8 Things You Should Know When Taking A Puppy Outside To Pee!

It is often said in our guides to potty training a puppy that, “take your puppy outside to pee and stand boring”. But there are still small questions left. 

---

Quick Navigation

1. How do I get my puppy to pee outside?
2. Should I carry my puppy out to pee?
3. Should I carry my puppy out to pee at night?
4. How long should you wait outside for your puppy to pee?
5. How long should you wait outside for your puppy to pee at night?
6. Why does my puppy pee inside after being outside?
7. Can I take my 8-week old puppy outside to pee?
8. When should I stop carrying my puppy to pee?

---

Here’s are the answers to those frequently asked, unanswered questions:

1- How do I get my puppy to pee outside?

You have to train your puppy to go outside. This is what we do when we potty train them. 

Put the puppy on a leash, and take him to the outside potty spot at regular intervals.

Make sure you fix only one spot and use only one door leading to that spot.

When he does the deed, always treat him with a doggy treat within a second.

This way, your puppy will start recognizing that path and the spot and eventually learn to go on his own.  

The key is, “Never give him a chance to pee inside the house.”

2- Should I carry my puppy out to pee?

Carrying a puppy outside to pee is a good idea, especially at the beginning of potty training.

This way, you will encourage him to hold his bladder. Otherwise, he may start urinating on the floor before reaching the spot and you will have to clean up a lot of mess.

But you shouldn’t make it a practice. 

Otherwise, he will refuse to walk out to pee. 

The best practice is to carry him outside to pee at these times

• immediately after, he wakes up and 
• at night time potty breaks
• whenever he shows his cues like sniffing, circling, barking, scratching, staring, etc.

These are the times when there are chances that he will not be able to hold it. 

3- Should I carry my puppy out to pee at night?

yes, you should carry your puppy out to pee at night.

At night, your puppy’s brain might not be as active as it is when he is wide awake. He might not be interested in holding it at this time. So it is best to carry him out to pee at night. 

Here’s how you can do it:

Set your alarm according to his schedule. A puppy can hold it for one hour every month of their age. 

Say your puppy is 3 months old, so he should be able to hold it for 3 hours unless he is a small/tiny breed (make it 2 hours for 3 months old tiny breed puppy).

Wake up on alarm, open the crate door, wake him up, carry him to the potty spot and say your fixed command like “go potty”. 

Do not make it a playtime. As soon as he finished, put him back into the crate so he could sleep again.

4- How long should you wait outside for your puppy to pee?

You should wait outside for a good 10-15 minutes for your puppy to pee. 

Make it 5-10 minutes for older dogs. 

Puppies have tiny bladders and they just don’t know how to completely empty them in one go, maybe because they get distracted so quickly. 

When you take him out, make sure he is on a leash. Take him to the potty spot and say, “go potty.” 

Stand boring. Never make it a playtime. 

When he is done, stay there! Give him another chance to relieve himself. Wait for almost 10 minutes and give your pup another chance. 

Most probably, he’ll go again. 

5- How long should you wait outside for your puppy to pee at night?

You can wait outside for around 5 minutes at nighttime’s first potty break. 

You must remove the water bowl 2 hours before bed and take him to the toilet before he goes to sleep.

So it is highly likely that your puppy’s bladder will not be that full. 

He might not need another chance. 

Take him to the spot, do not play with him; make it quick. When he has done the deed, wait for a minute or 2 to see if he does that again and come back. 

Put him to sleep again. 

This is for the first potty break.

On the second or third break, no need to wait for long. 

6- Why does my puppy pee inside after being outside?

Your puppy pees inside after being outside? There are multiple possible reasons:

• He didn’t completely empty his bladder outside. This is why we recommend giving him another chance.

• He smells like pee inside. If he had an accident inside, and you didn’t catch it or maybe you didn’t clean it properly, he might smell pee there. (dogs have a very sharp sense of smell). Following the natural dog’s instincts, he might go there again.

• Medical Conditions like UTI. If it happens multiple times, check for any medical conditions like UTI. Dogs and puppies are prone to UTIs; the main symptom is peeing small amounts repeatedly.

• Urine marking. If your puppy/dog is peeing on the new objects only, it can be urine marking too. See if he lifts one leg to pee, which is small in amount. Puppies may start urine marking as early as 3-4 months old. 

7- Can I take my 8-week old puppy outside to pee?

Although we don’t recommend starting training as early as 8 weeks old! But you can take your new puppy outside to pee (only to set good potty habits).

Take these precautions:

• The area is hygenic: Make sure that the area, where you are taking him, is hygienic. Ideally your own yard. Of Course you don’t want your baby to get exposed to germs.

• He is vaccinated: He has at least one shot of vaccination. Usually, puppies get their first shot between 8-11 weeks (sometimes earlier)

• Be with him: You can’t just leave your puppy alone; stay with him and keep an eye. He might eat something that is not to be eaten.

8- When should I stop carrying my puppy to pee?

It varies from dog to dog and depends on when you started potty training your puppy. You need to understand what your puppy is capable of.

As a general answer, “You can stop carrying your puppy out to pee when you think/know that he is now capable enough to hold his bladder, and somehow he knows that he needs to hold until he is out. Most dogs start understanding the potty spot in one week of training (if you have started training at the right age (12-14 weeks). But you should keep carrying him (on recommended times) for at least 3-4 weeks to be on the safe side.

Suppose you have started training an 8-week-old puppy, which is too young for a puppy to understand what is going on. You can continue carrying him out to pee until he is at least 13-14 weeks old.

---

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our full disclosure here.

Must-have supplies during the puppy’s potty training

If you are potty training your puppy, you can benefit from this printable puppy potty training planner. It helps you track your puppy’s schedule and speed up his training.

---

Have any more questions? Feel free to ask in the comments!

More Helpful Resources: