Toilet training · Crate training
Puppy schedule by age: a day planner
Toilet trips, meals, naps, play and crate time for your puppy’s age and your household’s day, from what RSPCA, Dogs Trust, PDSA, the Royal Kennel Club, the AKC and vets publish. Share it with everyone at home and print it for the fridge.
A plan, not a rule. No welfare body publishes an hour by hour timetable as a standard. The rules here are theirs; the clock times are an arrangement of them, like the example days on the toilet training guide. Follow your puppy: go out whenever you see sniffing, circling or whining.
Puppy schedule by age
The rules the planner uses at each age, with the source for each figure. Where the sources disagree, the planner takes the cautious figure and the notes under the table say who says what.
Every day, at every age
- Out straight after waking, after every meal, after play, after time in the crate, as soon as you get home, and last thing at night (Royal Kennel Club, RSPCA UK, VCA, AKC).
- The Royal Kennel Club says puppies normally wee within fifteen minutes of eating and poo within half an hour, though this varies between puppies.
- Sleep the puppy near you for the first weeks, in a crate or bed in or beside your bedroom. Blue Cross and Humane World for Animals both recommend it, so you hear the puppy stir.
- Water before bed is a genuine disagreement. Humane World for Animals says lift the bowl about two and a half hours before bedtime, the AKC says restrict food and water for several hours before bed, and Dogs Trust says never remove or limit your dog's water. Puplr does not pick a side, so the plan has no water slot. Water is always there the rest of the day.
- RSPCA UK and SPCA New Zealand both say it is never acceptable to shut a dog in a crate all day while you go to work. Dogs Trust says no dog should be left alone for more than four hours.
Where the sources differ
6 to 11 weeks
- MSD gives four meals a day from 6 to 12 weeks. Merck's own clinical text elsewhere says three a day from weaning, so three is the floor rather than the target.
- Sources range from every 45 minutes to an hour (RSPCA UK) to every 2 hours (VCA, Humane World for Animals). The planner uses every hour, inside the Royal Kennel Club's and the AKC's "every hour or two". If accidents happen between trips, go shorter.
- VCA says puppies need overnight toilet breaks at 6 to 8 weeks and the Royal Kennel Club says it is unfair to expect a very young puppy to last the night. Humane World for Animals is more hopeful: most puppies can sleep seven hours without a break.
- The AKC says 18 to 20 hours in one article and 16 to 18 hours in another, with naps of 30 minutes to two hours. Both are shown as one range.
- SPCA New Zealand says no more than 2 to 3 hours in the day for a puppy under 6 months, Humane World for Animals says three or four hours, and PDSA says never more than 3 hours for any dog. The planner uses the cautious 2 hours.
12 to 15 weeks
- MSD gives three meals a day from 3 to 6 months.
- Gaps at this age range from every 45 minutes to an hour (RSPCA UK) up to about 3 hours under the hour per month of age rule (VCA, Humane World for Animals, the AKC). The planner uses every 2 hours, from the Royal Kennel Club, Humane World for Animals and Dogs Trust. If accidents happen between trips, go shorter.
- Blue Cross says most puppies cannot hold on overnight for several months, while Humane World for Animals says most puppies can sleep seven hours without a break. The planner keeps one quiet night trip in. Drop it once your puppy is dry through the night.
- The AKC's figures for young puppies: 18 to 20 hours in one article, 16 to 18 in another, with naps of 30 minutes to two hours.
- SPCA New Zealand says no more than 2 to 3 hours in the day for a puppy under 6 months, Humane World for Animals says three or four hours, and PDSA says never more than 3 hours for any dog. The planner uses the cautious 2 hours.
4 to 6 months
- MSD gives three meals a day from 3 to 6 months.
- PDSA says every 2 to 3 hours in the day, and the hour per month of age rule would allow 4 to 6 hours, but RSPCA UK says full bladder capacity only comes at about 12 months. The planner uses the lower end of PDSA's range, 2 hours.
- No planned night trip. If your puppy wakes and whines, take them out quietly and put them back to bed. Humane World for Animals says most puppies can sleep seven hours without a break.
- None of our sources gives a daily sleep total for this age. The naps after play stay in the plan as quiet time.
- SPCA New Zealand says no more than 2 to 3 hours in the day for a puppy under 6 months, Humane World for Animals says three or four hours, and PDSA says never more than 3 hours for any dog. The planner uses the cautious 2 hours.
6 to 12 months
- MSD gives two meals a day from 6 to 12 months, morning and evening.
- PDSA says every 2 to 3 hours in the day. Dogs Trust says every four hours works for most toilet trained adults, and the AKC's hour per month rule would allow far longer, which Puplr does not repeat as advice because RSPCA UK says full bladder capacity comes at about 12 months. The planner uses 3 hours.
