4 Tips to Help Teach Your Dog to Go Potty Outside
Before you get started, ensure your yard or designated outdoor potty area is dog-friendly and any spaces in your home your canine student will relax in are dog-proofed and suited to their individual needs.
I am a huge fan of bell training for potty purposes. Essentially, you teach your dog to ring a bell (attached to a strip or string near the door) whenever she needs to go outside to potty. I have found great success over the years and continue to use “potty bells” for any new puppy I bring home. The bell can quickly become a clear way for your dog to tell you they need a potty break.
Training a dog to use a bell is simple with these three steps:
Step 1: Teach your dog to “nose target” the bell to make it jingle. Hold the bells close to your dogs nose and let them investigate. If they sniff, touch, or boop the bell, mark and reinforce with a favorite treat. Repeat. After several repetitions, move the bell further away so that your dog must take a few steps towards it to touch it.
Step 2: Once your doggo is touching the bells to get a tasty treat, hang the bells on the doorknob of each door they might use to go outside. Encourage them to touch the bell as it hangs from the doorknob and when they do, mark and reinforce!
Step 3: Now they need to understand that the bell ringing means the door opens to go outside. The moment your pup touches the bell, open the door, take him outside and give him a treat. If he potties, give him another treat and then immediately go back inside. Repeat this each time you want your pup to go outside, but be sure you are not waiting for him to ring the bell until he is so full he might have an accident while he waits for the door to open.
Understanding when a dog, especially a young puppy, will need to use the bathroom is crucial to successful potty training and will help create a potty-time schedule. Knowing when they might need to go helps you avoid accidents. Look for behaviors like sniffing the ground, pacing, whining or whimpering, jumping up on you or following you, becoming more mouthy during play, moving away from you, or quickly running towards another space. These can be indicators a dog needs to pee or poop. There are also times before and after daily events your dog must be let outside.
Dogs need to go outside AFTER these key moments:
Dogs need to go potty BEFORE these key moments:
When dogs are just learning to pee or poop outside you need to constantly provide treats and praise and should never use punishment. Avoid scolding or harsh corrections when your dog has an accident, otherwise you only increase the likelihood they will get better at hiding where they potty inside instead of getting better at peeing outside. Plus, whenever you get upset with your canine you only break the bond you are trying to build with them. Focus on teaching them what to do instead of what not to do.
Give them a tasty treat and praise when they go to the door to let you know they need outside. Each time they use their potty pad, give lots of good praise, and every time they successfully go potty outside give them a favorite goodie. Make sure you reinforce them for making the choice to go potty outdoors consistently, especially during the first few months of training.
Remember your dog is learning and you are living with a totally different species that doesnt innately understand their toilet should be your grass. It is your job to know when they might need to use the green facilities and it is not your dogs job to teach you. Be patient and keep the whole process laid-back and full of positive reinforcement opportunities.
Accidents happen and they are no big deal! Your floor will survive and your dog can learn with patience and understanding that there are better spots for their pee. Just make sure to thoroughly clean accident spots and keep your pups space clean and tidy and free from any item that might be soiled. Remove pee pads as soon as they have been used more than once, and launder any bed or stuffed animals that might have been accidentally soaked.
How to Get Your Dog to Poop Outside in the Rain or Snow
Dogs prefer to go potty in places that are safe, comfortable and smell of past eliminations because this increases their need and desire to “do their duty,” says Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC, a behavior counselor at Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville, Wash., and a trainer at Doggy Haven Resort in Bothell, Wash. “And when it’s raining or snowing,” she says, “this may happen to be the carpet rather than the grass.”
Of course, you don’t want a mess on your carpet or floors, so you need some tricks on how to get your dog to poop outside. So before stormy weather strikes, try one or all of these strategies.
Two Reasons Why This is Can Be a Challenge to Train
Your dog is distracted by sensory information: sights, sounds and smells; and consequently forgets to go potty.
How to Potty Train your Puppy EASILY! Everything you need to know!
Life is easier when your dog knows and responds to a potty cue. It’s good for: