House Training Basics for the New Bernedoodle Puppy Parent

Brewer Doodles
Jan 9
4 min read

So you took the plunge and brought home a new Bernedoodle puppy?! Congratulations! Bringing home a puppy is an exciting adventure, but also an exhausting and challenging one.

Determine how your Bernedoodle puppy was trained

Bernedoodle puppy with a green bow and pink leash sits on green grass. Sunlit, happy expression on a paved path background. This picture is by Brewerdoodles.

One of the most important things is do your homework on how this Bernedoodle puppy has been trained before you bring them home- puppies raised outside without a designated potty area, or puppies raised inside on pee pads, or just in an area with shavings everywhere and nowhere for the pups to potty and then sleep and play and stay clean and away from their potty area is going to make the house training MUCH more difficult, and take much, much longer. It is vital to your success to have a puppy that was raised by a breeder who took special care to not use pee pads, and had a clean, designated area for puppies to potty and a designated area for sleep and play, away from where they potty. Puppies don't actually like sleeping in their poop and pee, but if they are raised to do that, it becomes normal for them, and they learn to not care as much.

Setting up your home for Bernedoodle puppy training

Set up your home with a playpen with their crate in it, for when you can't keep a super close eye on them or you have to leave for an extended period of time. If you work during the day or have to be gone several hours at a time, you will need a potty tray, with pellets in the bottom for them to use while you are gone, as no puppy is going to hold it that long.

Create a Schedule for your new Bernedoodle puppy

Set up a schedule during the day that works for you, it should look similar to this:

6-9am	Potty, breakfast, play time/training, potty breaks every 15-20min
9-11am	Crate training time
11-1pm	Lunch, potty breaks every 15-20min, play time/training
1-3pm	Crate time/nap
3-5pm	Potty breaks, supper, play time/training
5-7pm	Crate time/nap
7-10pm	Potty breaks, play time/training
10pm-6am	Bedtime

We recommend feeding your Bernedoodle puppy on a schedule, and only leaving food down about 10 min and then putting it up, so they will get on a regular potty schedule. You can decide if you want to free feed once they are completely house trained.

Dos and Don'ts with your new Bernedoodle puppies

Three Bernedoodle puppies with black, white, and brown fur sit in a white box by a river on a pebble-strewn shore, with green trees in the background. Picture by Brewerdoodles.

Bernedoodle Puppies will need to potty 15-30 min after eating, after waking up from a nap, after running around and playing for a bit. If they stop what they are doing and start circling and sniffing, time to run to the door.
If you are doing something and not actively watching your puppy, they should be on a leash, tethered to you, so you can watch their cues and take them out as soon as they need to go.
Do not let a puppy have free reign of your house- they have to earn that. Start with just their pen near the door they will be going out, and they should either be in that pen, or tethered to you. Once they are doing well with that area and have learned where they go out to potty, gate off that one room with the potty door to it, and allow supervised time in that room. Over the weeks and months, you can expand that area until they aren't having any accidents.
When you take them potty and you notice them go, as soon as they are almost finished, say "Go potty", and then "yes, yes!" and give them a treat. Within 2 weeks of consistently doing this, they should know how to go potty on command and it can greatly diminish your time outside.
Bernedoodle Puppies should poop about 3-4 times a day, so learn your puppies' schedule for that and be diligent to give them enough time to walk, run, sniff and explore outside, as all those things stimulate them to poop.
Be committed to doing nothing else but training your Bernedoodle puppy the first 6-8 weeks, and don't allow accidents to happen inside. Every one they have inside, delays the house training further.
Never scold them for an accident, or rub their nose in it, this will only confuse them. Accidents are really your fault for not paying enough attention to their cues, or taking them out soon enough. Bernedoodle puppies are like babies, and they don't have the bladder and bowel control to hold it for long periods of time.
Don't use pee pads in the house for several reasons- they usually just shred them, and they also resemble rugs and carpeting, so can confuse them on where is an appropriate place to potty.
Consistency is the key, and it will pay off!
Every Bernedoodle puppy is different, (and owner's dedication) but most of ours will be trained and not having accidents by around 4-5 months of age, some sooner than that.