Potty Training Before Vaccinations

by Bailey Coldwell

If you have a puppy and own a private yard for your puppy to potty in, follow the standard potty training tips in our programs.

If you have a puppy and live in an area with stranger dogs, AKA potentially unvaccinated dogs, this blog post is for you. 

Before our puppies are fully vaccinated, we don’t want them to be pottying in areas where stranger dogs have been. So, we have to get creative with potty training. We are going to need an alternate potty spot until our puppy is fully vaccinated (normally between 16-20 weeks of age). You can chat with your veterinarian about specific timelines and advice based on your area. 

When creating a unique potty spot for your puppy, there are a few factors you are going to want to consider. Let’s first talk about the surface on which you will have your puppy potty. 

Turf pad: This is one of the better options for transitioning to real grass later on due to the resemblance. Real grass is often the goal that handlers have for their pups to learn how to potty on. Turf pads tend to be fairly durable. They are also cost-effective as we don’t need to replace them as frequently as other potty options. There are some downsides, however. Dogs are pottying on the same small surface every time, making it more likely they will step in urine or feces. Despite handlers cleaning it frequently, it can be challenging to keep clean. Many reviews state that even with daily cleaning, the smells are still there. Having a hose that you can use to clean it tends to help. 

Sod patches: This is when we use chunks of the ground with grass growing on top of it. The most realistic you can get, which is helpful for the transition outside. Some companies will deliver new sod to you. It is more expensive than turf pads, due to sod having to be replaced every 1-4 weeks, with maintenance in between. 

BrilliantPad: This innovative product offers a smart and self-cleaning approach that sets it apart from traditional methods. By incorporating cutting-edge technology, BrilliantPad automates the clean-up process, making it convenient and hassle-free for pet families. The device has advanced sensors that detect when your dog has used it, triggering a swift and efficient cleaning cycle. This saves you time and effort and helps maintain a clean and odor-free environment in your home. The system encourages good behavior by providing a clean and fresh surface for each use, reinforcing the desired habits. This can be especially beneficial for puppies or senior dogs who may require more frequent potty breaks.

Disposable and washable pee pads: One major drawback of disposable pads is their impact on the environment, especially when considering long-term use. Washable pee pads offer a more eco-friendly alternative, although they require a suitable cleaning method. Pee pads are practical for traveling, outings with a puppy, and facilitating the transition away from them. Disposable pads are easy to dispose of, but it's advisable to have a designated bin for used pads, similar to diaper pails. Dogs may be inclined to shred, chew, or ingest pee pads, potentially leading to accidents on carpets and bedding. This confusion may arise from dogs not distinguishing between different soft materials when it comes to pottying.

Paper pellets or pine pellets: Put pellets in a tray or small box for the puppy to potty in. Many puppies will be tempted to try to chew on the pellets. The clean up is fairly easy, as you need to scoop and replace the pellets. They do not resemble other household items, so it is less likely that the puppy will get confused about what surfaces are and are not okay to potty on. However, it also doesn’t resemble the outside surfaces either, which can make it more confusing for the puppy when transitioning outside. The pellets can also get scattered around the home more easily. 

As you can see, each alternative potty training set-up option has pros and cons. You will have to determine which option has the most pros and the fewest cons for your specific household. 

Another aspect of alternative potty spots is location in the home. If you plan to transition your puppy outside, I highly recommend not leaving the potty option always accessible to your puppy. This can make the transition outside much harder because the puppy hasn’t learned how to hold it or let us know that they need to potty. This can be frustrating when we want our puppies to potty outside but we do not know their schedule, we haven’t been giving them a cue, and they now suddenly have to learn that pottying isn’t a free range option whenever they slightly have to go. We understand the convenience of allowing the puppy to potty whenever they want to when first coming home. But this will lead to a much more difficult transition for both of you. We recommend putting the potty option on an outside patio, a balcony, in a pen just used for pottying, or in a separate room you bring your puppy to as needed. Give the puppy the same cue every time. Using the leash is helpful so we can guide the puppy away if they start to chew on the material or are taking too long to potty. Pottying on the leash is also beneficial to teach your puppy. If your puppy never potties on a leash, it can be a hard transition when traveling or otherwise in an area where the puppy needs to be on a leash instead of having access to a yard or alternative potty setup. The leash indoors will allow us to always give the same potty cue (helpful for transitioning outside) and will help ensure we are right there to reward the puppy for pottying. 

