How To Potty Train A Goldendoodle: 12 Expert Tips & Advice

Potty training a puppy is one of the most important tasks when you adopt a dog. It can also be one of the most frustrating, time-consuming, and unpleasant tasks.

If you’ve recently adopted a Goldendoodle and are unsure where or how to start potty training your new pet, we’ll discuss 10 tips from dog training experts. Learn them all below and get your Goldendoodle going in the right direction!

The 12 Tips on How to Potty Train a Goldendoodle

1. Don’t Try to Start Too Early

Many owners make the mistake of trying to start potty training their Goldendoodle too early. Like toddlers, Goldendoodle puppies have very little bladder control and will pee practically anywhere. Thankfully, that all starts to change at about 12 to 14 weeks of age. Trying to potty train your pup before they can adequately control their bladder will only lead to frustration, and it’s better to wait.

2. Keep Your Goldendoodle Pup Where You Can See It

Goldendoodle puppies will go whenever they feel the need. If your puppy is allowed to roam freely around your home, you won’t know if and when they’ve gone potty, which can be problematic, to say the least. However, keeping your Goldendoodle puppy where you can keep an eye on it all the time will help.  You might need to install baby gates or close doors you usually keep open. Being able to see your pup and see the signs they need to go potty is critical to potty training success.

3. Crate Training Can Be Helpful With Potty Training

Some owners don’t like crates because they think crating a dog is cruel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. When done correctly, your Goldendoodle will come to see its crate as a safe haven where it can go to relax, sleep, or get away from stress. Even better, since dogs don’t urinate or defecate where they sleep, your Goldendoodle will have far fewer accidents if they’re in a crate when you’re not home. Just remember that most puppies need to go potty once an hour when young, so don’t leave them in the crate too long. The older they get, the longer they can hold it in.

4. Use a Potty-Training Command and Stick With It

Dogs respond to certain words and phrases when you train them, like “sit,” “stay,” “shake hands,” and so forth. What you need to do when potty training your Goldendoodle is use a similar command like “Go potty,” “Potty time,” or any one or two words that you use every time.

Repetition is the key for this to work. Your Goldendoodle needs to hear the command several times before it will fully understand what you’re talking about. If you say “Go potty” one time, then “Potty time” the next, your Goldendoodle will get confused.

5. Thoroughly Clean any Accidents Inside Your Home

Accidents, unfortunately, are a fact of life when you adopt a Goldendoodle puppy. They will pee and poop in places they shouldn’t, and you’ll be forced to clean up their mess. When you do, you must clean it as thoroughly as possible. Dogs can smell their urine and feces; when they do, they often think it’s their “spot” and do it again. Using an enzymatic cleaner will eliminate the lingering odor left by their accident and prevent your Goldendoodle pup from doing it in the exact location again.

6. Don’t Use Ammonia-Based Products to Clean Up Accidents

Cleaning up your puppy’s accident with an ammonia-based cleaner is a mistake many new dog owners make, including those who adopt Goldendoodles. The problem is that urine has ammonia in it, so cleaning with an ammonia cleaning product can increase the chance that your Goldendoodle pup will have an accident again in the same spot.

7. Get to Know the Signs Your Goldendoodle Has to Go Potty

Most Goldendoodles will let you know when they have to go, especially after you’ve been potty training them for a few days or weeks. Your job is to look for and recognize the signs that a potty break is needed so that you can quickly react and take your pup outside.

8. Use Your Goldendoodle’s Accident to Show It Where to Go Potty

We mentioned that dogs can smell where they’ve had an accident and often go there again if the smell isn’t 100% removed. This can be used to your advantage, however. The next time your pup has an accident in the house, grab their poop (with a plastic bag, of course) and put it in your yard where you want your Goldendoodle always to go potty. The smell will lead your puppy there and let it know that this new spot is where it should be going.

9. Use Treats to Potty Train Your Goldendoodle

Goldendoodles are food driven, which means they react and respond to food and will do what they can to get it. This can be used to your advantage when potty training by giving your Goldendoodle a treat (and high praise) when they go outside. Be sure to give the treat after they go so that your pet isn’t confused about why you’re giving them a treat.

10. Keep Your Goldendoodle Away from any “Hot Spots”

If your Goldendoodle puppy keeps having accidents in the same spot even after you’ve thoroughly cleaned the area with an enzymatic cleaner, it might be necessary to keep them away from that spot entirely. If your puppy can’t get to the spot they’ve been using, they will have to choose another, which can work to your advantage when potty training.

11. Don’t Yell or Scold Your Goldendoodle After an Accident

When a puppy has an accident, it’s normal to be upset. Yelling or scolding your Goldendoodle might seem like the best course of action, but it’s exactly the opposite. When you scold your puppy, they might get the idea that going potty in front of you, or letting you know they need to go, is a “bad” thing.

If they do, chances are they will try to hide the next time they have to go, which can lead to a big problem called secret elimination. It’s better to be calm and use positive, rather than negative, reinforcement.

12. Be Patient

Like babies, puppies won’t learn everything or successfully be potty trained in a day or even several days. There will be accidents, and you will likely be cleaning up feces and urine several times. While not a perfect scenario, these are all normal things that happen when you adopt a puppy. If you establish a potty-training routine and use the tips we’ve discussed, your Goldendoodle will eventually learn that outside is the best place to go potty.

Final Thoughts

Being a Goldendoodle owner is a wonderful, enriching experience that will improve your life. The small price you pay for the experience is having to potty train your Goldendoodle puppy, which even the calmest of owners will tell you can be frustrating. If you follow the tips above, your Goldendoodle pup will learn faster and be potty trained before you know it! Best of luck training your Goldendoodle and putting this admittedly unpleasant part of puppy parenthood behind you!

Featured Image Credit: The Dog Photographer, Shutterstock