Potty Training

There are lost of resources online for potty training your puppy, but we have seen the best results from crate training puppies. Chewy.com has provided a great step by step guide for potty training using this method.

If you are going to crate train your puppy, make sure the puppy is comfortable in the crate. It should be just big enough for your puppy to turn around and lie down, but not much larger. That way, the puppy can stretch out a little, but they can’t potty in the corner and then snooze comfortably in another corner.

here’s how to house train a puppy by creating a consistent schedule that helps your puppy learn the right habits.

Take your puppy out at least once every 30 minutes.

Take your puppy out on leash. Being on leash helps your puppy learn to go potty on a leash in general, which is useful since you’ll probably want your dog to potty on walks at some point. It also keeps the puppy from running around and getting distracted by all the interesting things around them.

Give your puppy five minutes, watching the whole time to see if the puppy pees or poops.

Stand still in one spot, in an area where it’s OK for your puppy to potty. Quietly watch the puppy. By standing still, you keep the puppy in a small enough area that they will get bored with exploring fairly quickly and focus on pottying faster. By keeping quiet, you help your puppy stay focused on pottying, instead of interacting with you.

Praise and offer a treat if the puppy pees or poops in the area you have taken them within five minutes.

Wait until the puppy has finished pottying. You don’t want to interrupt the puppy and have them finish that potty indoors! As soon as you’re sure the puppy is done pottying, offer praise and hand them a tasty treat.

NOTE: If puppy does not pee or poop within five minutes, that’s OK. Take puppy to a confinement area for 10 to 20 minutes. After 10 or 20 minutes, go back to Step 1.

After the puppy pees or poops, give the puppy off-leash fun time.

Fun time can take place outdoors if it’s a safe area to be off leash, or indoors under supervision if outdoors is not an option. Giving your puppy off-leash fun time once the puppy pees or poops teaches the puppy that pottying leads to more fun.

Most importantly, avoid the common mistake of confining the puppy right after they potty. If you bring the puppy back to their confinement area right after a successful mission, they learn that pottying ends the fun. Then they may start to wait longer and longer to potty, which is the opposite of what you want, right?

Repeat these steps throughout the day.

Give your puppy lots of chances to potty in an appropriate potty area. Then use positive reinforcement (treats, play, praise) to encourage your puppy to keep pottying in those areas. The more times your puppy gets it right (and the fewer times your puppy has an accident), the faster your puppy will learn the routine

Tips To Help Speed Up The Process

Always give your dog a potty break before putting them in the crate, and don’t forget to take them outside immediately after letting them out. This is especially important for puppies, whose “hold time” is still developing.
Don’t crate your dog for too long. Doing so might force them to soil inside. Again, this is the biggest concern for puppies, whose “hold time” is roughly their age in months translated to hours. That means a 4-month-old puppy can hold it for about four hours. (Remember, play and excitement can make your pup need to go out more frequently, too.) For adult dogs, avoid crating them for more than four hours. That means that you should plan for a mid-day break if you’ll be leaving your dog crated during the work day.
Feeding your dog’s meals in their crate with the door open can help to make it a positive spot. If they’re reluctant to eat inside, place the bowls next to the crate for a few meals, then just inside of it, then finally, at the back of the crate.
Remember that there’s a difference between “frustration” noises and “I gotta go” noises. If you’ve just returned from a potty trip, a dog whining in the crate for the first few minutes is likely just settling in.
The crate should never be used for punishment. Remember, the most important aspect of crate training is ensuring that your pup thinks it’s a fantastic place to hang out!