Tips for potty training your Dalmatian

Dalmatian puppies—known for being stars in the movie, “101 Dalmatians” and for being the mascot of many a fire house—are alert, intelligent, and beautiful puppies with white coats and distinctive black spots.

Potty training your Dalmatian puppy starts as soon as you bring him or her home. It may mean sleepless nights for you, but the sooner your puppy learns where he is supposed to go potty, and when, you will be able to relax and sleep!

Common Puppy House Training Mistakes

Giving her run of the house.A puppy needs constant supervision until you understand her signs for having to go potty and until she is consistently going outdoors. Keep your puppy on a harness, close to you or in a pen nearby, so you’re aware of when she starts pacing and may need to relieve herself.

Dog trainer Kathy Reilly, CDBC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA said, “When you’re potty training your Dalmatian puppy you need to keep her close by. If your puppy is wandering the house, you won’t be there to notice her signs and if you’re not nearby, accidents will occur.”

Not using clear “do you have to go out” signals. If you don’t associate “going out” with going potty, then your puppy won’t associate the two. You could excitedly say, “Who’s got to go out?” when it appears your puppy is getting ready to go to the bathroom.

Many Dalmatian puppy owners like to hang bells by the door and train the puppy to nudge the bells when he has to go out. To train by this method, the owner will take the puppy to the door, shake the bells and say, “Let’s go potty!” before taking the dog out. This provides a very clear way to announce the outdoor intention.

There is not a clear reward system for your dog going to the bathroom outdoors. Praise is great and necessary, but if you’re training your Dalmatian puppy, we suggest offering a food reward for a job well done. Reilly shared, “As soon as your dog begins to go potty, quietly say, ‘Good boy/girl’ you don’t want to startle him. As soon as he’s done, offer a delicious and high reward food treat—something your puppy doesn’t usually receive; this reinforces that going potty outdoors is the way to go! “

You aren’t giving your dog a clear cue to potty. In many situations, a potty cue can be very useful for the pet parent. If you’re in a hurry and need your Dalmatian puppy to go potty in a specific spot or to go quickly, give your pup the “go potty” cue as soon as the puppy begins. As your Dalmatian puppy gets older you can give the “go potty” cue before your dog starts.

Note: If you find your puppy has had an accident in the house that you didn’t notice, don’t punish him; he won’t know why he’s in trouble and won’t remember what he did. Simply clean up the mess and go about your day.

Not teaching your Dalmatian puppy to go potty in different settings. This may sound odd, but if you travel you will want to teach your puppy to go potty in settings other than in his own backyard. As a responsible pet owner, you are accustomed to picking up after your puppy, but this is even more important when you’re teaching him to go potty in a parking lot, for example, or on the side of the road or in grass by a hotel. There are some dogs who are so accustomed to going potty in a specific area in the yard that they will balk at having to go potty in an unfamiliar area.

Quick Dalmatian Potty Training Tips

1.     Take him out as soon as he wakes up—don’t wait for a signal!

2.     Take him out right after he’s eaten and had a drink.

3.     Take him out at least every couple of hours. When your Dalmatian puppy is older, he still may need to go potty every four hours.

4.     Take your puppy out before bedtime.

5.     Praise your puppy for a job well done and soon he will be house trained!

Being a pet parent to a Dalmatian puppy means you are going to be sharing your life with a dog who is tirelessly enthusiastic, playful and eager to please. This desire to please will be what will make potty training your Dalmatian a breeze—as long as you’re consistent and diligent.

Robbi Hess, award-winning author, is multi-petual: She shares her home with two Devon Rex kittens, three adult rescue cats, a mini poodle, a Goldendoodle, three lizards and two ferrets. When not caring for her pets, she is an editor, speaker, time management and productivity guru, content creator, social media manager and blogger. She writes at All Words Matter, My Divas Dish, and is the story editor and chief cat herder at Positively Woof.