dog this young simply can’t hold it from nine to five, and even asking him to try is wrong.
If your ultimate goal is to train your puppy to potty only outdoors, both you and he will be better off if you can find a way to give your puppy a midday potty break (see Chapter 5 for some of your options). But if none of those options is feasible, you must let your puppy go potty indoors during the day. Here’s how it works:
- Confine your puppy to the kitchen with some baby gates or an exercise pen and spread several layers of newspaper on the floor. Don’t follow the indoor-training tips in Chapter 7 — you want to focus your actual training efforts on the outside.
- When you’re home, pick up the papers and take him outside to do any and all bathroom business.
- Count the days till he reaches that 5-month mark. At that point, the papers are likely to stay dry all day. When that happens every day for at least a week, you can call a halt to the daytime papers: He’s shown he can hold it all day.
Another situation that requires temporary indoor training is if your little darling is less than 4 months old, hasn’t gotten all his shots, and has no outdoor place to potty except for the communal latrine (such as a park) that all the other dogs in the neighborhood use. Young puppies can easily get life-threatening diseases such as distemper and parvovirus (just ask Oprah Winfrey, who lost a puppy to parvo in 2009 and almost lost a second one) when they come into contact with the poop, pee, and/or vomit that infected dogs leave behind. A series of shots protects puppies from these diseases, but the shots aren’t fully effective until the series is completed. That happens when the puppy is about 16 weeks old.
If you’re a new-puppy owner who lives in the city, where the only outdoor potty spots are where other dogs do their business, heed your veterinarian’s warnings. Let your canine baby potty indoors until he finishes his shots. After that, you can move his bathroom outside. For the lowdown on moving an indoor potty outside, see the next chapter.