YNP #056: Potty Training for a Working Household
Your New Puppy: Dog Training and Dog Behavior Lessons to Help You Turn Your New Puppy into a Well-Behaved Dog
Debbie Cilento: Dog Trainer | Dog Behavior Consultant | Owner of Playtime Paws | Belly Rub Specialist
4.8 • 917 Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2020
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How do you handle potty training when all the adults in the housework full time? This is a question I get asked a lot. Mainly because my listeners know I do not like the use of potty pads (for more on that, check out Episode 009).
If you are going to be out of the house longer than your puppy can hold regularly, how do you handle that without using potty pads?
My short answer is “get help!” I know, it’s not what you want to hear. And you may think, “wait, SO MANY people have dogs and work, how do they do it?” I address that too.
At the very least I highly recommend working out a schedule to give your pup potty breaks – which might mean getting help from a sitter, neighbor, or friend – until at least 6 months (longer depending on your dog). That is the minimum age a puppy can be left alone for an extending period.
I think it’s of great benefit for both you and your puppy to go beyond that and I explain why in this episode.
Press Play and enjoy!
In this episode I talk about:
- What I mean by a working household.
- Why I highly recommend you get help instead of using potty pads.
- Why it’s about more than potty training.
- Remember you have a puppy not a dog (yet).
Press play and enjoy!
Other resources mentioned and related to this episode:
YNP #009: Why Indoor Pads Should NOT be Used When House Training Your Puppy
YNP #014: How to Choose the Right Dog Care – Part One Facilities
YNP #015: How to Choose the Right Dog Care – Part Two Pet Sitters
YOUR Perfect Puppy: 4-week online training course for you and your new puppy.
What’s Next?
Feeling overwhelmed trying to raise a puppy while working full-time? You’re not alone — and you’re not doing anything wrong.
You’re just like any human trying to raise a dog.
That’s exactly why I created YOUR Perfect Puppy — my digital program that gives you a clear plan to follow and direct support from me every step of the way.
Whether you’re navigating crate training, potty breaks, or how to keep your puppy engaged with a busy schedule, I’ve got you covered.
Plus, you’ll also get ongoing access to Playtime Paws Academy — my membership community with weekly live calls, a private forum, and an entire library of enrichment ideas to help you through every stage of puppyhood, even the chaotic ones.
Click here to check out YOUR Perfect Puppy. I’d love to help make things feel a little more doable.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You are listening to your new puppies podcast. Starting you and your dog off on the right paw. Here's your |
| 0:16.8 | host Debbie Salento. Hello and |
| 0:29.0 | welcome to episode 56 of your new puppies podcast. I'm Debbie and today I wanted to answer a |
| 0:36.0 | question that I get a lot and that's what do you do when you have a working |
| 0:40.3 | household? So what I mean by that is if all the adults may working household work during the day outside the home. Now if you're listening |
| 0:50.9 | to this in real time we are in the fall of 2020, |
| 0:54.7 | which means that most of us are working from home, but not all of us, |
| 1:00.1 | and hopefully that will be changing soon, who knows. |
| 1:03.5 | But regardless, I think this is really important to talk about |
| 1:08.5 | because usually this question revolves around potty training. |
| 1:12.8 | You know if you have a full-time job most likely you are out of the house longer than your puppy could |
| 1:18.6 | ever possibly hold it. |
| 1:21.0 | And I don't like using potty pads. |
| 1:24.1 | I highly discourage using potty pads, so what do you do in those situations? |
| 1:30.7 | My answer is we need to find a way to get your dog to have potty breaks during the day. |
| 1:37.0 | Now because regardless of them physically needing to get out and go to the bathroom, |
| 1:42.0 | eight hours is a long time for a puppy |
| 1:46.2 | under the age of six months to be alone during the day. So this might mean |
| 1:51.3 | hiring a professional pet sitter and if your puppy is young if they're under like 12 weeks old |
| 1:57.8 | They need to be let out every three hours at least you might need two two or three stop by during the day. |
| 2:05.2 | Maybe it's a neighbor or a family member. |
| 2:08.1 | Maybe the adults in the household work out a staggered schedule and you may be thinking well wait Deb there |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Debbie Cilento: Dog Trainer | Dog Behavior Consultant | Owner of Playtime Paws | Belly Rub Specialist, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Debbie Cilento: Dog Trainer | Dog Behavior Consultant | Owner of Playtime Paws | Belly Rub Specialist and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.