Last Updated on February, 2025
Cavapoos are loving and friendly dogs. But nature aside, general dog training and potty training during the right stage are important to establish a well-behaved dog.
Although potty training sounds like an impossible and daunting process, you can also successfully potty train your Cavapoo with the proper information and guidance.
In this article, you’ll find tips on when and how to start potty training and other relevant details to help your Cavapoo potty training journey.
Quick Summary
Potty training a Cavapoo can be made easier by taking advantage of their friendly nature and intelligence.
It is important to start potty training as early as 8-12 weeks for higher success rates.
Consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement are key factors in successfully potty training a Cavapoo.
Table of Contents
- A Word on Potty Training a Cavapoo
- When to Start Potty Training a Cavapoo?
- How Long Does it Take to Potty Train a Cavapoo?
- How to Potty Train a Cavapoo?
- Creating a Proper Routine to Support Cavapoo Potty Training
- You Can Turn to a Potty Training Solution Based on Your Situations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Words
A Word on Potty Training a Cavapoo
Cavapoos are super friendly and intelligent dogs who adapt to changes. Due to this adaptable nature, they acquire habits and routines with ease. Also, their intelligence makes it relatively easy to potty train them as they are eager to please their owner to learn basic commands.
Taking these traits to our advantage, house training a Cavapoo combining the right training methods with consistency and patience will help your Cavpoo respond well to training. Meaning the potty training process becomes less challenging.
As a starting approach to potty training your Cavapoo, controlling where and what it is doing is important. This will help you observe your Cavapoo and notice differences in its behaviors.
Soon, you’ll pick up on signs when it needs to relieve itself so you can rush it outside. Dogs usually keep circling, sniff the ground, and seem restless when relieving themselves.
Also, crate training your Cavapoo brings additional benefits and can relatively speed up the potty training process of a dog.
When to Start Potty Training a Cavapoo?
When purchasing a Cavapoo, breeders give you the option of a fully trained dog likely to be in the early stages of adulthood or a Cavapoo puppy. Dog parents usually go with a Cavapoo puppy because they want to witness their dog’s growth and transitions.
You should ideally begin potty training from 8-12 weeks as soon as the puppy comes to its new home. Around this stage, dogs would have developed relative control over bladder and bowel movements, allowing them to learn new habits.
This may not be the case for all dogs, so with practice and patience, your dog will soon reach there.
Starting potty training as early as possible is likely to result in a higher success rate because puppies are still at the age of acquiring habits and behaviors. Incorporating potty training during this age allows them to respond well as they are still learning and are open to new habits.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for an adult dog. Adult dogs have already established patterns and behaviors that they will find difficult to break out of.
If your Cavapoo is older or rescued, potty training is still possible with consistency, treats, and love. Since Cavapoos are intelligent dogs, there is always hope, at least with slow progress.
It is also important to note that improperly potty-trained dogs will find it difficult to adapt to new environments, making them prone to health issues due to prolonged bladder control.
How Long Does it Take to Potty Train a Cavapoo?
In general, dog training is easier when started earlier because it allows a dog to smoothly transition into new habits over time.
Your Cavapoo training duration can widely vary based on you and your Cavapoo dog. Your habits in consistency and patience and your dog’s nature make a big difference.
The potty training process is affected by the environment, the dog’s personality, age, training methods, and habits.
Young puppies catch on quickly, while older dogs may take time to learn.
Typically, you should expect anywhere between several weeks to a few months to be fully house-trained.
If your dog goes a few weeks (at least 3-4) without any accidents indoors, it is safe to assume that you have positively progressed.
How to Potty Train a Cavapoo?
Establish a Proper Routine
According to the American Kennel Club, dogs like knowing what to expect next. The best way to establish this is to create a daily routine for your dog. This will allow you to set healthy boundaries and help your dog learn faster and in an organized manner.
You can create a structured schedule, including specific mealtimes, potty time (bathroom breaks), nap time, playtime, and bedtime, to guide your Cavapoo pup throughout the day.
Pro Tip: Work your pup’s routine around your mealtimes. This way, you can make it easier to stick to the schedule. Also, ensure all members of your family follow the set routine. After establishing mealtimes, you can set times for potty breaks followed within 10- 30 minutes after mealtime and play times followed by nap times.
Observe Your Cavapoo Closely
Keeping an eye on your Cavapoo puppy at all times is a great way to monitor and notice its habits and behaviors.
Your constant presence will keep your dog well aware, so it will always try to be on its best behavior to please you.
When you notice it trying to poop or pee inside, you can say “No” to it and rush it outside to relieve itself.
While potty training, I recommend you also simultaneously crate train your Cavapoo.
So, at times, you have to be away from home; you can leave it in the crate to protect and avoid any accidents inside the house.
Crate training is crucial in helping dogs control their bladder and bowel movements.
Take it Outside As Often As Possible
Apart from the set bathroom break times, try to take your Cavapoo puppy outside as often as every two hours until it becomes eight months old because it is still learning and its body is still adapting to changes.
As you approach eight months, you can gradually extend the time gap and allow your dog to withstand for longer times. That way, as it reaches eight months, it can go around 6-8 hours without any accidents.
