House training is one of the first priorities for your new deaf puppy. Investing the time now and being patient and consistent will enable your pup to understand where to do her business reliably for years to come.

The first step is that your puppy should be in one of  3 spots at all times:

  1. tethered (with leash) to you
  2. crated (if you have taught her to voluntarily go inside of the crate and she’s relaxed/calm there
  3. with 2 eyes on her training or playing (she has 100% of your attention)

Photo credit: Jaedy Paige Smith

You want to take her out: when she gets up, every 20 minutes or so (set an alarm on your phone), after she eats or drinks (a more than a few sips), after playing or exercise. In other words, you want to take her out many times per day. This gives her the opportunity to be successful.

When you go outside (with her on leash), stop in one spot. Be boring and don’t interact with her. If she does not go after a few minutes bring her back and and try again in another 10 minutes. If she does go have a praise party—lots of smiling and fun. Now would be the time to take a walk or play with her outside. 

When you are with her inside if you notice her sniffing or circling or pausing (as if she might squat) just rush her outside asap. Then, remember to praise heavily if she goes.

If you miss the signs and she has an accident, just clean it up with a specialized enzyme cleaner (removes odor better than bleach or other cleaning options) and take note for next time.

Once she’d got the hang of it, expand the amount of unsupervised time in very tiny increments—again to set her up to succeed.

House Training Deaf Puppy

Photo credit: Scarlett Samuel

If you are very consistent with the above protocol it will be intense, but the amount of time (a few weeks) should be relatively short and then you won’t need to worry about house training for the rest of her life!

For additional training help with your deaf puppy or dog this book can help you get started: A Deaf Dog Joins the Family.