Let me begin by telling you that having two little canine creatures come live with you is an incredibly exciting and eventful time! I experienced just that in September of 2011, when my two Boxer mix puppiess Missy & Buzz arrived in my life.
I quickly figured out that combining house-and crate training for my pups made a lot of sense. Here’s how I went about it:
Consistency, Discipline, & Patience Are Key
Missy and Buzz had just turned 8 weeks old when I adopted them, and didn’t have full control over their bladders yet. I learned that this process doesn’t fully set in until about 12 weeks of age.
Puppy Potty Formula: A puppy’s age in months will tell you how long they can approximately hold it. A puppy can usually go their age in months + 1 hour before having to eliminate again. A 3 month old puppy should therefore be able to hold it for about 4 hours before having to go pee again.
However, you should NEVER expect any dog regardless of age to be able to hold it for longer than 6 hours! That’s just unhealthy and can contribute to the development of urinary tract infections.
Very young pups will need to go out every other hour, and will need to go for a potty break immediately after:
- waking from a nap
- playtime and anything exciting
- having eaten (within 10 minutes of eating)
Access to water should be limited before bedtime, or you can schedule in a few extra potty breaks.
The pups had their own beds that I used throughout the day, but I had them sleep in their crate for the first 2 months or so. I’d move the crate into my bedroom at night time, and set it up next to my bed.
Setting Your Alarm For Potty Breaks At Night
I remember setting my alarm for every 3 hours throughout the night for the first 2-3 weeks of the pups’ arrival at my home.
I didn’t exactly get tons of sleep during that time, but it was pretty doable. I had to remind myself that the interrupted sleeping schedule was only temporary and would soon pay off once the pups were potty trained 🙂
Consider Journaling
What helped me tremendously was my PPJ (Puppy Potty Journal). My mom always was and still is a huge believer in writing things down and creating lists, and I adopted the list-making OCD from her.
The way I did it was super simple – I dedicated a little notebook to the pups’ potty schedule and made an entry every time I took them outside to go potty. I’d write down what kind of business they took care of (pee and/or poop), along with the time.
As a matter of fact, I continued incorporating the PPJ into our daily routine for a little over 3 years!
I have really found the PPJ to being a wonderful way of familiarizing myself with Missy & Buzz’s potty schedule, and was able to keep accidents to a minimum. When they DID happen, I was usually the one to blame for them.
Ideally you should really never leave your pup out of sight, not even for 45 seconds while you take care of your own business in the bathroom…but let’s face it, we’re all human, and accidents will happen.
Remember not to blame them, but to blame yourself! They don’t know any better, and it’s up to you to teach them what you expect of them.
Cleaning Up Accidents
Clean up accidents immediately with an enzymatic cleaner that won’t just eliminate the stain, but also all scents.
If a trace of a scent remains on the floor or elsewhere, they will return to that very spot and mark right on top of it, so a thorough clean-up job is absolutely necessary when successfully potty-training your pup.
There are tons of of cleaning supplies formulated specifically for dog accidents, and my favorite stain remover is Spot Shot because it’s environmentally friendly (non-toxic) and safe to use around pets (& children).
While accidents will happen, never scold a puppy when it does, or they will learn not to eliminate in front of you, no matter if inside or out!
Also never rub their nose in any accident (neither # 1 nor # 2). That’s just mean and doesn’t teach the puppy that he did something wrong. It’ll only teach to fear you and that you can’t be trusted, and he won’t want to go potty around you anymore.
Lots of Praise for Doing Their Business
What you DO want to incorporate is lots of praise when they do their business outside, as they will associate doing their business with something good happening (= praise from you, their human).
This is the perfect opportunity to add a very valuable command to the elimination process, and with all training sessions, timing is key! The very moment they squat down to pee, say the word or expression you want them to recognize as a potty clue.
You could say “Go potty”, “Go pee”, “Get busy” or anything really you want them to learn as a cue to go potty.
Speaking of training: In addition to associating a potty command, you can also teach your pup to let you know when they are in need of a potty break.
I incorporated a bell that I hung on the front door and rang it every time I took the pups outside, adding the command “potty time”!
The Crate As A Safe Means Of Confinement
The crate is a wonderful means of safely confining your pup when you just can’t watch her.
Like I mentioned before, combining house-training with crate training makes a lot of sense. Be sure to introduce your pup to the crate in a positive manner.
You should set up the crate in a room where they won’t feel isolated (like the living room), leave the crate door open, and put down a treat or some food (back in 2011 I fed kibble, now I feed a raw diet), or a favorite toy in the middle of the crate.
It’s in a pup’s nature to be curious, so they’ll walk into the crate sooner or later to investigate it. The moment they do, shower them with warm praise!
