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Help! How do I stop my puppy from peeing and pooping indoors?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Male | unneutered

How can i stop the puppy from peeing and pooping in the house?

5 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Macartney, BVet Med, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on September 13th, 2017

Potty training your dog or puppy can sometimes be a challenging task. However, with the steps below and a a lot of patience, you can have your dog potty trained quickly! Keeping a schedule, focusing on times when your dog needs to go, keeping the area clean, and stopping accidents before they happen will make the potty training process much easier. The steps are; Keep a routine- Most dogs will need to go out about 5-15 minutes after activities such as eating and drinking, playing, or waking up from a nap Know your dog's body: puppies, the rule of thumb is that they can hold their bladder at most 1 hour per month of age. This means a 2-month old puppy can hold his potty for a maximum of 2 hours. This is just a general rule and smaller dogs or those with bladder control issues may need even more frequent outings. Be sure to never let your dog go more than 8 hours without a potty break to prevent hurting their bladder! Keep in mind health issues Not punish your dog Cleanup after accidents as the scent attracts them to repeat accidents. Here is a link to puppy pads to help while you Are still training; Www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=37282 Here is an excellent resource to help you as you proceed; https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-rules-for-effective-housetraining/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-common-reasons-for-potty-accidents-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-tips-to-potty-train-your-dog-young-and-old/

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    Answered By David Darvishian

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to hear about Cuba. Not sure how old Cuba is but the steps are the same for training puppies and adult dogs. Please refer to this link for some good tips- https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-tips-to-potty-train-your-dog-young-and-old/ Basically, it's all about consistency and knowing when the time is right to take the puppy outside. Young puppies will take some time to train. They need time to mature and understand what you are expecting of them. So, here are the times to focus on and please understand they will have accidents during the training program. Take them out when they wake up from a nap or long sleep, right after playing or during playing when they loose focus and start wandering around looking for somewhere to go, right after they eat or drink, or whenever they appear to be searching for a bathroom spot. Take them out to the same spot in the yard each time. Do Not Play with them during these times, this will only confuse them. Take them out to potty and nothing else at these times. Play times should be separate from these times. Reward them verbally and sometimes with food when they eliminate outside in the designated area. Always leave one or two bowel movements in the area so they get used to going in the designated area. Use the same door each time when going out to potty. It's all about consistency in the beginning. If they have an accident in the house, scoop them up and get them outside, Do Not Make a Big Deal out of it even though it's trying your nerves. Never allow the puppy to witness you cleaning up the mess either. Try to do it when they are not looking. This process takes consistency and repetition. In my experience, bully breeds are some of the easiest to train because they are so willing to please their owners. Good luck with Cuba. Remember consistency, repetition and positive rewards.

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on February 1st, 2018

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The younger she is the more likely she is to have accidents. This gets better with time. However, there are a few things you can do. Walk her outside as frequently as possible. When she does go to the bathroom outside, praise her and give her a treat. Through positive reinforcement, she will eventually associate going to the bathroom outside with something positive. Make sure to let her know that it is wrong to go inside. She will likely respond well to this plan. Good luck and have a good night!

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    Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

    Licensed Veterinary Technician

    Published on January 29th, 2017

    Have Tyson seen by your vet to rule out medical causes. Reinforce crate training (again if necessary). The crate should only be big enough for him to stand, turn around and lay down. Dogs thrive on routine, so set up a consistent schedule for Tyson to go outside. He should go out FIRST thing in the morning. Pick a spot outside and wait. No walks until he goes. Praise and reward Tyson each time after he goes. Place him back in the crate or on a leash attached to your hip so you can watch for his cues to go. Tyson will need to go about 30 minutes after eating or playing and immediately after naps. Take up the water 2 hours before bedtime and take him out right before bedtime. Be patient. Be consistent.

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 14th, 2018

    I would recommend crate training Ace. I would keep Ace in the crate when you cannot keep 100% watch on him. When he comes out of the crate I would then walk him. If he goes then I would play with him and once you have to turn your back he goes back in the crate. If he does not go to the bathroom when you take him out of the crate I would put him back in for 20 minutes and try again. Remember he is only 2 months old so he will still have accidents. If you catch him going to the bathroom tell him no and take him and put him where you want him to go and praise him for going. If you just see the accident then clean it up and do not say anything to him. A crate should be big enough for him to stand up, sit down and turn around. If you do not want to use a crate do the same idea with the bathroom. The crate is a very safe option and dogs end up loving their crates, it's their safe house. It takes time and patience to train a puppy. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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