How To Potty Train Your Golden Retriever PUppy (in 6 Weeks or Less)

House soiling is one of the leading causes of dogs being confined to the backyard and eventually placed in shelters. The best thing you can do for your dog and your sanity is to sacrifice about 6 weeks of your time to really buckle down and potty train your pup.

puppy potty training

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This post will detail exactly how to potty train your puppy the quickest way possible (within 6 weeks).

I’ve had great success numerous times with this method when getting a new puppy at 8 weeks old, and having them potty trained by 12 to 14 weeks old.

Note: If you get your puppy after 8 weeks old, you can still use this method. Simply follow along with the appropriate age schedule (listed below).

The Rules to Potty Training Your Puppy

  1. Never scold your puppy – ever
  2. Always praise and reward
  3. Consistency is key
  4. Supervision is also key
  5. Temporary confinement now means a lifetime of freedom later
  6. A tight schedule is how you’ll do it in 6 weeks

You have to commit to the rules above. You just have to. Now, that we have the rules out of the way, let’s dive deeper.

Timing And Reward Is Everything

Here are the steps to properly praise and reward your puppy for going potty:

  1. As soon as your puppy squats to pee or hunches over to poop, say “Go Potty” and then follow up with a gentle “Good puppy/girl/boy”.
  2. As soon as your puppy is finished, reward her immediately! This needs to be a high value treat that she only gets for peeing and pooping. Tip: It’s best to set up a bowl of treats near the door so you can grab a treat and go.

The Schedule

Puppies 6 to 8 weeks old can only hold their bladders for a couple of hours at night (or while sleeping) and about 20 minutes during the day. By around 9 to 10 weeks old, your golden retriever puppy should be sleeping through the night most nights.

Day Time Schedule

At 6 to 8 Weeks Old

  • 1 hour nap in a kennel or playpen. Note: Never kennel your puppy for more than 1 hour at a time.
  • Upon waking, CARRY your puppy outside to the designated potty area. If the puppy doesn’t potty within 2 minutes, bring her back in and let her sit in the kennel for 5 to 10 minutes. The goal here is to train her to potty quickly. Puppies get very distracted easily. Also, your puppy will not poop every time she pees. Make a note on how quickly your puppy poops after meal times to help determine when she needs to pee and poop during a potty trip.
  • 20 minutes of play. After pottying is a good time to play outside of the kennel/playpen. Keep your eye on your puppy 100% of the time. If you notice any sniffing or circling, take the puppy back outside.
  • After 20 minutes, place the puppy back in her kennel/playpen for another 1 hour nap.
  • Repeat this until bedtime.

At 8 to 10 Weeks Old

  • Puppy awake time can increase to 1 hour. During this hour, take the puppy out to potty every 20 minutes.

At 10 to 12 Weeks Old

  • Puppy awake time can increase by up to 2 hours. Take the puppy out to potty every 30 minutes.

Night Time Schedule

Your puppy most likely will not sleep through the night until around 10 weeks of age. Some can sleep through the night sooner than that, and some take a little longer. This means that you’ll need to get up at night and take your puppy outside to potty.

The First Night

The first night is the most difficult. But this sets the tone for the next few weeks.

  • Every time your puppy whines, take her out to potty. This might literally be every hour.
  • Night time potty is strictly business. Do not play with her. Take her out, let her do her business, and then bring her back to her kennel/playpen. Make it a boring potty trip.
  • If your puppy doesn’t whine to get out of the kennel to potty, set an alarm for every 2 hours the first night. You can place a pee pad down for accidents. If she has an accident, set your alarm sooner than 2 hours, and if she doesn’t, you can gradually increase to longer times between potty.

After the First Night

  • After the first night, you’ll know more of how your puppy will let you know when she needs to go out. If her cues to go out (such as barking or whining) wake you up at night, you can simply let your puppy dictate the night time schedule on how often she needs to go out to potty. She will learn quickly to settle down at night and go back to sleep.
  • If her cues do not wake you up, you’ll need to set an alarm every few hours to check on her and let her out to potty.
  • You should expect to get up 2 to 3 times at night with a puppy around 8 weeks of age.

12 Weeks and Beyond

By now, your puppy should start alerting you when they need to potty. Don’t always count on this though. You’ll still need to keep up with a potty routine and take your puppy out regularly.

  • During the night, your puppy should be able to sleep from 9 pm to 6 am (or around 8 to 9 hours).
  • During the day, the puppy’s awake time will increase. Let your puppy be your guide. She may need a nap after an hour, or she might stay awake for 3!
  • Keep up a consistent potty schedule for 3 months. If there are no accidents, you can give her more freedom. If an accident happens, go back to a strict schedule.

In order to adhere to the schedule, you need to be able to be home with your puppy. If you work from home or stay home that’s the best case scenario. If you work outside the home, then you need to take vacation time when you first get your new puppy.

Signs Your Puppy Is Tired And Needs A Nap

Tired puppies are just like tired human toddlers with super sharp teeth!

  • They get extra bitey, and the biting is much harder than normal.
  • They get obnoxious. Much like a tired toddler.
  • They can be whiney.

Cues Your Puppy Needs to Pee

  • She sniffs the ground
  • She paces back and forth
  • She starts to squat

Cues Your Puppy Needs to Poop

  • She sniffs the ground
  • She circles and paces
  • She hunches over

What Happens When You Have An Accident?

DO NOT SCOLD YOUR PUPPY!

Yes, I’m yelling this because this is so important! Scolding your puppy will only teach your puppy to do her business when you are not looking. This will make it really difficult to potty train.

If your puppy has an accident, get to them as quickly as possible without startling them. Lift their bottom up, which should stop them from peeing or pooping, and then carry them outside.

It’s important to catch them in the act so you can correct it by taking them outside. A potty accident that happens without you knowing is not good. This teaches the pup to go potty inside the house and means that you didn’t watch your puppy as closely as you should have been watching.

Be cautious of giving your puppy too much freedom too quickly. If they are not in their kennel/playpen, they need to be supervised 100% of the time.

When accidents happen, clean up the mess, and then spray the spot with an enzyme urine remover spray. This is important, especially with pee, because dogs like to pee where they have previously peed.

Pee Pads

Pee pads should only be used when you have to leave your puppy for longer than the schedule allows. Pee pads will actually teach your puppy to use the potty indoors and can make potty training take longer. So only use pee pads if absolutely necessary.

The Potty Tracker App That Saves Your Sanity

It’s good to document your puppy’s potty schedule during the day especially if you have more than one person helping with training. This will also help you keep track of how long the puppy sleeps, and how frequent their potty breaks are.

The Doggie Time app has literally been a lifesaver when it comes to tracking our puppy’s potty and daily schedule!

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