Crate Training Puppies Walkthrough

The process of crate training puppies consists of essentially getting your puppy to accept, enjoy and behave when confined to a crate. Puppy crate training is, under most circumstances, associated with housetraining and with good reason. Utilizing a crate to teach your puppy potty manners is in many ways, the most humane and efficient way to get your puppy housebroken.

My plan for this super post is to get you and your puppy to love the crate and create a positive crate training system. Your puppy will be doing business in all the right places without unnecessary heartaches. The one thing you simply cannot take for GRANTED is that it DOES require time, patience, diligence and a clear understanding of crate training puppies with a proven system that enables maximum efficiency in a gentle way.

Puppy crate training will transform the dog crate into an incredible dog den that will help your precious puppy develop positive habits through healthy confinement. The process will flow naturally when done properly, without any punishment or poor housetraining methods.

Crate Haters & Understanding

I say haters with love! Some folks just don’t like the idea of using a crate or can’t stomach the idea of their cuddly puppy confined in a crate. Rest assured that using a crate to housetrain your puppy is a positive experience for your furry friend. Dogs are den animals and innately love the idea of having a little cozy spot where they can retreat, rest and chill, away from danger. Dogs are not humans and definitely not babies.

Oftentimes peeps don’t like the idea of crates because they might have been around dogs that are terrified of crates. Others might have a skewed sense of the importance and utilitarian purpose of puppy crate training based on their perception of what a plastic box or wired cage might feel like from a human perspective. If you’ve witnessed dogs being pushed and dragged into a crate or afraid to frequent their doggy den only to be physically forced into them then you HAVE NOT witnessed the use of a crate in civilized positive manner.

I’ve always loved this quote I believe I read in a dog forum once:

“Stop thinking of the dog crate as a Puppy Prison and start thinking of it like a Puppy Hilton” } Unknown Author

Exactamundo!

Asia and I like to think of it as our puppy’s little bedroom. Kids have their own rooms, why not your puppy?

Even if you’re not fond of crates, they aren’t necessarily intended to be permanent and can be phased out of your dog’s life. Keep in mind that phasing out the use of a crate should be done very gradually. The crate can also be a healthy part of your dog’s entire life if you choose.

If I can’t convince you to train with a crate, you will probably end up giving your puppy free run of the house or a room. This might be sensible at first, but there’s a very good chance you’ll be looking for ways to confine your puppy once the innocent and natural terror begins. Just start off on the right foot and please use a crate.

If we’re talking about zero punishment potty training, I haven’t really come across anyone that has housetrained their puppy in a matter of weeks, with minimal accidents, without the use of a crate. Unless you’re watching your puppy 24/7 and have devised a plan to keep him under militant supervision, it’s just not possible. I stress without reprimands and few mistakes.

Crate training puppies has numerous other advantages like having a safe puppy time-out lounge, teaching healthy chewtoy habits, soothing separation anxiety and learning to be stress-free when confined. All of this will serve your entire family, puppy included, for years to come in all types of situations.

If you want to quickly housetrain your puppy the right way or if you’re an inexperienced dog owner, you owe it to yourself and your pup to try out the techniques and rules I’ll be outlining in this article. Crate training your puppy will prevent a lot of headaches and create a fun and safe dog haven in your home environment.

“I’m crated few hours a day when Mom and Dad are working at home. I’m a sticky Weimaraner. It’s the only way they can keep me away from them. It’s perfectly fine, it gives me a chance to chill & recharge my batteries.” } Halle

Halle was put through the crate training system the day she entered our home and was potty and crate trained in a matter of weeks. She stills uses her crate daily and enjoys spending time doing many of the crazy things that she does inside of the crate. You should see how comfortably this dog naps or sleeps in her crate. Upside down, showing off her belly, heavy and snoring without worry. It’s incredibly adorable and very silly at times. ;)

When friends, family and others visit, some don’t quite understand the concept behind the crate or why our lovely Halle enters on cue and chills inside without protest. They all think it’s pretty damn cool to see a dog cherish and interact with her crate as much as she does.