They will quickly learn that being inside the crate means a lot of positive things will happen: praise from you, treats, potentially food if you chose to feed them in there, or a toy.
What you want to achieve is the creation of an area the pup considers their safe spot, where they can hang out and chew on a toy, or retreat for a nap on some comfortable bedding. Sort of like a den for them 🙂
Never use the crate as a form of punishment though, or that negative connotation will stick to it like flies to poop!
Initially, leave the crate door open while your pup gets used to this new space. Slowly increase the increments of time behind a shut crate door.
You should start with as little as a minute at a time, and then slowly work your way up.
Please remember though that the crate is not meant for hours on end of puppy containment!
Calm Energy
Part of successful crate-training is a calm human, especially when placing your pup inside his crate.
Dogs pick up on our energy, and will mirror it. If you are tense and feeling guilty when putting your pup inside the crate for a while, he will reflect your negative demeanor!!
If you are calm however, your pup will not mind being crated.
He should, of course, not have any pent-up energy in order to avoid destructive behavior while inside it.
Walking/Playtime Before Crating = Calm Crating Experience!
Make sure to take him for a walk and /or some playtime prior to crating him, leaving him balanced & tired, ready to snooze in his crate.
Additionally, supply him with a healthy chew toy, which will keep him occupied and help with teething pain.
Offer Chew Toys For Entertainment Inside The Crate
Stuff a hollow KONG toy with something tasty like peanut butter mixed in with some of their food (kibble, home cooked, or raw), freeze it overnight, and then present it to your puppy as entertainment in the crate.
Your pup will be 100 % occupied with figuring out how to get all of the deliciousness out of the Kong!
You could also offer bully sticks as crate entertainment. Missy & Buzz always went bonkers for them!
Play Soothing Music For A Relaxing Crate Experience
Playing some soothing classical music will be the cherry on top of your puppy’s crate adventure, especially if he’s a little on the anxious side. I found and listed a bunch of relaxing doggie music in my article Where to find relaxing music that works for anxious dogs.
Where To Buy Crates
I found our crates raw diet, and my pups are still avid crate users to this day! Now that they’re successfully house-broken and can be trusted alone in my home, their crates stay open most of the time.
Both crates are equipped with a comfortable, reversible crate pad (a warmer winter side and a cooler summer side).
Missy & Buzz both walk into their crates several times throughout the day, either to play a game with me (like hide & seek – more about that in my post about 10 Ways To Entertain Your Dog Inside On Crappy Days), enjoy a treat, or just to hang out while I’m in my office (such as right now while I’m blogging) and even sleep in their crates during the day. At night, they DO enjoy the luxury of sleeping on my bed though 😉
Crate Size Matters
Be sure to either invest in a smaller crate for the pups’ first few months, or to buy a larger crate which can be partitioned.
A crate should be large enough for your pup to comfortably stand in, lie in, and turn around in. If you supply a crate that’s too large for your pup, he may sleep/nap in one end, and potentially eliminate in the other end.
You absolutely want to avoid this! Crate training really goes hand in hand with potty training, as it picks up on the dog’s instinct of not to spoil his sleeping quarters.
Bottom Line: While the initial house training process requires a lot of consistency and discipline, it’s absolutely worth your effort and patience! If you keep up the hard work, you’ll soon be able to reap the rewards of a potty trained little dog!
Enjoy your young pup and that puppy breath – I DO miss that part of puppyhood!
Do you have any potty-training strategies to share with us? As always, we’d love to hear from you in our comment section!
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OK, so we basically trained BabyBelle Pug in about two weeks. She learned SO fast. Lots of praise when she pottied outside (dances, cheering, clapping) and lots of love. Now, she ONLY will go outside. She’s one of the few dogs I’ve ever had that never has an accident.
Holy Puppy!! That’s an amazing turnaround time. You & BabyBelle rock!
Great info Barbara..thinking of getting a pup myself.
Thanks, Renee! Have you already decided on a breed?
My sisters and I all grasped the concept pretty quickly, but for our first year, we were accident prone on occasion when we were “too busy” to go out. Those first few weeks with a puppy are pretty tiring and sleepless for the human, but it gets better, so hang in there. Great tips! Bailie had an antler as a “pacifier” from day one. It has worked great. She never chewed anything of importance and still seeks out her antler or hooves when she wants to chew.
Thanks, Emma! Yes, the first few weeks really are tiring, but all the work and the bags under the eyes do pay off 😉 Comparing Bailie’s antler to a pacifier is too cute!! The pups had antlers & bully sticks as well, and they also never chewed up anything of importance. #ProudMommyMoment
I’ve never really had to train from scratch, just reinforce old training. Mr. N was a fast learner according to his foster though.
