What is house-training?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
House-training teaches a dog to toilet in the right place, usually outdoors or on a chosen spot. It works by taking the puppy out often, especially after sleep, meals and play, and rewarding it straight away when it goes. Accidents are cleaned up without punishment. Puppies do not have full bladder capacity until about 12 months old.
Also called toilet training, potty training, housebreaking, housetraining.
Key facts
- RSPCA advises taking a puppy out when it wakes, after every meal, after play or excitement, before bed, before you leave it and when you come back. RSPCA (England and Wales)
- Between those times, take the puppy out every 45 minutes to an hour, depending on its age. RSPCA (England and Wales)
- Dogs do not have full bladder capacity until they are approximately 12 months old. RSPCA (England and Wales)
- Merck says the first age at which a dog can voluntarily hold its urine or stool is about 8½ weeks. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Never punish an accident: the dog may become scared and confused, and will not link the punishment to the accident. RSPCA (England and Wales)
When should you take a puppy out to toilet?
At the moments a puppy is most likely to need to go, and regularly in between. The RSPCA's list fits a normal Indian household day.
On waking
First thing in the morning and after every nap, before anything else. RSPCA (England and Wales)
After meals
Straight after each meal, including the evening roti-and-rice or kibble meal. RSPCA (England and Wales)
After play or excitement
After a game, a zoomies session or visitors arriving. RSPCA (England and Wales)
Every 45 to 60 minutes
In between, depending on the puppy's age: younger puppies need more frequent trips. RSPCA (England and Wales)
Before you leave and when you return
Before the puppy is left alone, and as soon as you come back. RSPCA (England and Wales)
Last thing at night
Before bed, to give the puppy the best chance of a dry night. RSPCA (England and Wales)
How do you reward the right spot?
Go out with the puppy, stand quietly and wait. As it toilets, say a cue word such as "toilet" so it can link the word to the act, then reward the moment it finishes with praise, a treat or a game, every time. The RSPCA adds a useful detail: stay out and play for a while afterwards, so the puppy does not learn that toileting ends its time outside.
Watch for the warning signs: fidgeting, sniffing the floor, circling before squatting. They are most common after naps, meals and time alone. Merck notes that dogs form toilet habits from about 8 to 9 weeks of age, which is why the first weeks at home count for so much, and that frequent trips, rewards and close supervision prevent indoor accidents.
AVSAB makes the same point for all training: common issues such as house-training are best handled by arranging the environment and rewarding the right response, not by punishing the wrong one.
What should you do when there is an accident?
Stay calm, clean it properly and go back to more frequent trips out. Punishment only teaches the puppy to hide when it needs to go.
If You catch the puppy in the act
Call its name calmly, without shouting, and take it straight to the right spot. Reward it if it finishes there. RSPCA (England and Wales)
If You find a puddle later
Do nothing to the puppy: it will not connect a telling-off with something it did earlier. Just clean up. RSPCA (England and Wales)
If The smell lingers and the puppy goes there again
Clean with a warm solution of biological washing powder, one part powder to nine parts water, then rinse with water. RSPCA (England and Wales)
If A trained adult dog starts having accidents
Note when and where the accidents happen and talk to your vet before treating it as a training problem: a change in an adult dog's habits is a reason for a check-up.
How do you house-train a dog in an Indian flat?
In a high-rise, the trip to the ground floor takes time, and a young puppy may not hold on through a long lift ride. Many owners choose one spot, such as a corner of the balcony with a washable mat or a tray, for the first weeks, and later move toileting outdoors. Whatever you choose, keep it the same spot, reward it the same way, and clean balcony drains often in the monsoon.
Plan for the day too. A puppy left alone for a full office day cannot follow the 45-minute rhythm, so a family member, a neighbour or a sitter doing drop-in visits keeps the routine going. Check your housing society's rules on where dogs may toilet in common areas, and always pick up after your dog.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
How often should I take my puppy out to toilet?
- RSPCA advises taking a puppy out when it wakes, after every meal, after play, before bed, before you leave and when you return, and every 45 minutes to an hour in between, depending on age. Younger puppies need more frequent trips.
How long does it take to house-train a puppy?
- It varies with the puppy and how consistent the routine is. Bladder control develops over months: RSPCA says dogs do not have full bladder capacity until about 12 months old, so occasional accidents in a young puppy are normal and not a training failure.
Should I rub my puppy's nose in an accident?
- No. Punishing an accident makes a puppy scared and confused, because it cannot link the punishment to what it did. It may learn to hide when it needs to go. Clean up thoroughly and go back to more frequent trips outside with rewards.
My adult dog has started having accidents indoors. Why?
- A change in toilet habits in a trained adult dog can have a medical cause, such as a urinary problem, as well as a behavioural one. Note when the accidents happen and how often, and talk to your vet before assuming it is a training issue.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in training
- Clicker trainingClicker training is reward-based training that uses a small hand-held clicker to mark the exact moment a pet does the right thing, followed every time by a reward. The dog first learns that the click means a treat is coming. Because the click is fast and always sounds the same, it tells the dog precisely which action earned the reward.
- Crate trainingCrate training is teaching a dog to rest calmly in a crate, with treats and gradual steps, so the crate feels like a safe den rather than a cage. Used well it helps with house-training, keeps puppies safe and eases travel. It is never a punishment, never for long hours, and not a fix for separation anxiety.
- DesensitisationDesensitisation is a way of reducing a pet's fear by exposing it to the scary thing at a level so low it stays calm, then raising it very slowly. It is usually paired with counter-conditioning: something the pet loves, such as a treat, arrives with the sound or sight, so the fear is replaced by a pleasant expectation.
- Loose-leash walkingLoose-leash walking means your dog walks beside you with a slack lead instead of pulling. It is taught with rewards: you stop the moment the lead goes tight, wait for slack, then reward and move on. Painful gear such as choke chains is not needed, and on busy Indian roads a calm, slack-lead dog is far safer.
- Positive reinforcementPositive reinforcement is a training method in which a pet gets something it likes, such as a treat, toy, play or praise, straight after doing a behaviour, so that behaviour becomes more likely. It is the core of reward-based training, which the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends for all dog training and behaviour problems.
- RecallRecall is a dog's trained response to come straight back to you when called, every time, whatever else is happening. It can save a dog's life near traffic. A reliable recall is built with high-value rewards, a dedicated cue word, short easy practice that gets slowly harder, and a long line for safety, never with punishment or shock collars.
- SocialisationSocialisation is the gentle, positive introduction of a young animal to the people, animals, sounds, places and handling it will meet as an adult. The main window is short: about the first three months for puppies and roughly two to seven weeks of age for kittens. Animals that miss it are more likely to be fearful later.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources