Easiest Dog to Potty Train – Top 5 Breeds

House training your dog is one of the most emotionally involved parts of being a dog parent. It’s how you teach your furry friend how to behave, and it is necessary to keep your house free of pet waste. When you go dog shopping, it’s a good idea to bear the potty training trajectory in mind, as it is the first thing you must do.

Relevant to this, different dog breeds have different speeds and tendencies regarding potty training. In this guide, you will learn all about the top five easiest dog breeds to potty train, their characteristics, and why they’re a great choice for first-time dog owners.

What Makes a Dog Easy to Potty Train?

As a dog owner, it’s good to understand the importance of breed characteristics and temperament. These help you understand the best potty training methods to enforce for the quickest training period.

That said, many of the steps are transferable from one pet to another. For instance, having a designated potty area and potty pads in this area if it is indoors. You might need a tethering device like a lead to gently guide them to the appropriate area.

Cue words are good, too, as your dog will start to recognize these noises as the ‘toilet’ noise, regardless of whether they are older or small dogs.

And, of course, treats. Make sure it’s something your dog loves. This might take some trial and error, but without the system, your dog will see no reason to go to the potty area again for no gain. Ensure you give the reward within seconds of success to maximize its Pavlovian effect!

Regardless of what breed you welcome into your home, the trick is consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement through treats, affection, and enthusiasm. This will make training easier and show your dog the ropes.

Top 5 Easiest Dog Breeds to Potty Train

1. Labrador Retriever

Labradors are like many dogs. They respond well to positive reinforcement in their training. Labrador Retrievers are loyal and friendly and have eager-to-please personalities, which makes them great for first-time dog owners. Time-wise, this breed can be potty trained in just a few weeks as they are intelligent dogs.

2. Poodle

The standard poodle breed is intelligent and adaptable. Once again, they are very easy to train as they are fast learners and are fully engaged in their training when lavished with positive reinforcement.

What’s more, poodles have hypoallergenic coats. This means that their fluff has the least amount of allergy-triggering substances, making them an excellent choice for people with allergies.

3. Bichon Frise

The Bichon Frise is a cute button dog that is potentially the easiest small dog to potty train. Bichon Frises are highly affectionate little tikes that also respond well when given positive reinforcement and consistency.

The difference is that they are significantly smaller and have small bladders. Due to this, they’ll need to be taken out frequently, so they might require more patience than other dog breeds.

4. Shih Tzu

Shih Tzus are like Retrievers in terms of how eager to please they are and like poodles in terms of size (we mean bladder size here, for clarity). Their small size makes them a little longer to potty train and requires more patience due to more frequent trips to the potty area, but with the same patience and consistency, they can be trained effectively and become enthusiastic little puffs of clouds in no time.

5. Papillon

You may notice a theme here – the easiest dogs to potty train are the little tikes. Where are the enormous guard dogs, border collies, and Australian shepherds? It’s not that those breeds are challenging to train, just that these five are the easiest.

Papillons are friendly, intelligent breeds that take positive feedback into their paws and run with it. Again, they have tiny bladders, and so they might require more patience and consistency.

Conclusion

Potty training a dog can be challenging, but choosing an easy-to-train breed can make all the difference, smoothening and quickening the process. Plus, lest we forget, potty training, as well as all other forms of dog training, is the warmest and best bonding experience for you and your dog (or puppy!).

You can successfully potty train any dog breed with the right approach, consistency, and patience. If you’re looking for more training tips and general expert tricks for caring for your adult dog (or puppy!), look at Acme Canine’s backlog of content!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest age to potty train a dog?

It’s generally recommended that you start training your puppy between 12 and 16 weeks, potty training included.

How long does it take to potty train a dog?

It can take four to six months for a puppy to be fully housebroken, but this is subject to size, metabolic rates, and breed.

How can I prevent my dog from having accidents inside the house?

The best way is to give your dog or puppy frequent opportunities to relieve themselves and reinforce their training. You can also regulate their drinking – not too much before sleepy time! Otherwise, get to know your dog and its body language. If they are sniffing the ground, vocalizing, or pausing in their movements, this could be a clue!

What should I do if my dog is not responding to potty training?

You can try alternatives – rewards, crates, and even an indoor dog potty or pee pad (also called puppy pads) are good. You can even consult a dog trainer if you have no luck.