I have no doubt that Mr. N grasped the concept of potty training quickly – he is a smart pup after all! I’ve never had to reinforce old training since the pups are my first pups ever 😉
The pictures of Missy and Buzz when they were little. Oh my goodness so much cuteness!! I remember when Cocoa was little (we adopted her at 12 weeks) and I was getting so frustrated with potty training and Rodney said something that made me understand her so much better. He said she does not know we are going to take her out because she never had a family before so she has to learn that if she asks us we will take her. It is so important to remember they are little and do not know the rules!! Hope you have a good weekend!!
There’s just nothing like puppy pictures, right??! I can’t believe they were ever that tiny. Now they’re huge monster puppies, lol!
Rodney’s perspective is spot on. I felt totally overwhelmed at first because all I had was my theoretical knowledge, and with Ian traveling a bunch for work I ended up being their main caretaker & potty trainer. I reminded myself several times of the fact that the pups had no clue why they suddenly weren’t around their K9 momma & siblings any longer, and that it was up to me to teach them everything they need to know in our human world. It wasn’t always easy, but I’m so glad I stuck to my disciplined training routine. It really has paid off.
Have a wonderful weekend as well!
Such great tips – love the idea of a journal, sure wish I had done that with our pup Sally.
Thank you, Kate – the journal felt like a lifesaver! It became such a habit that I continued it for several years. My husband finally refused to keep writing down the pups’ potty times once they were a few years old. LOL.
You have so many great tips in this post, but I really love the idea of keeping a potty journal. I remember reading a book when Haley was young that said if your puppy had just one accident in the house you have already failed at house training your dog. Oh boy, I thought “I’m screwed already!” Lol.
Luckily, Haley only had a few accidents in the house and they were my fault because I lost track of how much time had gone by or I gave her too much freedom in the house too soon. Having a crate sure does make the whole process easier, doesn’t it? Love those pics of Buzz and Missy inside the crate!
Oh boy, I may have read the same book 😉 I learned about the mistake of giving too much freedom too soon as well and have no idea how I would have managed raising the puppies without our crate!
I got the KONG idea from my friend Kristina who was raising her Aussie puppy Shade at the same time in the same apartment complex (we met via our pups). I don’t know anyone else who has as many KONG toys as her – the brand should give her a huge discount 😉 Anyways, she always kept several filled KONGs in her freezer so that she would never run out of them to occupy Shade in his crate and always got creative as far as the filling was concerned. She wanted to keep it interesting for him and boy, did he love those frozen goodies!
I didn’t know if Barley was housebroken when I adopted her, so I pretty much took her out every 30 minutes for two weeks! We love our crate for lots of reasons even though we didn’t need it for potty-training. Great tips about crates!
Thanks so much, Beth! I love your proactive approach of taking Barley out so much at first! If she wasn’t housebroken at first, I have no doubt that she was after the 2 weeks!!
I’m pretty sure Barley was happy when I just let her relax and quit forcing her to go outside all the time 😉 But she’s my first dog as an adult, so I was clueless on all of those things when I brought her home!
Hey, which pup isn’t happy to go outside all the time 😉 I still think it’s better to be proactive rather than reactive.
Very informative. You didn’t hold back and readers appreciate that I think. We also combined house breaking and crate training. We’re convinced that the crate helped them to learn to “hold it”.
Thank you, Scott – yes, who wants to soil their den, right?!
When we have puppies we always divide the crate with a portion for potty and a portion for sleeping. We work on potty training but do not get serious about it until the pups are older. Even with our larger dogs, they just don’t have a large enough bladder to hold it so why stress over it. We do make sure to take them out after waking up or eating and throughout the day if we are home, but we never did the alarm clock setting thing.
I found my alarm setting thing to be super effective 😉 I have to say that I would’t have wanted for my pups to eliminate in their crate and be surrounded by the smell of their urine/feces.
Why not? Most puppies are paper trained when still with their moms. I am not saying to leave it there. Obviously we clean it as soon as possible. In my opinion, people stress too much over requiring potty training from a young puppy and many times it leads to frustration and at worse the pup back to the shelter.
Well, I used the crate to help with potty training the pups, so allowing them to go potty in there would have been counter-productive 😉
Believe it or not it isn’t.
I suppose we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one 😉
Yes. And your dogs, your way. But just think on it. If you talk to people who have raised multiple dogs over a period of years, you will find that they do something similar to the way we do it whether it is a crate or x-pen. When a puppy buyer calls them with issues potty training, they will recommend this method to take the stress away. It does work. Potty training does not need to be an ordeal. I guess that is my point.
I’ve actually always heard/read about choosing a crate of a size that does not encourage a puppy/adult dog to pee in one corner and sleep in another, but if this method has worked for you, then good for you!
My point with this post was that potty training actually isn’t hard and that it is totally doable with a few strategies in place.