What if my puppy does not void during a regularly scheduled potty break?No worries, puppies likely won’t urinate every time we take them outside for a scheduled potty break. Give your puppy about 5 minutes of “boring standing around” and if there is no potty, just go back inside.If a puppy does not potty, do not give it free run around the house or play area (unless you also have an indoor litter box in your play area) instead, either give your puppy a crate nap with a pacifier for a few minutes (no more than 30), playpen time, or use a buddy leash and tether the puppy to a Responsible Party. Offer another potty break at the regularly scheduled time, unless your puppy is showing signs of urgent need (circling, sniffing, running around, moving towards potty door). What if my puppy is sleeping when it’s time for a potty break? Do not wake a sleeping puppy, instead wait close by and be prepared to run the puppy out the potty door the moment it wakes up from it’s sleep.

What if my puppy comes back inside from a potty break and immediately relieves itself inside?

There can be lots of reasons this might happen. The most common and undesirable, is that the puppy has become reluctant to potty in front of people. This can happen when a puppy relieves itself and a human does something that the puppy finds averse (scary, unsettling) such as if the puppy is scolded for an accident. BUT, even if we know better than to scold a puppy for relieving itself, sometimes we get well the intentioned but unfortunate advice that can still scare a sensitive puppy. For example, if the puppy starts to relieve itself inside, and the person makes a loud sound to “interrupt” the puppy, we may not intend this to punish the puppy, but if the puppy is sensitive to sounds the puppy may still be scared by our interrupter sound. Another example, if they puppy starts to have an accident inside and we humans freak out and run up to the puppy and snatch it up and run with it outside. Again, our intent is just to prevent an accident, but this can scare puppies.

So, if something has happened that scares a puppy the moment it relieves itself in front of a person the puppy may decide that it’s just better to NOT relieve itself in front of humans.

The good news is, the faster we realize this is happening and act, the faster the puppy can relax going potty in front of people.

How to help the puppy relax.

Go back to supervising EVERY potty break.

Potty puppy ON LEASH.

Use the highest value treats and give several treats one right after the other after the click.

Toss yummy treats (I use dry cat food) around in the potty zone, because sniffing often triggers urination.

Give your puppy at least 5 minutes per potty break.

Remember to play after potty!

If your puppy does not void, put your puppy in it’s crate or playpen with a high value chew, and try again in 10 minutes. Repeat until the puppy voids.

Another reason the puppy might potty when it returns to the house is that the puppy has become distracted by the great outdoors and literally forgot to potty. To fix this, be sure you are using the Potty Routine!Yet ANOTHER reason is that some puppies are double potty puppies. Double potty puppies will pee or poop twice before being done. So, for some puppies who frequently come into the house and then void, you will need to follow your usual potty schedule with some physical activity to help your puppy do their second potty. A second potty break 5 to 10 minutes after the first also works for some puppies. Finally, for litter box puppies try putting your litter box by the back door so if puppy needs a second chance it can easily find the indoor toilet.

FAQs: What if my puppy doesn’t void during a regularly scheduled potty break?