Puppy Schedule (Potty, Sleep, Feeding & Crate Training Schedule)

In this article, I’ll explain my puppy potty schedule, sleep schedule, and feeding schedule. I divided this puppy schedule into 18 steps.

Click here to download my puppy schedule as a PDF version.

If you prefer watching my YouTube video related to this topic you can do so by watching the video below.

Step 1 – 7:00 A.M. TO 7:10 A.M. – PEE/POOP (WALK AND PLAY) 

First, you take the pup outside with you, allowing it to pee or poop. After it has peed, take it for a walk. The permitted duration of daily walks depends on the puppy’s size. The average guideline is five minutes for each month the puppy is old, applied four times a day. In other words, 8-week old puppies are allowed to walk for 10 minutes at a time. This five-minute guideline is much more important for larger breeds than for smaller ones. Of course, you’ll go outside more often than four times a day, allowing your pup to pee and poop, but I don’t include that in walking here. So again, as a rule of thumb, add five minutes for every additional month. If your pup is 12 weeks old (three months), it can walk for 15 minutes in one go. 

…50 minutes later…

Step 2 – 8:00 A.M. – PEE/POOP 

Before feeding the pup and allowing it to rest, we prefer to give it the opportunity to pee and poop again. Perhaps it didn’t poop during your first walk, or maybe it just has to pee again. This second go is not a walking round. The goal here is pooping and peeing— that’s all. The best approach for this is to carry your puppy outside and place it in the spot where it is allowed to relieve itself. It is advisable to pick a spot where it will be allowed to pee and poop later on as well.

Stay there for five minutes and don’t go walking with it. Just wait for it to pee. Once your puppy peed, walk back into the house straight away. Your puppy is allowed to walk in by itself. No peeing? Then carry it back inside and direct it to its dog crate. After 10 minutes have passed, carry it back to the same airing spot. Wait for another five minutes; there’s a good chance it will pee now. You could reward your puppy by saying “that’s a good boy/girl” and handing it a nice treat. Take your pup back inside right away by letting it walk back in by itself. 

…10 minutes later…

Step 3 – 8:20 A.M. – 1ST MEAL 

Wait for the pup to calm down and hand it its meal. 

…5 minutes later… 

Step 4 – 8:25 A.M. TO 10:00 A.M. – NAP/REST 

8-week old puppies will still spend 18 hours each day sleeping. It needs this amount of rest to process the impulses from its surroundings, and to rest its joints. After feeding, direct the puppy to its resting spot. Your best option is to put it in its dog crate.

Step 5 – 10:10 A.M. TO 10:20 A.M. – PEE/POOP (WALK AND PLAY) 

An eight-week-old puppy can’t hold its pee for long. Don’t wake a pup up to pee or poop, though. If it’s still sleeping, just wait for it to wake up. As soon as it is awake, take it outside straight away to pee, poop, and for a 10-minute walk. The emphasis is on straight away here, as you want to prevent any barking or squealing inside the dog crate. Pick the puppy up and place it on the spot where it is allowed to relieve its needs in the future, and wait for it to do its business (five minutes maximum). If you do this consistently, your pup will quickly learn that it should pee and poop outside. After it has answered nature’s call, take your puppy for a 10-minute walk. 

…two hours later… 

Step 6 – 12:00 P.M. – PEE/POOP 

It’s time for a pee and poop again and we’re going to repeat the procedure described in step 2. 

In the next step, at around 12.30 P.M. we want to feed our puppy again. But before feeding the pup and allowing it to rest, we prefer to give it the opportunity to pee and poop again like we did in step 2. 

Perhaps it didn’t poop during the previous step, step 5 at around 10 A.M., or maybe it just has to pee again. This second go is not a walking round. The goal here is pooping and peeing— that’s all. As explained before, the best approach for this is to carry your puppy outside and place it in the spot where it is allowed to relieve itself. It is advisable to pick a spot where it will be allowed to pee and poop later on as well.

Stay there for five minutes and don’t go walking with it. Just wait for it to pee. Once your puppy peed, walk back into the house straight away. Your puppy is allowed to walk in by itself. No peeing? Then carry it back inside and direct it to its dog crate. After 10 minutes have passed, carry it back to the same airing spot. Wait for another five minutes; there’s a good chance it will pee now. You could reward your puppy by saying “that’s a good boy/girl” and handing it a nice treat. Take your pup back inside right away by letting it walk back in by itself. 

