- Potty training can feel like such a frustrating process
when your puppy continues to have accidents in your home.
But in this video, I'm gonna show you
exactly how to teach your puppy to go potty outside,
even if you feel like they never like to go
when they're out there.
I'm Ken Steepe and welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(acoustic guitar strums) (dog barks)
At McCann Professional Dog Trainers,
we've trained more than 80,000 dogs.
So, if this is your first time on the channel,
make sure you hit that subscribe button
so that I can help you to have
a well-behaved four-legged family member.
I think it's really important to read the comments
on all of our videos so that I can help you
to train through whatever difficulties you might be having.
Something that I commonly heard on our potty training videos
was that people would have challenges:
their puppy didn't want to go when they were outside,
or they would let their puppy out
in the backyard for 20 minutes,
bring them back in and then the puppy
would immediately eliminate on the floor.
Someone even commented she went to the bathroom
on the carpet after I took her outside for a walk.
Explain that.
Well that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
Puppies are so easily distracted
by the environment around them,
whether it's a sight or a smell or a sound,
maybe a leaf blowing by.
Maybe there's dogs barking in the background.
But this can completely make the puppy forget
about the fact that they're out there to go potty.
They can totally forget that they've actually got to go.
Taking advantage of some natural training opportunities
with your puppy is a real help.
So the first time out of their crate in the morning
is a great time to start your potty training.
You'll have biology working for you
and you'll know that your puppy really likely has to go.
Potty training after a fun play session
or shortly following a meal
are also really great times to know
that you're going to invest a little bit of time
into your puppy potty training.
First things first, any time that your puppy goes outside
it's really important that you go out with them
and that you have them on-leash.
You need to be able to guide the process
and help them avoid any distractions,
but you also need to really know
whether they've actually gone or not.
So if you're able to, try to find an environment
with the least amount of distractions,
whether it's environmental sounds or smells or whatever.
You can also choose this time to show your puppy
exactly where you want them to go potty in the future.
So take advantage of this.
Because you're out there with your puppy on-leash,
it's easy to redirect them if they start to get distracted
by a vehicle that drives by
or some kids playing in the distance.
You can just guide them around with your leash.
Now, you want to be as boring as possible
when you're out there with your puppy.
The last thing you wanna be doing
is engaging them in play
or using any sort of exciting language.
The other challenge is if you're moving around a lot
with your puppy, there's all sorts of interesting smells
that they're just discovering now,
so try to remain in a small area.
Don't move around too much and that way your puppy
will quickly become bored of the sights and smells
and sounds in this little circle you've created
and they're more likely to go potty then.
It's really important that you give your puppy
an appropriate amount of time to go when you're out there.
Maybe it's four or five minutes,
or maybe if they've been really distracted
and you've been guiding them away from these distractions
over and over again, maybe it's six or seven minutes.
But it's important that you don't remain out there
for 30 minutes.
You're gonna give your puppy a handful of minutes let's say
and what's really important is if your puppy doesn't go,
what you do next.
If your puppy doesn't go, you're gonna bring them
right back inside and directly into their crate.
Be careful that you don't let your puppy
sort of meander around the kitchen or wherever
because that's the opportunity
that they may have been looking for to go potty.
So you're just gonna put them directly back in their crate.
You're gonna wait a couple of minutes
and for those couple of minutes
you're gonna keep a close eye on your puppy in that crate.
If your puppy has an accident indoors,
you're going to be there to supervise them.
You can actually mark that moment for them
with an oops or a hey
and it an interrupt that process entirely.
After those couple of minutes are up,
you're gonna take your puppy out,
take them directly outside,
and then wash, rinse, and repeat.
Follow the steps that we talked about
a little bit earlier in this video
and just do it over and over again
until your puppy realizes that the only place
that's appropriate to go potty is outside.
Remember, puppies are going to do whatever it is
that they find rewarding.
So if they're continuously making mistakes in your home,
that's not their mistake.
It's actually your mistake.
Beside me is a puppy potty training playlist
that is full of videos that you're gonna find helpful.
And if this is your first time on the channel,
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
We publish new videos every single week
to help you to have a well-behaved
four-legged family member.
On that note, I'm Ken.
Happy training.