Crate training serves two purposes; One is potty training and the other is to get them accustomed to having a safe place for alone time. First you put your puppy in the crate and leave him there for an hour. As soon as you let him out of the crate, immediately take him outside. Once you and your puppy are outside, use words like “go potty” and “get busy”. Always use the same phrase so that your puppy learns to associate it with doing his business. When he starts “going”, say “good potty”, “good potty”. You will learn that reinforcing commands using praise, and the key words, will teach your puppy to know the words and what they mean. After he does his business, bring him inside and play with him. Make sure you set a time limit of about an hour. Let him drink water, but keep an eye on him. Let him be a puppy and have fun with it. They grow up so fast that you need to enjoy the puppy stage while you can. After an hour of play, take him back outside and repeat the potty procedure. Once he does his business, and he will, take him back inside and put him in his crate. Repeat this process every couple of hours. It gives you the opportunity to play with your puppy, gives you time away from him to get things done and all the while it’s your first training exercise. You will be surprised how fast your new puppy can adapt to this routine and how it helps eliminate accidents inside.

When Beretta and Gunner were puppies, we lived in an 800 square foot apartment. That was never the plan and it proved to be a bad idea. Two puppies in a small apartment can be a hassle. First off, we didn’t have a yard so we had to keep them in their crates while we were potty training them. Most experts say a dog can hold its bladder about one hour for every month they are old, up to about 6 months. After that they can hold it for a pretty long time. That being said, if my wife and I were to leave, what were we supposed to do with the puppies? So we left them in their crates while we were at work, and I would come home every couple of hours to let them go out.

They got the potty training down fairly quickly, so we set up a 6-panel baby playpen in the kitchen for them to stay in while we were gone. I would still come home ever couple hours to take them out. When we were home, we continued the same routine only now they were in the playpen instead of in their crates. Eventually, we were able to extend the time they spent out and let them run around and have fun. No matter what though, we would still have to watch them carefully. Most puppies will let you know if they have to go out. Soon enough they would start going to the door, but before that we would just watch for “the circle”. Anyone who has had a dog before knows about the circle. For some reason a dog can’t just pee without circling around and finding the perfect spot to evacuate their bowels. Watch for the circle and you’re golden.

Until your pup is 6 months old, take his water away after 7pm. We always put them in their crates at night and it didn’t take long before they would sleep through the night without having to go out. Occasionally we would hear a single bark in the middle of the night and that meant one of them needed to go out. By making him go out in the middle of the night, you are teaching him it’s okay to wake you up. This is not acceptable. But not to worry, it doesn’t take long for them to get use to staying in their crate until the morning. The key to crate training really is being consistent. Once your puppy is crate trained, life becomes much easier. Both for you and your new pup.