Step 7 – 12:30 P.M. – 2ND MEAL 

As soon as you notice that your puppy is calmer and starts to lie down, call it to feed it its second meal. 

…5 minutes later… 

Step 8 – 12:40 P.M. TO 2:30 P.M. – NAP/REST 

Direct your pup to its dog crate and allow it to nap and rest. 

…two hours later… 

Step 9 – 2:30 P.M. TO 2:40 P.M. – PEE/POOP (WALK/PLAY) 

As explained in step 5, an eight-week-old puppy can’t hold its pee for long. You don’t have to wake it up but as soon as it is awake, take it outside straight away to pee, poop, and for a 10-minute walk. The emphasis is on straight away here, as you want to prevent any barking or squealing inside the dog crate. Pick the puppy up and place it on the spot where it is allowed to relieve its needs in the future, and wait for it to do its business (five minutes maximum). Do this consistently, your pup will quickly learn that it should pee and poop outside. After it is done peeing and pooping, take your puppy for a 10-minute walk. 

…two hours later… 

Step 10 – 4:30 P.M. TO 4:40 P.M. – PEE/POOP

It’s time for a pee and poop again and we’re going to repeat the procedure described in step 2 and we also followed this same procedure in step 5. Again, this is just a quick pee or poop before feeding time. For a more detailed explanation refer back to step 2 or 5.

…10 minutes later… 

Step 11 – 5:00 P.M. – 3RD MEAL 

As soon as you notice that your puppy is calmer and starts to lie down, call it to feed it its third meal. …5 minutes later… 

Step 12 – 5:10 P.M. TO 6:30 P.M. – NAP/REST 

After your puppy has finished its third meal, direct it to its dog crate or resting spot and allow it to nap and rest. …1.5 hours later… 

Step 13 – 6:30 P.M. TO 6:40 P.M. – PEE/POOP (WALK/PLAY) 

As you can see there are lots of repetitive steps in a daily puppy routine including this step. As already mentioned, an eight-week-old puppy can’t hold its pee for long. We’re not going to wake it up but as soon as it is awake, take it outside straight away to pee, poop, and for a 10-minute walk. 

…two hours later… 

Step 14 – 8:30 P.M. TO 8:40 P.M. – PEE/POOP 

It’s time for a pee and poop again and we’re going to repeat the procedure described in step 2 and we also followed this same procedure in step 5 and step 10. Again, this is just a quick pee or poop before feeding time. For a more detailed explanation refer back to step 2, 5, or 10.

…10 minutes later… 

Step 15 – 9:15 P.M. – 4TH MEAL 

As soon as you notice that your puppy is calmer and starts to lie down, call it to feed it its fourth meal. …5 minutes later… 

Step 16 – 9:20 P.M. TO 11:20 P.M. – NAP/REST 

As you already know by now it’s a good practice to allow your puppy sleep time after it finished its meal so make sure you direct your puppy to its dog crate after he finished his fourth meal.

2 hours later…

Step 17 – 11:20 P.M. TO 11:30 P.M. – PEE/POOP 

It’s time for a pee and poop again and we’re going to repeat the procedure described in step 2 and we also followed this same procedure in step 5, step 10, and step 14. Again, this is just a quick pee or poop.

…10 minutes later… 

Step 18 – 11:30 P.M. TO 7:00 A.M. – SLEEP/REST 

Now, we’re all set for the night… 

The advice is to put your puppy next to your bed during the first few nights, allowing the pup to see, smell, and hear you. As soon as you hear it toss and turn at night, it may well be time to take it outside for a pee and a poop. If you decide to put it in another room, you won’t notice when it has to go. Learn to recognize its signals and behavior, to make sure that you know when it needs to go pee or poop. 

Well, there you have it. A full daily puppy potty schedule, sleep schedule, and feeding schedule. 

You can download this puppy schedule as well, so you have a handy overview of all the steps and can print it too if you would like.

Click here to download my puppy schedule as a PDF version.

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Also, please leave a comment below and tell me something about your dog. My golden retriever, for example, likes to play with his brother.