Are you wondering if you need to potty train your Pomeranian puppy? Pomeranians might be adorable and tiny, but they still need to be housebroken as any dog. Otherwise, they can make quite the mess inside your house.
So, how can you potty train a Pomeranian puppy? In general, Pomeranian puppies require a lot of consistency, repetitions, and patience when it comes to potty training. They react well to positive reinforcement and crate training, but don’t do well when punished.
Since Pomeranians are a little bit harder to housebreak than other breeds, I’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to help you. Just keep on reading.
8 Steps on How to Potty Train a Pomeranian Puppy
1. Choose a Spot
Before you bring your Pomeranian puppy home, you have to make some important decisions. First, you have to decide if you’re going to potty train your Pom inside as well as outside.
Since Pomeranians are a small dog breed, many owners consider potty training them inside on puppy pads or litter boxes. It makes sense for the times when it’s too cold for your Pomeranian to go outside. But most specialists think that it delays the housebreaking process.
Next, you have to choose the spot where your Pomeranian is going to do their business. That’s because consistency is one of the most important factors in potty training. Using different places inside or outside will confuse your Pomeranian and make it hard to potty train them.
2. Gather All Their Necessities
Your next step is to prepare all the things you’ll need to potty train your Pomeranian before you bring the puppy home. You will need:
- High value treats that you’re going to use as rewards.
- A puppy playpen to confine your Pom whenever you’re not home or a crate suitable for Pomeranians.
- Puppy peeing pads or a shallow litter box if you’re going to potty train your Pomeranian inside.
- Cleaning supplies to remove the urine smell from accidents in the house.
If you plan on potty training your Pomeranian indoors, I suggest you take a look at All-Absorbs Training Pads (link to read reviews on Amazon). They’ve been a huge help when training our Pomeranians to pee indoors, and they even keep the smell to a minimum.
Last update on 2023-01-10. Source: Amazon.com.
3. Start Potty Training Immediately
A common mistake most owners do is to delay potty training their Pomeranian. That leads to the formation of bad habits, which are twice as hard to break.
Before you enter the house, take your Pomeranian puppy to the designated potty area and wait for them to do their business.
You want to establish from the beginning that this is the spot where your Pom will pee and poop. Be patience because young Poms get easily distracted and might take a while to finish.
Once your little Pom does their business, you should praise and reward them as if they’ve done something extraordinary and exceptional. Give plenty of treats to form a positive connection in your Pom’s mind.
Some owners choose a command word such as “Go potty” when their Pom is peeing/pooping. If you want to teach your Pom to go potty on command, you have to say the word a second before your Pom stats doing their business. That’s called capturing the behavior.
4. Take Your Pomeranian Puppy Frequently to Their Potty Spot
The most important aspect of potty training a Pomeranian puppy is to take them to their potty spot as frequently as possible. That prevents accidents from happening in the house and teaches your Pomeranian puppy that the right place to urinate/defecate is outside (or on the puppy pads).
One of the best things about Pomeranians is that their bathroom habits are quite predictable. So you have to take your Pomeranian puppy to go potty first thing in the morning, before bedtime, and right after meals, naps, and exhausting play sessions.
Moreover, a young Pomeranian puppy can’t hold their bladder for very long. As such, you have to take them outside or to their peeing pads very frequently.
To estimate how often your Pom has to pee, you take their age in months. For example, a 2 months old Pomeranian puppy can hold their bladder for around two hours and should be taken to their potty spot at least every hour.
In addition to this, you should watch for signs that your Pomeranian puppy has to go. Usually, puppies snuffle, circle, or whine right before they do their business.
5. Restrict House Access
Most owners allow their Pomeranian puppy a free rein of the house right after they bring the puppy home. That’s not how you potty train a Pomeranian puppy because your puppy might get comfortable peeing/pooping wherever they feel like it.
Get a puppy playpen and put your Pomeranian puppy’s bedding, food, and water on one side. Then place the puppy peeing pads on the other. At night and whenever you can’t supervise your Pomeranian puppy, you’ll keep them in the playpen. Or you can use crate training.
6. Deal with Accidents the Right Way
No matter how frequently you take your Pomeranian puppy to his potty spots, accidents still might happen. In these cases, you don’t yell, smack, or rub your Pom’s nose in the mess. That will only make your Pomeranian afraid to do their business.
If you happen to catch your Pomeranian puppy in the act, say a firm “No!” Then you grab the puppy and take them to their potty spot. Afterward, praise and reward your Pomeranian puppy when they do their business where they’re supposed to.
In addition to this, you make sure that you clean the accidents well to remove the urine smell or your Pom will use that spot again.
Sometimes Pomeranian puppies are reluctant to use puppy pee pads. You can encourage them by wiping up a mess with a paper towel and leaving the towel on the pad to absorb the smell. Pomeranian puppies are more likely to go wherever they smell dog urine.
7. Consider Crate Training
Lots of owners don’t think that they need a crate for their Pomeranian. However, crate training is invaluable when you wonder how to potty train your Pomeranian.
Crates mimic a dog’s den, and as such, it’s a place of safety and security. Instinctively, dogs won’t soil their dens unless they have any other choice. So, crate training your Pomeranian puppy will help you with potty training and learning bladder control.
We don’t often use crates with our Pomeranians, but sometimes it makes sense. We’ve been using MidWest Homes for Pets Dog Crate (link to read reviews on Amazon) and they’re fantastic. They’re cozy and comfy, so your Pomeranian can feel right at home.
Last update on 2023-01-10. Source: Amazon.com.
You can leave your Pom inside a crate during the night or whenever you can’t supervise them. But it shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes to 1 hour during the day.
8. Avoid Common Potty Training Mistakes
When it comes to how to potty train a Pomeranian puppy, you should learn from the other owners’ mistakes. So, here are some useful tips:
- If your Pomeranian puppy doesn’t show indications of peeing/pooping after five minutes, get them back inside and crate them for 20-30 minutes. Then try again.
- Increase the frequency of bathroom breaks if your Pomeranian puppy has accidents in the house.
- Pick the right playpen size. Usually, an 8-foot square pen is perfect for a young Pomeranian puppy. It should have enough space for food, water, bedding, toys, and pee pads.
- Don’t feed your Pom close to their bedtime or you’ll have to get up in the middle of the night.
- Make sure that you tire your Pom before you put them to sleep. That will ensure that they will sleep through the night without waking up.
Don’t rush to your Pomeranian’s side if they bark/whine after you have put them in the crate. It teaches your Pomeranian puppy that all they have to do is make noise and you’ll come running.
If your pooch has frequent accidents at night, set up an alarm and take them outside in the middle of the night.
Closing Thoughts
A lot of people ask me, “How long does it take to potty train a Pomeranian puppy?” It takes as much time as it takes. Some Pomeranian puppies are housebroken in a few weeks, but others might take months. You can’t rush these things, so you should be patient and let your Pomeranian puppy establish the pace.