How can I tell if my untrained dog needs to go potty while indoors?

You can reasonably expect a puppy to hold its bladder and bowels for as many hours as they are months old. Keep your puppy on a consistent daily feeding schedule and remove food between meals. Keep the puppy on a consistent schedule. Puppies should be taken out every hour, as well as shortly after meals, play and naps. All puppies should go out first thing in the morning, last thing at night and before being confined or left alone. Know where your puppy is inside at all times. Watch for early signs that he needs to eliminate so you can prevent accidents. These signs include pacing, whining, circling, sniffing or leaving the room. If you see any of these, take your puppy outside as quickly as possible. If you can’t watch your puppy, he must be confined to a crate or a small room, door closed or with a baby gate. Gradually give more freedom, starting with a small area, and gradually increase it. If he eliminates outside, give him some free time in the house (about 15 to 20 minutes to start), and then put him back in his crate or small room. If all goes well, gradually increase the amount of time he can spend out of confinement. Accompany your puppy outside and reward him whenever he eliminates outdoors with praise, treats, or play. Take your puppy to the same place each time because the smells often prompt puppies to eliminate. If you catch your puppy in the act of eliminating inside, clap sharply twice, just enough to startle but not scare him. Immediately run with him outside, encouraging him to come with you the whole way. Allow your pup to finish eliminating outside, and then reward him with happy praise and a treat. If he has nothing to eliminate when he gets outside, don’t worry. Just be more watchful of him inside. If your puppy has an accident but you don’t catch him in the act and only find the accident afterward, do not punish him. He cannot connect the punishment with something he did minutes, let alone hours ago.

If he is asleep, let him sleep but take him out immediately after he wakes up to go. He should also go out with in 30 minutes of eating and drinking. If you notice him stop playing and start circling, then this is an indication he is about to go. Your time frame is good for waking hours, but through the night, you may have to let him out once until he gets a little bigger to hold it through the night.

Sounds like Millie is still a bit confused about potty training and could benefit from a less confusing routine. If you're not able to take her out, then she should be contained to an area where it is easy to clean up any accidents, or crated so that she can learn to hold it a bit better. When you are home, making sure to praise her when she goes outside using the door, or when you take her out can let her known that is the right thing to do. Puppies generally have to go potty about 15 minutes after waking, playing, eating, or drinking so you can use this to your advantage to time her outings.

Potty training is tough. Just stay consistent! Use a pet enzymatic cleaner to clean up any accidents in the house. Start noting when the accidents are occurring to see if there is a timeline. If you are gone, she should be in her kennel. Make sure to take her outside 30 minutes after eating. When she goes outside, give her a special treat. When she has an accident, tell her "no" firmly and clean it up without giving her extra attention.

Put him on a leash and take him outside to his designated spot. Do not walk around. Just stand there and repeat "go outside" or a similar phrase. As soon as he starts to go, repeat "go outside" and praise "good dog!" as he goes. When he is finished, or if it appears that he is not going to go, bring him inside but do not remove the leash, e3ven if he has done his business. Attach it to your belt loop and keep him with you. Don’t let him out of your sight! When you see him start to circle or sniff, take him right outdoors again and repeat the process. If he does mess in the house, do not scold him unless you actually catch him in the act. In that case, say "NO!" and take him right outside. Tell him to "go outside" and praise as he finishes. Keep him in a crate at night, or for short periods when you are not at home. For further assistance, click on the prompt to start a consult, where we can discuss this at length.

It sounds as if Lily needs a refresher course in housebreaking! Put her on a leash and take her outside to her designated spot. Do not walk around. Just stand there and repeat "go outside" or a similar phrase. As soon as she starts to go, repeat "go outside" and praise "good dog!" as she goes. When she is finished, bring her directly back inside. If she does not go after a reasonable amount of time, bring her in but do not remove the leash. Attach it to your belt loop and keep her with you. When you see her start to circle or sniff, take her right outdoors again and repeat the process. If she does mess in the house, do not scold her unless you actually catch her in the act. In that case, say "NO!" and take her right outside so she can finish her business there. Tell her to "go outside" and praise as she finishes. Keep her on the leash, or in her crate, at all times until she starts to let you know she has to go. For further assistance with this, click on the prompt to initiate a consult.

I will give you the method I suggest to help potty train puppies. I find it to be effective in house breaking them: Start by keeping your puppy on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away her food between meals. Take her out to potty first thing every morning, and once every 30 minutes to an hour. Always make sure she goes out after meals, first thing when she wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take her to the same spot each time to go potty. Her scent there will encourage her to go. Stay with her outside each time she goes to potty, at least until she is fully house trained. When she goes outside, praise her and give her a treat. You might want to consider crate training as part of her house training. It allows you to keep an eye on her for signs that she has to go potty, and will teach her to hold it until you put her outdoors. The crate needs to be big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but it should not be big enough for her to go potty in.