Toilet training your new puppy takes dedication, patience and the willingness to deal with accidents until your new puppy has learned the ropes. But the tricks and techniques most commonly offered to people looking for potty training puppy tips are almost always null and void if you happen to live in an apartment. That’s right: toilet training a puppy in an apartment is a completely different beast. And if you are unfortunate enough to live anywhere but the first floor, you’ll definitely need to look for advice that doesn’t assume you can just rush outside. Without further ado, consider the following essential tips for toilet training your puppy in an apartment.

Tip #1: Use Puppy Training Sprays

Puppy training sprays are a relatively new item on the market, although the concept of homemade sprays has been used in toilet training for years. The basic idea behind puppy training sprays is to encourage your puppy to use the toilet in the area where the spray has been used—perfect for people living in apartments where you won’t always be able to get a puppy onto some grass or to the park in time. You could use the spray in the area of toilet training pads, an outdoor potty pad meant to simulate grass, and so on. You could also use repellant puppy training sprays to achieve the opposite affect; these sprays are used to mark where you don’t want your puppy going to the bathroom, such as in your bedroom, the hallway, and so on.

Tip #2: Remember to Extend Your Patience

For puppies growing up in an apartment, they don’t just need to learn that it’s not acceptable to go to the bathroom inside the house or on the porch. They need to learn that it’s not acceptable to go to the bathroom in the apartment complex hallway, in the elevator, in the building lobby, or on the sidewalk/in the street. They have to wait until you can reach an acceptable patch of grass or public park, which may take a few minutes. This means they will have to adjust to controlling themselves in a much larger number of situations than a dog living in a house with a yard, so you must remember to be extra patient with them while they learn the ropes.

Tip #3: Once They Begin to Learn, Look For Their Patterns

Once your puppy is old enough to start controlling their bodily functions to a greater degree, you need to keep a look out for the patterns that let you know you should get them down to the street and to an area where they can do their business. These patterns can include whining, scratching or waiting at the door, and so on. They will often want to go outside around the same time, so once you recognize these patterns you’ll be able to stay at step ahead and start getting them downstairs before they’re to the point where they have to go to the bathroom immediately.