I see many handlers place the alternate potty option in the puppy’s playpen and/or allow the puppy to have access to the potty option overnight. I don’t recommend this for the same reasons listed above. We know that nighttime potty breaks can be a hassle, but they are only temporary. If the puppy is allowed to potty frequently throughout the night whenever they want, it will be very difficult when we remove the indoor potty option and want our dogs to sleep through the night. For nighttime potty breaks at the beginning, I recommend getting up 1-2 times per night with your puppy, if needed. Keep them in a crate to help prevent accidents. Get up later and later each night for the potty break to help work towards your puppy sleeping through the night. Always try to wait for a pause in barking before starting to go towards the puppy. Give the puppy an uneventful potty break and then right back into the crate. At night, don’t wake your puppy up to bring them outside, let them sleep. We would only recommend waking the puppy at night if the puppy is pottying in the crate and not communicating with us beforehand. Ensure that the crate is a good size for your puppy. Accidents can happen if the crate is too big (due to extra space) OR too small (due to stress). Over time, we can give the dog plenty of extra space in the crate once they are fully potty trained. Some puppies will do best without any bedding in the crate at first to help prevent accidents. You can experiment with using a towel or light fleece blanket. If the puppy has an accident, remove the bedding until the puppy is older. 

We often get asked if we should set up an alternative potty spot due to weather inconveniences. This depends on your area. If you live in an area with extreme weather that could be a safety concern to you or your puppy, you can have a backup indoor potty option. I would use this as infrequently as possible. With just a normal rainstorm or snowstorm, I wouldn’t use the indoor option. Puppies can start to become very picky about going outside if they know that there is an indoor option whenever there is the slightest inconvenience. It is good for dogs to learn to potty when the grass is wet or it is snowing. I live in Maine and our winters can be brutal at times. I have never used an indoor option for my dogs. I use dog booties and coats, as well as limit outside time to strictly potty breaks, but I still enforce going outside to potty. If you live in a very hot climate in the summer, use a canopy or other structure to provide shade. You can use a hose to spray down the grass, get a kiddie pool, a splash pad, a cooling vest, use booties, etc. Most of the time, it is best to train your dog to potty outside exclusively, teaching them that there just isn’t another option.  Pay attention to the local news. If it is recommended not to have animals outside at all, then you will want an indoor potty space to use as a backup. Some examples of this might be tornado warnings or fire danger. If this is the case, you must teach your dog to potty on the alternative option ahead of time.

Some handlers might consider always allowing the dog to potty inside and always having access to it. Remember that if you are traveling or the dog is boarding somewhere, you will always need to bring a pottying system with you. Some dog sitters might not accept dogs who don’t potty outside. 

Another time that handlers might consider using an indoor potty option is if they are leaving the pups home for an extended period of time and the puppy is too young to hold it. Therefore, they set up a potty option inside a playpen for the puppy. You will need to teach your puppy to potty on the surface before actually leaving them. Otherwise, they won’t make the connection that pottying is what they are supposed to do on the new surface. Although this is an option, having someone come let the puppy out throughout the day as needed tends to be better. This way, the dog isn’t “sometimes” allowed to potty inside. Plus, they can receive mental and physical stimulation during the day with someone stopping by. 

To summarize, due to health and safety reasons, alternative potty options are oftentimes necessary if we don’t have a private outdoor space. We recommend treating this alternative space similarly to how we would train for pottying on the ground. Bring your puppy to the spot frequently, give the same cue every time, reward the puppy when they do go potty, and don’t allow the potty spot to always be accessible to your puppy. If you would like to discuss your specific home and potty training dilemmas, don’t hesitate to schedule a Zoom session with us to show us your setup, and we can help you come up with the best game plan for you and your puppy.