Note: At this stage, it is highly recommended to constantly keep someone around your dog to avoid forcing it to relieve itself inside when otherwise it would have wanted to go out.
Create a Potty Area
To avoid confusing your Cavapoo and to keep cleaning easier for you, allocate one designated area as the potty zone. Always take your dog to that area when it wants to relieve itself.
This area should be spacious yet enclosed to restrict your Cavapoo’s movement, at least during the learning period.
Pro Tip: Use potty pads smeared with your Cavapoo’s pee in the potty zone to let your dog know that it is acceptable to relieve itself there.
Teach Potty Commands
Similar to basic dog commands like “come,” “sit,” “stay,” and “No,” you can also teach your Cavapoo to associate the words “pee” and “poop” (any word works fine) as potty commands. You can use these words whenever you take your Cavapoo out to relieve itself.
Repetitively and consistently use these words until your Cavapoo recognizes the association of it with peeing and pooping. This puts your dog at ease to know that it can relieve itself after getting your approval.
Train With Love
Consistency, patience, and reward are to potty train your Cavapoo.
Use Positive Reinforcement
Your tone, words, and actions make a big difference. When your Cavapoo uses the potty zone, cheer it and show excitement to encourage and let it know it did something good.
Similarly, you can reward it with treats and cuddles. Since Cavapoos always want to please their owners, rewards such as this will be well received and positively associated with good habits, wanting them to keep doing it for more attention and love.
Note: Do not praise or reward your Cavapoo before it uses the potty zone.
Accidents Are Bound to Happen
Always remember that potty training is a learning process, and the learning speed of each Cavapoo is different.
During training, if your Cavapoo poops or pees inside the house or anywhere outside the potty zone, DO NOT reprimand, use harsh words or express displeasure. Instead, rush it outside to the potty zone as soon as it relieves itself.
Expressing displeasure can hurt your Cavapoo and sometimes scare it based on how you respond. That’s why your patience is very important.
Creating a Proper Routine to Support Cavapoo Potty Training
Here’s a sample routine schedule including important daily things and tasks that will successfully help you train a Cavapoo;
Task 1 Take Cavapoo for a potty break- First, as soon as you wake up, take your Cavapoo puppy outside to let it relieve itself. |
Task 2 Mealtime AM– Schedule a mealtime as you see convenient, preferably when you and your family have breakfast. That way, your dog will get some socializing time, too. But always stick to the same time. |
Task 3 A potty break after meals– Ideally, within 10- 30 minutes after meals, take your Cavapoo out to potty |
Task 4 Exercise and playtime– It’s time for mental and physical stimulation. |
Task 5 More Potty Breaks– A potty break will help relieve all the digested food after an active time. |
Step 6 Nap time– After eating, playing, and pooping, it’s time to rest and ward off the tiredness. |
Step 7 Potty break– After waking up, another potty break |
Step 8 Mealtime PM- Schedule around your mealtime |
Step 9 Potty break- Before sleep, going to the potty is important to avoid accidents. |
Step 10 Bedtime- Schedule bedtime around your sleep time to avoid disturbances. |
Note: You can include more playtimes, nap times, potty breaks, and treat times as you see fit. Also, Cavapoo puppies ages 8-12 weeks will require frequent small meals and, therefore, more potty breaks. You can schedule this around your vet’s advice on feeding recommendations. As Cavapoo grows up, you can gradually change the schedule to accommodate the varying needs.
You Can Turn to a Potty Training Solution Based on Your Situations
The following solutions are extremely handy if you live in an apartment, condo, or any other area without easy access to outdoor space.
Pee Pads
Pee pads are common among many pet parents, even those with a yard or garden space. These are available as disposable and washable options.
A puppy pad gives your dog the option of relieving itself indoors. But the downside to using a potty pad is it can delay the training process if your Cavapoo becomes comfortable going inside. To avoid this, you can use it only when necessary.
Artificial Grass Potty Tray
Grass pads are a great option that gives a similar feeling to ground grass. They are usually odor-resistant and have antimicrobial properties.
Some even have a removable tray to collect pee and poo and easily clean it off. You can place it on the balcony or patio as a designated potty zone for your Cavapoo.
Bark Potty
Bark potties are natural puppy pads made from real bark. It gives off a natural smell to ease your dog and allow it to go to the potty. This option can make training faster.
The fibers of the bark pad will repel moisture and last a few weeks before needing replacing. It also contains good bacteria to eliminate odor, so it is ideal to use indoors and outdoors.
Disposable Doggy Lawn With Real Grass
These potty pads are made of real grass that can absorb the potty and eliminate odor efficiently. It allows no mess use and can last a few weeks before disposing. However, you may have to water the grass now and then to ensure it lasts a while.
Relevant articles:
- Rare Cavapoo Colors
- Pitbull puppy potty training
- Border Collie potty training
- Dachshund potty training
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words
On final thoughts, as I kept repeating throughout the article, the key to successfully potty training your Cavapoo is patience, consistency, commitment, and awareness of the right techniques.
You are likely to succeed quickly if you have these foundations right.
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