The early signs that come before an accident, and how to respond in the moment so your puppy learns the right lesson.
Sudden sniffing at the floor, circling in place, or wandering away mid-play are the classic early signals. Some puppies also whine, pace near a door, or stop abruptly. These signs are often subtle and easy to miss the first few times.
The moment you notice a signal, interrupt calmly and head straight outside — don't wait to see if they were "really" about to go. Acting early and often teaches your puppy that going outside is always an option worth taking.
If you catch your puppy mid-accident indoors, a brief, neutral interruption — a clap or short "ah-ah" — followed by immediately taking them outside is enough. The goal is to redirect, not to scare them.
If you find an accident after it happened, there's nothing useful to do but clean it up. Puppies don't connect a correction to something they did minutes ago — punishing after the fact only teaches them to be afraid of you, not to avoid accidents.
Use an enzymatic cleaner made for pet accidents rather than a household cleaner. Residual odor that you can't smell is often still detectable to your puppy, and can pull them back to the same indoor spot next time.