Housebreaking a small dog can be difficult; doing it in the winter is a heroic feat.
No matter how cold it gets, and even if the snow is taller than your pup’s legs, you can teach them to stop having accidents in the house. You’re just going to have to get a little creative with your options.
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Decide If You Want To Use Potty Pads
Whether you should use potty pads is a matter of preference. Some people hate them and never use them, even on Day 1, while others find them invaluable. You will have to go through a phase of transitioning from potty pads to outside, which can make potty training more complicated, but I happen to think it’s good to start with pads.
When you use pads, your dog will be able to use them on occasion when you can’t go out, for example, if your dog ever has surgery and she needs to stay on bed rest, or if you’re ever injured and unable to go for walks, if your fence breaks and your dog can’t go out, etc. etc.
It makes sense to see how you do without potty pads, but if you’re not able to take your dog out frequently enough to avoid accidents (up to every 30 minutes), and your puppy is so young that they cannot hold it for very long, I’d rather clean up a soaked puppy pad than clean up an accident… and deal with the step backward in your training every time your puppy makes a mistake.
You might want to try puppy pad alternatives if you dislike the environmental waste and odor of ordinary puppy pads.
Take Advantage Of Warmer Times Of Day
The warmest part of the day is going to be between noon and 4PM. So, you may want to rearrange your routine to ensure that you are able to go outside with your puppy a lot during midday. That way, you can work on teaching skills that may be hard to get across when you’re freezing and just want to go inside.
You will not be able to avoid going outside in the brisk early morning and evening air, however. For those times, make sure you’re bundled – it always seems as though, when you’re cold and impatient to go back inside, your puppy will take the longest to get their business done. I know, I’ve been there.
You may want to feed your puppy earlier in the morning and just before the sun goes down. Since she will have to go potty right after she eats, you’ll get her in a habit of doing her business earlier, before it gets super cold at night.
Dress Your Puppy In Layers
Those $5 dog sweaters from Walmart are cute, but they’re not nearly warm enough to keep your puppy comfortable so she can do her business.
I like to layer my dogs’ clothes. You can put a cotton dress under a sweater under a waterproof coat to keep your puppy warm and dry. Puppies typically get excited to “get dressed” when you always do it right before going out – she will associate her winter gear with those fun outings.
You don’t need dog booties for quick potty trips. Booties will just make it take forever for you to get your puppy ready to go out, and you’ll want to take your time acclimating your puppy to wearing them – it’s just too much to worry about at once, so I’d suggest going without. Dog socks will just get wet and uncomfortable.
Dogs have blood vessels in their paw-pads that keep their toes from freezing, though they can be affected by frostbite. Use a paw-friendly ice melt, and carry your dog over sidewalks and driveways if you’re not sure if the surface is safe.
If you suspect your puppy has walked over some ice melt, clean their paws as soon as you get indoors – don’t allow time for your puppy to lick their paws. Gentle soap or puppy shampoo and water will do the trick.
Make A Potty Spot
You have the option of teaching your puppy to go potty anywhere in your yard, or choosing a specific spot that she will always use.
When potty training, especially in the winter, a designated potty spot is really helpful. You can shovel snow off the grass in this area to improve your pup’s pooping experience.
The potty spot will carry the scent of your dog’s wastes so she will keep returning to it. Make sure it’s close to your front door as possible so a quick potty break will be as easy as possible.
Play Outside… But Not During Potty Breaks
If you can, spend more time outside with your puppy, even when it’s cold. Like us, dogs acclimate to the weather.
When you’re outside, keep moving. The more you move, the less you and your puppy will feel cold, and the more positive of an experience it will be.
For potty breaks, though, you’ll want to keep the outings short, yet frequent. It should be quick enough that you are able to keep your full attention on your puppy so you know when she has done her business.
Make It Easy To Get Ready
It’s such a hassle to take your puppy out when it’s cold. There are so many extra steps. You have to put your boots on, your own coat, hat, gloves, and get your puppy ready with their own winter gear.
Set up a potty break station by your door to make this as a little easier. Maybe you can get some cheap slip-on boots to keep by the back door instead of lacing up your good boots each time. Leashes, harnesses and other gear should be hung or kept in a basket where they can dry off between uses if you go out in the snow.
Winter Housebreaking Isn’t Easy…
But it’s not impossible. Many adult small dogs still have accidents when it’s cold out, so if you put in the work now and get your puppy potty trained this winter, she’ll be way easier to keep accident-free every winter season, no matter how cold it is!
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As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.
You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.
How do you stop a puppy from biting on her leash while walking?
Also, how do stop her from biting.
Those are the two issues we’re dealing with right now. Holly is 4 1/2 months.
A lightweight chain leash could work, but with a normal leash, she’ll probably outgrow that habit soon. Really with any type of mouthiness, you can redirect her with a toy. It’s annoying and it hurts, but if it’s just typically puppy nipping, it goes away… eventually!
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It is December and every new dog lover must be looking for the post like this… Thanks
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Brrr, I would hate to have to potty train in winter! We purposely timed getting our last puppy to avoid it.
Potty pads have never worked for our dog and so I’m glad you presented alternatives. My husband and I keep supplies by the door, but I like the idea too of taking advantage of the warmer time of day. I agree with you about sweaters and might have to add waterproof coat to our pet wish list.
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I have two small dogs, but was never able to get potty pads to work for either of them. They just seemed to confuse my boys and caused them to have more accidents, so they are both trained to go potty outside only. I guess I’m lucky in that I actually really enjoy cold, snowy weather, so taking my dogs out in the winter has never been a big deal to me. I’ll admit though that I’ve never had to go through the potty training stage in the winter time. One of my dogs I got in the spring time and the other I got in the summer, so with both they were potty trained by the time their first winter with me rolled around.
Great points and my Diva hates the rain and will hold it in till she cannot anymore. I have tried puppy pads and they sat dry for days LOL. So I call it the rain war when I try to get her out and if she sees the raincoat all hell breaks loose in the house LOL. I think it is triggers from her past life as she was an outdoor dog only so I go with the flow with her
I hate the cold, I can’t imagine training a puppy in the cold. I know a lot of people with little dogs that come in and say their dogs refuse to pee outside. (One of the reasons I live with cats – I’m too lazy to own a dog.)
Good ideas. My niece’s dog HATES any kind of wet weather and will hold it in. I’ll be sharing this article with her.
The potty spot is a great idea. Like a cat litter tray it is THE designated spot that a pup can confidently use. This saves upset pet parents and dogs getting stressed because they want to go but are not sure where.
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I never owned a dog however these are great steps to follow for potty training. I have a friend that uses the wee wee pads to train her pup. She swears by them.
I think it depends a lot on a dog. Daughter had a Chi/Jack Russel mix–at first, she was pretty weirded out by the cold ground and snow and was trying to avoid it. Very quickly she learned to love and enjoy it with our guys.
We’ve always added a dog to the family during the summer, so I never really thought about the extra difficulty in house training a dog in the winter. These are great tips!
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What a great post filled with tips! Although born in the winter, my dogs have all become part of my family in early spring, so I never gave much thought about training in the winter! Pinning this to share!
I never thought about house training a puppy during the cold weather, but it makes sense. I have a friend who puts down a tarp in bad weather and lifts it up for her dog when he goes outside.
Thank you for those kinds words. It’s nice to know the soothing colors convey a message of warmth and safety.
My puppy can’t even go out into the hallway without shivering. Lol. This was invaluable in reassuring me that training her inside for now is the right thing to do during her vaccinations.
Also nice to know that carrying her out every day and acclimatising her is good for her too. Love this blog, thanks!