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Housetraining is a schedule, not a talent. Fourteen days of frequent trips to one spot, instant rewards for outdoor toilets, close supervision indoors, and calm clean ups. No punishment anywhere in this programme: the AKC is clear that punishment slows housetraining down.
Puppies in their first weeks at home, and newly adopted adult dogs who need the routine rebuilt. It expands our topic guide on housetraining into a dated plan. A dog who was reliable for months and suddenly starts soiling, a dog who leaks in its sleep, or a dog who soils only when left alone needs a different first step: a vet check, or the separation anxiety programme if the signs fit.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| On waking | Straight out, on leash, to the spot. Wait quietly up to five minutes. Toilet = mark, treat, praise, then a short play. No toilet = back in, supervise or crate, retry in 10 to 15 minutes. |
| After breakfast | Second trip, 5 to 30 minutes after eating. The younger the puppy, the sooner after the meal. |
| Every 1 to 2 hours while awake | Scheduled trips through the day, plus immediate trips after naps, after play sessions, and after any excited greeting. |
| After lunch and dinner | Same as breakfast. Meals at fixed times make toilet times predictable, which is the whole engine of this programme. |
| Evening | Calm play, last water offered with the evening routine, and a final trip last thing before bed. |
| Overnight | Young puppies usually need one night trip. Set an alarm rather than waiting for crying, go out boringly, toilet, straight back to bed with minimal fuss. |
Supervision is the other half of the day: when the puppy is out of the crate, eyes are on them or they are tethered near you. Sniffing, circling and squatting are your cue to move fast and cheerfully outside. Every accident in the log gets read the same way: which scheduled trip was missed or mistimed?
| Days | Phase | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Maximum support | Full schedule, trips at the highest frequency, total supervision or confinement. Expect accidents; your job is data and routine, not perfection. Most puppies toilet outside far more than in by day three if the trips are frequent enough. |
| 4-7 | Pattern reading | The log now shows your puppy's real rhythm. Adjust trip times to it. Start stretching one interval slightly, the one where the puppy is reliably empty, such as mid morning. Introduce a toilet cue word quietly as the puppy starts to go. |
| 8-11 | Gradual freedom | Add one room of supervised freedom at a time, always right after a successful trip. Space trips a little further apart where the log supports it. Keep rewards for outdoor toilets at full value; this is not the week to fade them. |
| 12-14 | Consolidation | Run the near adult routine: waking, after meals, midday, evening, last thing. Freedom expands room by room behind a record of dry days. Most puppies are showing a clear preference for the outdoor spot by now, even if reliability is still weeks away. |
After day 14, keep the routine and the log until you have four accident free weeks. Full reliability commonly takes until four to six months of age, longer for some small breeds. That timeline is normal development, not programme failure.
The AKC's common guideline is roughly the puppy's age in months, plus one, as the maximum hours between breaks: a three month old, about four hours at most, and less during active awake time. During the day, young puppies often need a trip every hour or two regardless of the formula. When in doubt, go out more often; extra trips cost minutes, accidents cost days.
Usually the trip was treated as playtime, or it was too short for a distracted puppy to get down to business. Keep toilet trips boring and on leash: same spot, stand still, five quiet minutes. If nothing happens, come in, supervise closely or use the crate for ten minutes, then try again. Reward the outdoor toilet the moment it finishes, outdoors, not at the door.
Pick one main target if you can. The AKC notes that pads can confuse the lesson because the puppy is being taught two different answers to the same question. Pads have a real place for high rise living, very young puppies, or dogs who will always use an indoor area; just choose deliberately, and if you plan to fade pads later, start moving them toward the door early.
Clean it with enzymatic cleaner and change nothing else. Showing a dog an old accident teaches them nothing about where to go, and scolding after the fact only teaches them to avoid toileting in front of you, which makes outdoor trips harder. Read the accident as schedule data instead: what time, what had the puppy just done, and which trip was missing?
Yes, very. A new home means a new layout, new routine and new smells, and even reliable dogs commonly lapse for the first week or two. Run the adult version of this programme from day one rather than waiting to see. If accidents continue past two consistent weeks, or the dog leaks while asleep or seems unaware, book a vet check before more training.
A practical standard: four weeks with no accidents, across your normal routine, including a couple of slightly different days. Many puppies get there between four and six months of age with a consistent schedule; small breeds often take longer. Keep the routine trips in place well past the finish line, because reliability is a habit, not a switch.
Last updated: November 2026. The 14 day structure, sample day and protocols are our own work, written to the schedule and reward methods in the AKC sources above. How we work: our methodology.
All training programs | Topic guide: housetraining