House Training

Steps

1. Take your dog out of the crate and outside to go to the bathroom. 

2. Walk around a little but not too much, we don’t want the dog getting distracted. 

3. After 3 minutes if the dog has not gone to the bathroom then place your dog back in the crate for 20 minutes. 

4. Repeat steps 1-3 until the dog does go to the bathroom. 

5. Once the dog goes to the bathroom outside within those 3 minutes, praise and reward.

6. Now spend some time 5-10 minutes (or more) doing something the dog likes like playing fetch/tug, belly rubs, exploring, going back inside but getting to cuddle on the couch, etc. 

7. Place them back in the crate when you are no longer able to supervise them. And repeat these steps the next time you take them out.

Prepare Your Crate

• The size of the crate is important. It needs to be just big enough for the dog to stand up, turn around and lay back down.

• A crate that is too large will allow the puppy to pee in one spot and lay in another, having a properly sized crate helps teach the puppy to hold their bladder since they don’t tend to like laying in their own pee.

• Take out any bedding, towels, blankets etc. as the dog may pee in one spot and then push the bedding off to the side. The plastic tray will be just fine for the first week or two, dogs are resilient and aren’t bothered by not having the comforts we want them to have. By not having any extra material it will be easier for you to notice if they peed in the crate, easier to clean, and might mean you need to decrease the size of your crate.

• If they haven’t had any accidents in the crate after a week or two then you can add in some bedding. I recommend a towel as it’s less tempting for puppies to chew and destroy and easy to clean if there is a mistake.

• Once your puppy is house trained and has learned to hold their bladder the size of the crate can be as large as you want. It could even be an x-pen or a puppy proofed room!

Always be Watching

• Anytime you are not actively training, playing or watching your dog they need to be in a kennel for this to really take effect.

• They can’t be allowed to make mistakes especially if you aren’t able to catch them in the act.

• If you are training or playing it’s always a good idea to take them out afterwards as that tends to make them need to pee. If you let them run around a corner after a play session there will probably be a puddle waiting for you. 

• If they just woke up from a nap in the crate it’s a good idea to take them out as soon as you can.

Outside Means Business First

• By going back into the kennel after NOT peeing we are helping paint a picture that going outside means business time and if you don’t do your business then you don’t get to do anything else fun. This is not a punishment, it’s just the way it is.

• BUT if you do go to the bathroom now you get more freedom and things you love. Bathroom outside predicts fun. Not going to the bathroom predicts back in the kennel after a short time.

What to do if you catch them going in the house?

• If you do catch them in the act of peeing in the house simply say no, pick them up and bring them outside. If they finish outside, reward and play. If they don’t finish then back in the kennel for 20 minutes. 

• You can start saying “Outside” every time you are heading to the door to get them used to that word predicting going out there. So when you do catch them in the house peeing you can say “No”, “Outside” and then continue with the previous steps. This should help your dog associate that what they are doing is wrong and they should go outside. 

• If you see a puddle of pee or catch them just at the end as they walk away from peeing then you are already too late to do anything about it. Chalk it up as a learning experience and reminder to not let the dog out of your sight.