So you just got a husky puppy! You’re in puppy love and will feel over the moon for the first few days. But soon after that, the reality will set in. You will have to learn how to potty train a husky puppy. Potty training was more challenging than crate training! At least it was for me!
Living in an apartment and waiting for the elevator to take my pup out to potty did not help. It took a lot of work, sleepless nights, and patience with consistency, which is critical to be successful in potty training your pup. Let’s go through how to potty train a husky puppy.
Follow These Steps on how to Quickly Potty Train A Husky Puppy
Do not use puppy training pads
First, potty training aims to get your husky puppy to pee OUTSIDE of your home. If you use a training pee pad inside your living area, how will your husky puppy know the difference and understand why it is okay to sometimes pee in the house and sometimes not?
Second, Your husky puppy will not understand he is to ONLY pee or poop on the training pad. He also can’t judge the difference between a training pee pad versus your rug or carpet.
The only time I ever used training pads was when Gatsby came home after getting neutered at six months old. He was obviously in pain, so I laid it all over my living room floor if he couldn’t get up in time to potty outside.
Using puppy training pads will guarantee to set you back. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration if you skip the use of puppy training pads!
Do not punish your husky puppy if an accident occurs
Look, there will inevitably be accidents. Take it easy on your puppy and yourself. Keep in mind that potty training is all new to you AND your husky puppy. It takes time to adjust and to get the hang of things.
Don’t forget, especially if you’re a new dog parent, you still have to learn ways to communicate with your puppy. Pointing at your puppy and yelling “No!” will not help. Your pup doesn’t even understand the English language!
Punishing your husky puppy is going to set you back. Give positive vibes only and offer lots of incentives for good behavior, such as healthy high-value treats!
Reward with Praising and High Value Treats
Every time you husky puppy successfully eliminates outside, reward your pup by praising and giving a high value treat. This point here is to reinforce good behaviors.
Pick a designated potty spot outside of your home
On the first day of bringing home your husky puppy, take your pup to a designated potty area right away before heading inside your home. If your pup potties at the designated potty area, that’s great! If, instead, they want to wander around and find another spot, let it be. Once your pup potties, give them a high-value treat and praise your pup! This new spot your puppy picked will be their new designated spot for potty breaks.
Do not give your husky puppy the run of your whole house
It’s best to keep a close eye on your puppy by confining them to one area so you don’t have to clean pee or poop all over your home. Use baby gates to block off certain areas, and another option is to keep your puppy tethered to you for the first week.
Know the signs of when your puppy needs to potty
When your puppy needs to go potty, his nose goes right to the ground. Your pup will pace back and forth, circle, and sniff, looking for the right spot to potty. The tail starts to go up, and then your pup squats.
Once you see this behavior, pick up your puppy immediately and rush outside to your designated potty area. Don’t even waste time trying to call your pup to come to you or to follow you out. Your puppy will potty in just moments after sniffing the ground!
Track Your Husky Puppy’s Potty Schedule
Puppies have a natural potty schedule. Your puppy will need to pee and poop usually after the following events:
- Within 15 or 20 minutes after eating or drinking
- Right after they wake up
- Right after playtime or zoomies
Watch your pup, and if they start showing signs of needing to potty, pick them up and head outside right away.
The general puppy bladder rule is as follows:
You can expect your puppy to be able to hold its bladder in hours equal to his age in months plus one hour.
So that means, if your puppy is 3 months old, the longest you can expect him to hold his bladder is about 4 hours. Keep in mind that this is just a general rule. Be ready for them to pee or poop sooner than this!
The best way to better understand your pup’s potty schedule is to track it by writing it down. Download a free puppy potty tracker to help you get started!
Set a Feeding Schedule
As mentioned above, puppies will need to eliminate within 15 or 20 minutes after eating or drinking. All you need to do is create a consistent feeding schedule of 3 times a day, and then you’ll have a pretty good idea of when you can expect your puppy will need to potty. Creating a feeding schedule will make potty training so much easier!
Start Crate Training for Housebreaking
Puppies learn from their mothers not to pee or poop by where they sleep early in life (unless they hold it for hours, they have no choice but to potty in the crate). Use this to your advantage! Start crate training the first night you bring your puppy home.
Make sure to buy a crate that comes with a divider! If the crate has too much room inside, your puppy may choose to potty in one corner and sleep in the other. You can use the divider to adjust the interior space to grow with your puppy. Here is the same crate Gatsby uses.
If you need tips on crate training, read my post about How I Successfully Crate-Trained My Siberian Husky.
Be Prepared to Wake Up Every 2 Hours At Night
My advice is to sleep next to your pup’s crate during the first week so you can hear your puppy alert you it’s time to potty in the middle of the night. Your puppy won’t be able to make it through the night without peeing or pooping. Have your shoes and jacket by the door to be ready to head out for your pup’s potty break.
How to Clean up if Accidents Occur
Whatever you do, DO NOT use dish soap or regular household cleaners to clean soiled areas. You MUST use a specialized cleaner containing pro-bacteria and enzymes to remove stains that will also break down odors effectively. Traditional cleaners only mask the smell and do not eliminate them, causing your husky puppy to eliminate in the same spot later on.
Final Thoughts
Potty training is just one of the many phases of puppy parenthood. Don’t let it stress you out. It’s essential to be patient in setting your puppy up for success. Know that your pup will inevitably have an accident inside your home, and this is just temporary.
Now that you just learned how to potty train a husky puppy, start to implement the tips above! Be consistent in potty training by following all the tips for at least a week or two.
I believe in you. Your hard work will pay off!
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission. Thank you for your support of this blog.
