Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Start with an outside routine
• Part 2 of 2: Starting a routine indoors
• Tips
• Necessities

House training a puppy is complicated when you have an apartment because you can't install a dog door and let your furry companions out so easily. It's important to start early and be consistent. Create a feeding schedule so you can predict when your dog should go outside, and reward her every time she demonstrates good behavior. Before you know it, your pup will run to the door and wag her tail, and indoor accidents won't happen again.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Start with an outside routine

1. Take your puppy outside regularly. A young puppy (8 weeks) should be allowed to go outside every 20 minutes to increase the chances of her urinating outside. Older puppies also need to relieve themselves on a regular basis as they cannot physically hold their bladder for more than an hour or two. To avoid accidents, pick up your puppy once every hour and take her outside regularly. This way, your puppy will learn to associate going outside with going to the bathroom.
   • Once you get to know your puppy, you will learn the signs that she needs to go to the bathroom. As soon as you see her showing the signals, take her outside.
   • When potty training a puppy, it is very important that you meet her needs at all times of the day. If you leave her alone in the apartment all day, it can take a long time for her to understand what is expected of her when she has to go to the bathroom. If you can't be with her all day, have a friend stay with her.
2. Feed your puppy at the same time every day. This helps confirm a routine and allows you to better predict when to go out. Depending on the breed and needs of your puppy, feed her a few times a day. Take your puppy outside after every meal and after she has had a lot to drink.
3. Choose a permanent place for your puppy to relieve himself outside. Going to the same place every time will help remind her of what she's supposed to do. Because you live in an apartment, you may find it difficult to get all the way to the park. Choose a strip of grass close enough to the entrance to the apartment complex to keep your puppy from urinating or defecating along the way.
   • Make sure you follow your city's regulations regarding the disposal of dog waste. Clean up by using a plastic bag.
   • Dog urine is generally not good for flowers, so try to find a spot that isn't tended to by a caring gardener. You are not popularizing yourself and other dog owners!
4. Use a command to help your puppy associate the area with defecating. Say something like "go pee" or just "pee" when you put her in the chosen spot. Use language to reinforce the association with the site for the puppy. Make sure you don't use the word indoors; only use it in the special place.
5. Reward your puppy when she goes outside. The best way to train a puppy is to reinforce good behavior and eliminate opportunities for bad behavior. When your puppy relieves herself outside, praising and rewarding will make her want to do it again. Say "good dog" in a loving tone of voice and give your puppy some hugs. You can also give her a small treat every time she does it right.
   • To use positive affirmation as a training strategy, you have to be consistent. That means complimenting the puppy every time she relieves. This is especially important in the first few months, when she has yet to learn the correct behavior.

Part 2 of 2: Starting a routine indoors

1. Confine your puppy to a specific area in the apartment. You can turn off your kitchen by using a child gate or dog gate, or use another room. This is important for the first few months. Keeping your puppy in one place will help you keep an eye on her so that you can take her outside as soon as she shows signs that she needs to relieve herself. If she has too much freedom, she will eventually go to the toilet before you can catch her and take her outside.
   • Your puppy is ready to spend time in the rest of the apartment after learning to signal to you to go out, either by moving to the door or looking at it. You also know she's ready when she has very few accidents left in your apartment.
2. Consider having an indoor outlet. If your apartment is on a high floor in your building, it can be difficult to get out in time for your puppy to relieve herself. If you have a small dog that makes manageable mess, consider training your dog on newspapers instead of taking her outside every time. Cover part of the room with newspapers or special training pads available for purchase at the pet store. Use the same training method you would for an outdoor exercise area, lifting your puppy up to the newspapers every time she needs to urinate. Reward her when she goes.
   • You can also use a sod box as a place for your puppy to go to the bathroom. Fill a low plastic container with sod or baking filling and place it on top of newspapers.
   • When cleaning up after your puppy's accident, you can place the soiled paper towels in the designated area so that your puppy associates the smell of urine with her outlet area.
3. Keep your puppy in a crate at night and while you are away. In fact, puppies love to be in a small cozy crate - it makes them feel safe and secure. For this reason, you should never use a crate as a form of punishment; it should be your puppy's personal safe place. Puppies don't like to pollute their living space, so make sure to walk your puppy so she can go to the toilet right before crating her.
   • Puppies can sleep for four hours before going out again. However, very young puppies may wake up peeing, so you should line the crate with towels in case your puppy has an accident at night.
   • If you hear your puppy barking in the crate, take her outside to relieve herself and then put her back in the crate. Make sure to reward her when she relieves herself.
4. Clean up excrement immediately. If your puppy has an accident in her crate or anywhere else indoors, make sure to clean up and disinfect the area so it no longer smells like urine. If a place smells like urine, the puppy will instinctively urinate in the same place.
5. Don't scold your puppy for having an accident. Puppies don't respond well to negative affirmation; it just scares them. If your puppy is going to the bathroom in your apartment, pick her up and immediately take her outside to the designated area to relieve her. Then when she finishes what she started, reward her before you bring her back in.
   • Never yell at your puppy or hit her when you see her having an accident. You teach your puppy to fear you, and you don't teach her what to do when she needs to go to the bathroom.
   • If you find feces in your apartment, never rub your puppy's nose in it to discipline her. It does not work; it confuses your puppy. Simply clean up the mess and take the puppy outside more often to continue her training.

Tips

• When cleaning up the mess, use something to neutralize the smell, vinegar can do this well too. Do not use a product with ammonia in it, as it smells like puppies' urine, and they will try to urinate in that area again.
• Don't get angry or hit your dog. Don't reward the bad behaviors, and the good ones do.
• Be consistent. Going from paper training to house training halfway through will confuse your puppy, and make it harder, but if you're consistent, housetraining is a breeze.

Necessities

• A bench
• Paper (newspapers, training pads, etc.)