Puppy Toilet Training and the Bed: Why Fit and Washability Decide Everything

I help out at puppy school in Hobart most terms, and the same conversation comes up every intake. Someone arrives with an eight-week-old, a bag of treats, and a beautiful big oval bed they bought because it looked lovely in the shop. By the second session the puppy has toileted in one corner of it and slept in the opposite corner, and the owner is baffled. The bed wasn't wrong because it was cheap or ugly. It was wrong because it was too big, and because it couldn't go through a washing machine at ten o'clock at night.

The first fortnight with a puppy is not the time for the bed they'll sleep on at three years old. It's the time for something small, boring and washable, and that's true for both toilet training and teething.

The snug crate mat, and why size does the work

Dogs are naturally reluctant to soil the place they sleep. That instinct is the entire foundation of crate-based house training, and it only holds while the sleeping area is small enough that the puppy can't wee in one end and curl up comfortably in the other. Give a puppy a bed with room to spare and you've quietly removed the mechanism you're relying on.

So for the first fortnight, I'd rather see a mat that fills the sleeping space of a crate than an open bed three times the size. Measure the crate, buy to fit, and accept that the puppy will outgrow it in a few months and you'll buy again. That's not wasteful. A bed that works for twelve weeks and gets the puppy through the hardest part of house training has done its job.

In practice that means no loose corners, no big rounded ends flopping over, and nothing with a raised rim that leaves a hollow in the middle. Keep it flat and fitted.

The first night, described honestly

Let me not pretend this is pleasant, because new owners deserve better than that. Puppies cry on the first night. Most cry on the second and third as well. It is normal behaviour from an animal that has spent its whole life in a pile of littermates and has just been moved to a quiet room on its own.

What helps is proximity. For the first few nights put the crate or bed right beside your own bed, close enough that you can drop a hand over the side. Some people move it a little further each week; that's a reasonable approach. A worn t-shirt with your scent on it, tucked in but not loose enough to chew, settles a surprising number of puppies. A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel does the same job as a warm littermate.

Toilet trips should be dull. Pick the puppy up, put them on the spot, wait, say nothing much, no praise party, no game, straight back to bed. The owners who struggle are the ones who turn 3am into playtime, because the puppy works out very quickly that waking at 3am is the best part of the day.

Teething, chewing, and what to expect

From around three months the teeth start coming through, and for a few months after that a puppy's mouth is genuinely sore. Chewing is how they manage it. There's no bed on the market that is chew-proof, and any product claiming otherwise is worth treating with suspicion.

What you can do is manage it. Rotate what's available so there's always something legitimate to chew: a frozen damp face washer knotted and frozen, a frozen carrot, a chew kept in the freezer and swapped out during the day. Redirect rather than punish — swap the bed corner for the chew without ceremony, over and over. And buy cheap for this phase, because you will be throwing at least one bed away.

For a puppy who mouth's everything, choose minimal loose fill and no dangling parts. No pompoms, no decorative piping, no tags, no zips they can get a tooth under. If a puppy does swallow filling or fabric, that's a vet visit, not a wait-and-see. I've seen more than one obstruction in clinic from a dog who ate the inside of a bed, and it is not a cheap or minor problem.

Washability, and the enzyme rule

Here's the practical bit that saves the most grief. Buy two beds, identical if you can. One is in use while the other is in the wash or drying, and at three in the morning you will understand why that matters. Anything that can't go in the machine whole, or that takes a day and a half to dry, is a bed you'll stop using by the second week.

Accidents will happen, so clean them properly. Use an enzyme-based cleaner, not an ammonia-based one. Ammonia smells like urine to a dog, which effectively marks the spot for them and draws them back to it. That's the reason some puppies keep returning to exactly the same patch of carpet despite the owner scrubbing it. Enzyme cleaner breaks down the residue instead of masking it.

And a last honest note: some dogs never grow out of chewing beds. Plenty of four-year-olds still disembowel anything soft. If that's your dog, stop buying expensive beds and pick cheap ones you can replace, or move to something with a firm base and minimal fabric.

Pip came to me at four and a half, long past the puppy stage, so the chewing years I know best are other people's dogs — and there have been hundreds of them through puppy school and the clinic. Buy small, buy two, buy cheap, and put the crate beside your bed for the first week. The lovely big bed can wait until the puppy has earned it. — Tessa, Hobart, currently washing a mat that belonged to two rescue cats with opinions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a puppy bed fill the crate or leave space?

Fill it. Dogs avoid soiling where they sleep, but that instinct only works when there's no spare corner to use as a toilet. A fitted crate mat works far better than a large open bed during the first fortnight, even though the puppy will outgrow it quickly.

Why does my puppy cry all night in the new bed?

Because they've just left a pile of littermates for a quiet room alone, which is a genuine change for them. Put the crate or bed beside your own bed for the first few nights, add a worn t-shirt with your scent, and keep toilet trips boring and brief rather than turning them into play.

How do I stop a puppy chewing the bed?

You mostly manage it rather than stop it. Offer frozen chew items and rotate them, choose a bed with minimal loose fill and no dangling parts, redirect calmly, and buy something cheap you can replace. If a puppy swallows filling or fabric, contact your vet straight away.

How many beds does a puppy need?

Two identical ones is the practical answer. One is in use while the other is washing or drying, which matters most in the first weeks. Choose something that goes through the machine whole and dries within a day, or you'll quietly stop using it.

What should I clean puppy accidents with?

An enzyme-based cleaner designed for pet accidents. Avoid ammonia-based products, because ammonia smells like urine to a dog and can draw them back to the same spot. If accidents start suddenly in a previously clean puppy, book a vet check to rule out a urinary issue.

Size & Fit Reference

Bed sizing by internal sleeping area, not just the outside measurement. Measure your pet stretched out from nose to base of tail, then add 10–15 cm.

Size	External (L×W×H)	Internal sleeping area	Suits pets up to	Typical pets
S	43 × 32 × 10 cm	~36 × 25 cm	30 cm curled	Kittens, toy breeds, small cats
M	54 × 42 × 11 cm	~46 × 34 cm	45 cm curled	Cavoodle, Pug, average cat
L	66 × 50 × 12 cm	~57 × 41 cm	55 cm curled	Cocker Spaniel, large cat
XL	80 × 60 × 13 cm	~70 × 50 cm	70 cm curled	Kelpie, Border Collie
XXL	95 × 72 × 15 cm	~84 × 61 cm	85 cm stretched	Labrador, two small dogs
3XL	110 × 82 × 15 cm	~98 × 70 cm	100 cm stretched	Great Dane, two medium dogs

Between two sizes, size up. Note that soft polyester fill compresses under weight — for dogs over about 30 kg, a denser foam base will hold its loft far longer than fibre fill.