Getting your Puppy to Love the Crate

There’s a good chance you or a family member has witnessed an unhealthy dog-crate relationship. I’m referring to puppies and dogs that fight, growl, bark and flee at the sight of a crate. The crate is not the source of the problem. Remember it’s normal for a dog to make that crate their very own little safe den. The problem lies in the association the dog has made with the crate due to owner mistakes and poor crate integration.

Instead of teaching their puppy to love the crate and use it when the family is home, many folks never put the puppy in the crate until they decide to leave the house. The puppy has no idea what this thing is and has to figure out why he was left out? This can be very stressful, confusing and extremely unhealthy, leading to all types of behavioral problems. Other owners might use the crate as punishment or physically shove their dog into a crate when the dog isn’t ready.

Your job is to make sure the association your puppy has with the crate is an unequivocally positive one. That means you don’t yell or punish your puppy before placing him in the crate. You don’t force or bully the puppy into the crate. The crate is not a punishment zone. It’s a happy home. I simply can’t stress that enough.

There’s plenty of creative ways to get your puppy acclimated to a crate. I got three for you, either of these should do the trick. Just remember to be patient, don’t get angry or take any of your puppy’s actions or reactions personally.

Numero Uno. You can throw some treats inside the crate and see if your puppy gives. Many will go right in without thinking twice or with little hesitation, gobble the treats, sniff around and trot back out. Do this a few times without closing the crate. Do a few sets at different times throughout the day and then start closing the door while the puppy is inside for a few seconds at a time, then minutes, then say 10 minutes, progressing to you leaving the room without the puppy going into a full blown panic attack. You’ll eventually have your puppy chilling in the crate for a much longer amount of time without issue. For longer periods, make sure your puppy has a valuable chewtoy stuffed with treats to keep him occupied.

Deux. Take a super chewtoy (we recommend anything Kong or Orka), stuff it with solid tasty treats and show it to your puppy. Let your puppy know this Super Loaded Chewtoy is awesome. Then kindly dump it into the crate and close the door with the puppy on the outside. Your puppy will be very interested and eager to find a way into the crate. Sniffing, pawing and pondering. Give him a few minutes then open the door. Once the puppy is in, close the door and follow the time procedure from Numero Uno until you and your puppy are very crate happy.

Three. Getting your puppy to go into the crate is golden. Getting him to go on cue is platinum! You want to make sure your dog is all good with the crate as a whole before you begin this. Using some of the tricks above should help you achieve that initial acceptance of the crate.

You basically toss a treat into the crate and wait for your puppy to enter and claim it. Then invite the puppy out and do it again. After a couple of successful trials, say your cue or command and repeat. There should be a second between the cue and tossing of the treat. We like to use “Go to Bed”. You can use whatever you like whether it be, “Go to Crate” or “Sleepy” or “Housy” as long as it rolls off the tongue. After a few successful trials, give the cue and wait. Do NOT throw in the treat. Have it hidden in your hand behind your back and away from the puppy. When the puppy enters, instantly praise and deliver the treat. Timing is very important. You puppy is likely to go in without thinking twice due to the previous repetitions. After a few on cue entries, wrap up the session. Wait a few hours, stand next to the crate, try again this time only using cue and waiting for puppy to enter. When puppy goes in, praise and give treat. You must reinforce this with a high value treat and lots of praise. Repeat a few times and call it a day. Try to fit in a couple of five minute sessions spanning two or three days and your puppy will be rushing into the crate on cue. You can then try the cue from different distances and keep building.

If at anytime you feel the puppy loses interest or isn’t responding, you’ve most likely gotten a little ahead of yourself. Just start over or kick the process back a few notches and work your way to the desired outcome. Never punish the puppy or assume it knows what you want based on a few successful results.

I highly recommend our Clicker Dog Training articles in order to understand this process a little more and get your puppy eagerly working for markers. A more in-depth post on going to crate on cue might also be warranted. The above is a simple yet straightforward blueprint that should work without a hitch most of time.

