How to House Train a Sheltie Puppy

By Becky Casale, author, Shelties: The Complete Pet Owner's Guide

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House training a Sheltie puppy start indoors by scenting puppy training pads with their urine. Around four months old, transition their toileting outside.

Puppy bladders are small and weak! When you bring your puppy home, give her the opportunity to go every hour, and make sure she has access to her toilet area 24/7. During this particularly messy time in your dog's life, you will need three things:

1. Puppy Training Pads

Lay down some puppy training pads like Amazon Basics 5-Layer Training Pads in a designated place to teach your Sheltie puppy where to pee and poop. This also makes for much easier clean up. You can use newspapers at a pinch, but expect a lot more leakage. Puppy training pads are highly absorbent and should be left out at least a little soiled as a reminder of where she needs to go.

Amazon Basics Puppy Pee Pads with Leak-Proof Quick-Dry Design for Potty Training

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Super Absorbent Washable Pee Pads for Dogs, 2-Pack, 100% Waterproof, Non-Slip

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2. Dried Liver Treats

Reward your Sheltie when she gets it right. Seriously, go wild. Verbally praise her, offer lots of affection, and give liver treats like Stewart Freeze Dried Dog Treats. I cottoned on to liver treats when I saw Howard react to them like a maniac at the vet's office. They're delicious, I'm sure. Give your puppy a treat immediately after she eliminates on a training pad, whether she did it all on her own or you physically put her there to go.

Dog liver treats provide strong psychological reinforcement of a job well done

Stewart Freeze Dried Dog Treats.

3. Carpet Stain Remover

There will be accidents! Lots of them. So choose a carpet strain remover that dissolves both visible stains and odors, lest the smell of urine provide sensory cues for your Sheltie to toilet in the same place over and over. Resolve Ultra Pet is a deep penetrating carpet spray to lift and remove stubborn pet stains the first time.

OxiClean Carpet Pet Stain Remover 24oz, Deep Cleans Carpet Fibers

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Resolve Ultra Pet Stain and Odor Remover Spray, Carpet Cleaner, 32oz

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How to House Train a Sheltie Puppy

Step 1. Indoor House Training (0 to 4 Months)

So set up a training pad in your new indoor toilet area. This should be well away from where your Sheltie sleeps and eats, which she'll instinctively assign as clean zones. Put pads upstairs and downstairs if you live on multiple floors, because negotiating stairs with a full bladder just makes it harder.

First thing in the morning, put your puppy on the pad and say your toilet word ("go wees" or "busy busy" or whatever you will remember). This is your best shot to scent the pad, as she'll need to do a morning pee. You're going to do this every 60 minutes throughout the day for the next week until she starts to toilet on the pads of her own instinct. Remember:

Conditioning takes time. House training a puppy uses classical conditioning; a technique that requires associations to be built over time. So when she strays off the pad without peeing, calmly put her back and say your toilet word a few more times. She hasn't figured it out yet, so give her a chance to build those links: toilet command = feeling bladder pressure = peeing on the pad.
Pooping after meals. Your best shot at this is in the 10 minutes or so after she's eaten. Her full stomach will press on her bowels, giving her the urge to poop. Watch her like a hawk and when you notice her sniffing the ground and moving in circles, calmly pick her up and put her on a training pad while saying the toilet command. Look for this action 4-6 times per day, which is how often puppies poop.
Catching pees. Even if you take your puppy to the pad every 60 minutes, Sod's Law means she'll pass up the opportunity and then go on the carpet 3 minutes later. If she doesn't go on the pad, keep an eye on her and watch for the signs. Males cock a leg up against a vertical object or simply squat their hind legs down like a female. When you see the cue, carry her to the pad immediately. You will get peed on. But getting just a drop of urine on the pad is a win here. Praise your puppy for any that does land.
Scent is key. Don't throw out soiled pads straight away! Yes, it's gross but it'll make house training go much faster and with fewer accidents. Your puppy is scent driven NOT visually driven so a urine stained pad is the best cue for telling her where to go next time.
Clean up accidents. When your puppy pees on the carpet, do your absolute best to remove the smell right away or it'll serve as that scent cue for next time. If you have expensive new carpets, contain your puppy to other areas of the house where she WILL pee at some point. Put up baby gates or just lay down temporary obstacles for a couple of months; Sheltie puppies are so small they can't even climb over a coffee table on its side. Nawww.
Keep cool. This is happening. Expect to feel angry when your puppy boldly pees on the carpet right in front of you. But don't take it out on her--she's not being belligerent, she just doesn't understand yet. Say a firm "no" when you catch her in the act and take her to her pad. Don't yell and certainly don't rub her nose in it as this will only damage her trust in you.

House training a puppy is messy business.

Step 2. Outdoor House Training (4+ Months)

Transition your Sheltie puppy to outdoor toileting from around four months old, when she has the physical and mental capacity to get where she needs to go. Ideally, your Sheltie is toileting on the training pads more often than not by now. She's starting to see the house as a clean zone. Now her house training presents two new obstacles:

Out of sight, out of mind. It's a major leap in cognition for your puppy to consider going elsewhere to pee and poop. So just as you did with indoor house training, you need to repeatedly prompt her to use the new toilet area every 90-120 minutes during the day.
Puppies vs closed doors. Unless you have a dog door installed, or you leave your back door open all day and night, there's now a physical barrier between your Sheltie and her new toilet area. She needs to learn a new skill: how to communicate when she needs to go out.

Start by conditioning a new association: the toilet is now outdoors. Move the puppy pads outside, but near the door, and tell her all about it. The moment you wake up in the morning, take your pup outside and wait for her to empty her overnight bladder there. Bring the liver treats with you and lavish her with praise after she pees.

Continue to take her out like this every 90 minutes throughout the day. Remember that she's more likely to go soon after she eats, and during playtimes when she's all excitable. The golden rule is consistency. Offer a frequent toileting routine and note whether she can hold it for the overnight stretch.

Jock and Howard decide where to pee.

The next thing that happens is just magic. Within one to two weeks, your Sheltie will internalize the lesson that she's supposed to toilet outdoors. She'll make that cognitive leap, overcoming the problem of the yard being out of sight. At some point she'll feel the urge to pee and take herself off without any input from you. Success!

What if there's a door in her way? She may just poop right in front of your door, reminding you that you need to leave the door open, install a dog door, or take her outside more frequently. Or, she'll communicate you to. A smart Sheltie who understands the whole house is a clean zone will find her own way to tell you she needs to go out.

I was blown away when puppy Howard sat at the door one day and gave a soft but demanding yap. Your Sheltie may use a different approach, perhaps by scratching the door or scratching your knee and whining. Reward this effort to communicate and let her out promptly. Then give yourself a pat on the back! You've successfully taught your dog to respect your whole house as a clean zone and communicate her need to you when necessary. Congratulations—your Sheltie puppy is house trained!

Once your Sheltie is truly housebroken you can rely on her to always go outdoors. If not, you know something is wrong. She may be stressed, confused, or sick. As your Sheltie ages, she may also develop a weak bladder, so prevent her from developing a new indoor potty space by giving her extra-easy outdoor access.

To learn more about the wonderful world of Shetland Sheepdogs, download my 160-page PDF ebook, Shelties: The Complete Pet Owner's Guide, now in its fifth edition.

The guide features hands-on advice on raising a Sheltie illustrated with 100+ photos from Sheltie owners around the world. It's much loved by those who followed the adventures of Howard and Piper Woofington Moon, the inspiration behind Sheltie Planet.

Click here to learn more.