Is It Possible To Train Your Dog To Use the Toilet?

You love your dog, but taking it outside to relieve itself is a bit of a hassle. But what if you could get your pup to use the toilet on its own? Can you train your dog to pee at the toilet?

It’s possible to train your dog to use the toilet. Consider using a child’s toilet seat or plastic potty to start. You’ll also need plenty of treats and patience when training your dog. The training may take some time, but your dog can start going to the toilet independently once properly trained.

If you’re curious about the possibility of training your dog to use the porcelain throne, keep reading. I’ll also discuss other methods for training your dog to relieve itself without your assistance.

It’s Possible To Train Your Dog To Use a Toilet

With the right training, you can train your dog to use the toilet. There are other methods to get your dog to use the bathroom solo, but I’ll concentrate on the commode for right now. A word of warning, though — potty training your dog takes time and patience. You should prepare to spend plenty of time on toilet training.

Toilet training a dog takes a lot of time and energy. The most effort comes in getting your dog to recognize the commode as the best and most convenient way to potty. Training puppies is easier than training adult dogs because they can grow up ingrained with the behavior.

If you begin training your puppy, it may learn how to use the toilet in a few days or a week at the most. Older dogs may take substantially more time to learn how to relieve themselves this way. Adult dogs will have various behavioral quirks they’ll need to unlearn before they can get the hang of it.

How To Train Your Dog

There are a few things you’ll need to toilet train your dog. Some of these materials differ depending on what method you use. One technique requires using a child’s toilet seat, while another uses a child’s plastic potty.

You can also start with a litter box before slowly transitioning them to the toilet. A good rule of thumb is to have your dog learn how to relieve themselves on command. The “potty on command” can carry over to using the plastic potty and commode.

Arguably the most crucial training tools are a clicker and plenty of treats. The clicker is to specify specific actions you want your dog to learn. The treats are to reward your dog whenever it does something correctly. Rewarding good learned traits will reinforce positive behavior.

Use the Target Toilet Training Method

The “target training method” is called such because you’re instructing your dog to aim correctly or “target” the toilet. First, you need to teach your pup to seek objects properly. A big book or pillow will do at this stage — something your dog can put all four paws on.

After you’ve trained your dog to target the book or pillow, transition to a stool. During each stage of training, make sure to use your clicker and some treats to cement and reward the newly learned behavior.

Now that your dog has learned to target items, it should move on to “targeting” the toilet. Your dog needs to learn how to jump onto the toilet seat with the lid down. Be sure to use the clicker and treats to bolster and maintain this skill.

Target training is the technique that uses the children’s potty seat I’d referenced earlier. If all the previous training worked, you should now be at the step where you add the potty chair to the commode.

After raising the lid, place the potty chair down and have your dog practice jumping onto it. The point of target training is so that your dog can learn to balance on the toilet to relieve itself.

Once your canine companion can balance on the child’s potty seat, take it off the toilet. We’re at the penultimate step in the target technique. Command your dog to target jump on the plain commode seat.

The final step is to get the dog to use the toilet once it’s well-balanced on the seat. When your dog relieves itself into the bowl, give it a treat and some praise for doing a fantastic job.

Consider Using the Potty Method

Take a plastic potty outside whenever your dog needs to go. Try to get your dog to use the potty outdoors for now. This part may sound gross, but if there’s any of yesterday’s poop or pee, put it in the potty.

If you put old urine or feces in the potty, your dog may use it if it smells that it has been near the potty. Also, make the plastic potty the only option. If your dog doesn’t enjoy going in the grass, place the temporary toilet there.

If your dog uses the potty, give it treats – if not, be patient. It may take time for an older dog to learn this method. The last two steps involve moving the potty inside; you may need to walk your dog to the potty to get it to use the potty.

After your dog goes in the potty, put it atop the toilet. Your dog will go inside the potty while getting used to the commode. A week later, your dog should have no trouble relieving itself on the toilet bowl.

Summary

It’s possible to teach your dog to use the toilet, but it takes hard work and patience. You’ll have an easier time training a puppy to use a commode than a full-grown dog. Puppies are younger and won’t have any preexisting habits to make learning difficult.

There are many techniques you can use to train your pup. The techniques I mentioned in this article involve utilizing a child’s potty seat and a plastic potty.

For the chair, you teach your dog to “target” the toilet. For the second method, you place the potty on the commode and, eventually, remove it.

And as always, Live, Love, Laugh, and Scratch our bellies often!

Love you guys,

JTB

P.S. If you’re new to this world, you may want to check out my Ultimate Guide for First Time Dog Parents. It’s a great reference to get you started on this journey.

This article has been reviewed by our Editorial Board and has been approved for publication in accordance with our Editorial Policies.