- No planned night trip. If your puppy wakes and whines, take them out quietly and put them back to bed.
- None of our sources gives a daily sleep total for this age. The quiet time after play stays in the plan.
- RSPCA UK, PDSA and Blue Cross give about three hours as the most for any dog, and SPCA New Zealand says about three hours for a trained adult. The planner uses 3 hours.
Common questions
What should a puppy's daily schedule look like?
Out straight after waking, after every meal, after play and on a timer in between, with naps in a crate or pen after play. Meals are four a day from 6 to 12 weeks, three from 3 to 6 months and two from 6 to 12 months (MSD Veterinary Manual). Young puppies sleep 16 to 20 hours a day across the AKC's two figures. The times are yours to set: no welfare body publishes an hour by hour timetable as a standard.
How often should an 8 week old puppy go out?
About every hour while they are awake, plus after waking, eating and play. RSPCA UK says every 45 minutes to an hour depending on age, the Royal Kennel Club and the AKC say every hour or two, and VCA says every 2 hours at 6 to 8 weeks. The AKC says a very young puppy may need to go out a dozen times or more a day.
How long can a puppy stay in a crate during the day?
A few hours at most. SPCA New Zealand says no more than 2 to 3 hours in the day for a puppy under 6 months, PDSA and Blue Cross give three hours as the maximum for any dog, and Humane World for Animals says three or four hours for a puppy under 6 months. Never all day while you work.
Can I work full time with a puppy?
Not by leaving them crated all day. RSPCA UK and SPCA New Zealand say that is never acceptable, and Dogs Trust says no dog should be left alone for more than four hours. Plan visits from a sitter, dog walker or someone in the household so no stretch runs past the crate limit for your puppy's age. The planner adds those visits for you.
When can a puppy sleep through the night?
The sources differ. VCA says puppies need overnight toilet breaks at 6 to 8 weeks, Blue Cross says most cannot hold on overnight for several months, and Humane World for Animals says most puppies can sleep seven hours without a break. The planner keeps one night trip until 16 weeks; drop it sooner if your puppy is dry.
Next
How we worked this out
Every figure comes from the toilet training, crate training and puppy development guides on Puplr, which quote each welfare body and vet source word for word. The planner places meals evenly from half an hour after waking to about four and a half hours before bed, then a toilet trip after each meal, a short play, a trip after play and a nap of up to two hours, then fills any longer awake gap with timer trips at the figure for the age. When the house is empty for longer than the crate limit for the age, it adds visits evenly through the day. Daytime jobs in the rota go to each person in turn as a run of the day, visits go to a sitter or walker, and the night trip rotates.
Sources
- MSD Veterinary Manual, feeding schedule for puppies: https://www.msdvetmanual.com/multimedia/table/feeding-schedule-for-puppies
- The Royal Kennel Club, how do I toilet train my dog: https://www.royalkennelclub.com/your-dog/dog-training/get-started/dog-training-and-games/how-do-i-toilet-train-my-dog/
- RSPCA UK, how to toilet train your puppy or dog: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/training/toilettraining
- VCA Animal Hospitals, how to potty train your puppy: https://vcahospitals.com/pediatric/puppy/behavior-training/how-to-potty-train-your-puppy
- Humane World for Animals, how to housetrain your dog or puppy: https://www.humaneworld.org/resources/how-housetrain-your-dog-or-puppy
- Humane World for Animals, crate training 101: https://www.humaneworld.org/resources/crate-training-101
- American Kennel Club, how to potty train a puppy: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/how-to-potty-train-a-puppy/
- American Kennel Club, how much do puppies sleep: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-much-do-puppies-sleep/
- PDSA, toilet training your puppy: https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/looking-after-your-pet/puppies-dogs/toilet-training-your-puppy
- Dogs Trust, why toilet trained dogs have accidents: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/training/unwanted-behaviours/toileting-in-the-house
- Dogs Trust, helping your dog get used to spending time alone: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/training/home/time-alone
- Blue Cross, how to get your puppy to sleep through the night: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/behaviour-and-training/how-to-get-your-puppy-to-sleep-through-the-night
- RSPCA UK, how to crate train a puppy: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/environment/crates
- PDSA, crate training your dog: https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/looking-after-your-pet/puppies-dogs/crate-training
- SPCA New Zealand, how to crate train your dog: https://www.spca.nz/advice-and-welfare/article/how-to-crate-train-your-dog
- RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase, what can I do if my dog is anxious when I'm not at home: https://kb.rspca.org.au/categories/companion-animals/dogs/behaviour/what-can-i-do-if-my-dog-is-anxious-when-im-not-at-home
Last reviewed 2026-10-05.