YNP #105: Potty Training Regression

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

Kids & Family, How To, Pets & Animals, Education

4.8 • 917 Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Potty training was going so well… until it suddenly wasn’t.

Let’s discuss why potty training regression is completely normal, what it actually means, and how to get back on track without feeling like you’ve failed your puppy.

You have a stretch of good days, you start to feel confident, and then all of a sudden, the accidents are back. It feels like you’re back at square one, you start asking what you did wrong, and you might even wonder what’s wrong with your puppy.

Here is the truth.Regression is normal. It doesn’t mean you failed. It doesn’t mean your puppy forgot everything. It means you are in the middle of the process.

If this episode really resonates, I also recommend Episode 79: “Are You Still Struggling With Potty Training?” where I walk through the three key points I always cover with clients who are stuck.

In this episode, I talk about:

What potty training actually looks like (progress in NOT a straight line)
The most common reason for potty training regression.
Why regression seems to happen right at the end.
How a small change in routine can have a big impact on your progress.
The difference between a random accident and true regression.

Enjoying this podcast? Please rate and review it wherever you listen. This helps other puppy parents find it.

Other resources mentioned and related to this episode:

Complete Guide to Potty Training Your Puppy: A free download that walks you through my complete process

YOUR New Puppy: My signature new puppy course that has helped hundreds of new puppy parents raise their puppies into well-mannered, happy dogs. Includes live support from me so you don’t have to do this alone!

Additional Potty Training Episodes:

What’s Next?

Feeling a little unsure about what to do with your new puppy? You’re not alone!

You’re just a 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. From potty training and basic cues to building trust and confidence, we’ll cover everything you need to raise your well-mannered dog with less stress and more joy.

And because puppyhood doesn’t stop after four weeks, 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 activities to help you navigate real-life challenges as they come up.

Click here to check out YOUR Perfect Puppy. I’d love to support you through this journey.

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.
0:16.3	Here's your host, Debbie Salento.
0:29.1	Thank you. your host, Debbie Salento. Hello and welcome to episode 105 of your new puppies podcast. I'm Debbie, and today we're going to talk about potty training, specifically potty training
0:41.6	regression. And yes, potty training is the one topic that I have the most episodes dedicated to.
0:52.0	And that's because potty training can have a lot of moving parts. And there's a lot
0:57.4	going on. It takes up a lot of time, energy, brain space, and it's happening at the exact same time
1:05.6	where we're dealing with the general chaos of having new puppy that has just hijacked your life. So I know that
1:14.1	at this moment, puppy parents need a lot of support. So that's why I'm here. Now, we're going to
1:20.2	specifically talk about like you've been potty training for a little while. Things are looking good.
1:25.7	And then all of a sudden it seems to take a U-turn and you go back
1:29.7	to square one. You start to feel like you failed. You start to ask, did I mess everything up?
1:35.2	Are we back to square one? What's wrong with my puppy? And the answer is you didn't mess up.
1:43.1	You're not back at square one and there's nothing wrong with
1:46.0	your puppy. This is just potty training. Regression is normal. I'm not saying there's not a fix for it.
1:52.8	I'm just saying it's normal. It's like you saw the light at the end of the tunnel and somebody just
1:57.6	slammed the door shut. But the reality is potty training is not a straight line.
2:02.5	Think we're going to go into it and there's going to be some accidents and then less accidents and
2:07.4	then even less accidents and then none and we're done. Unfortunately, no. It's more like where you're
2:14.0	going to have a little bit of progress and then you're going to take two steps back and then you're going to have some great progress. And then you're going to have a little bit of progress. And then you're going to take two steps back.
2:18.3	And then you're going to have some great progress
2:21.3	and a random accident that you can't explain is going to happen.
2:24.3	And then you're going to have even more progress,
	...

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