First of all, find somewhere that you can confine your dog where you don’t mind ‘accidents’ happening. This is only for times when you cannot supervise him during training and could be an indoor kennel or an area penned off in the kitchen. It should be somewhere that he will still feel part of the family; don’t shut him away where he’ll be permanently on his own. This has to be a relatively small area, which will discourage him from going to the toilet there. Place his bedding and water in his safe area and also use this space to feed him in.
Please note that if a dog or puppy is shut in an indoor kennel or pen for long periods of time, this can become a serious welfare issue and is not something that we recommend.
- First thing in the morning, take your dog outside, stand with him and wait for him to go to the toilet. When he ‘goes’, give him lots of praise as he finishes (being careful not to interrupt what he is doing) and give him a treat. He should need a wee and a poo, so wait for him to do both.
- When he has gone to the toilet, you can take him back inside and have a play or cuddle. Let him have full access to the room that you are in – but only as long as you can give him your full attention and watch him – otherwise return him to his safe area.
- Take your dog out every hour on the hour from morning to last thing at night, to give him the opportunity to go to the toilet. You will also need to do this after exercise or play and after meals.
- If he goes to the toilet, praise and reward him and then write down the time of day that he went and what he did. If you keep a note of this every day, you will find that a pattern of when he goes appears. You can then use this to predict when he’ll need to go to the toilet, so that after about a week you shouldn’t have to take him out as often as every hour.
- Any time that you cannot watch your dog, place him in his safe area with something to do – with a chew toy for example. You should also put him here when he is sleeping or resting during the day. It is far kinder to put him in his safe area when you cannot watch him, than to tell him off if he toilets in the wrong place.
Important points to remember
What if accidents happen?