More Crate Loving

One of the additional things you can do to enhance the crate loving game is tie a chewtoy on the deep end of the crate so the puppy has to enjoy it from inside, open door or closed.

If your puppy ever enters or chills inside of the crate on his own will, praise, treat and reinforce the behavior the best way you can. This will infinitely help cultivate the positive association to the crate.

Remember that you don’t always have to close the doors during the practice runs and during out-crate time. Just having the puppy enter and leave at will is a wonderful thing and creates a variation other than the crate being solely used for confinement.

Another one would be to feed your puppy in the crate. Crate is usually not a problem when there’s a bowl full of yummy food inside. You don’t have to do this forever, just to get your puppy to love the crate even more.

And most importantly, never let your puppy out or give into barking and howling protests when you’ve decided to confine your puppy for a healthy period of time. You never want to reinforce behavior you consider unacceptable. Provided of course, the puppy is fed and has had a chance to do its business in the designated potty area. More on all that in just a bit.

Using the methods above to get your puppy to ease into the situation is much better then obviously going cold turkey and dumping your puppy into the crate and walking away with your hands in your pocket. This might and will desensitize your puppy but can have other negative effects. A gradual process only takes a couple of days and will yield much less complaints and protests from your puppy which will truly facilitate the entire process. It will also preserve your puppy’s high spirits. Though with most puppies, some level of complaint and protest is inevitable.

Puppy Crate Training Principles

The single most important principle that makes crate training puppies the method of choice is that puppies will innately avoid soiling their dens. Puppies (instinctively) will not do business where they sleep so the crate is an extremely valuable tool that encourages your puppy to wait and hold for a suitable location. Please note that what’s suitable for you will not be naturally identifiable as suitable for your puppy. Don’t ever get that twisted. You need to teach your puppy proper manners. We’ll get to that. The thing you want to remember is that they are not likely to soil their quarters, at least if they can help it.

You can use any suitable plastic or metal crate, whatever works for you and your puppy. Make sure your dog has enough room to sit, stand, turn around and lie down comfortably. For a puppy, it’s always best to get a crate that will be suitable for adulthood and if you’re not 100% certain on size always go one size up to avoid having a crate that is too small when the puppy is all grown up. The big metals ones are also often easily collapsible for easy on-the-go crating. The plastic carrier models are great for dogs that love feeling extra covered and secure though you can easily re-create that relaxing feeling by covering the top of the big crates with something like a blanket.

The key component for crate training puppies is that your adult-sized crate should come with a divider so you can control the living space inside. Look for models that offer this perk. If you don’t have one then you can create a makeshift one using any non-porous durable material. Get as creative as you like but make sure the puppy only has enough room to sit, stand, turn around and life down. No extra space.

The first mistake most novice crate trainers make is give the puppy too much space which inevitably results in the puppy going to the furthest side or corner and letting it all out. That’s what you don’t want.

You can include a blanket, pillow or anything else to make the crate more comfortable though it’s definitely not essential and can be dangerous depending on your puppy’s habits. A blanket might not be best in very early stages due to its porous nature which might incite your puppy to soil. Halle was good with blankets for a couple of months until she learned how tasty and fun they can be with the right amount of destructive jaw action. No blanket since. Sure she protested a day or two with a couple of five minute bouts but she soon forget about it and never has one in her crate. She does occasionally get a blanket outside of the crate and has learned some blanket etiquette, to a degree I might add. Do what you feel is best but be careful and monitor.

What you DO want in the crate is at least ONE solid chewtoy, often if not always, stuffed with goodies, especially during puppy phase. This will keep your dog busy, calm and relaxed. Halle has an extreme Kong that has been named her “bed-buddy”. Having something to chew on is also a sound alternative when barking and fussing doesn’t work.

You can keep the crate in a quiet location or a busy one. You can also keep it close to your bed at night and in a main area of your home during the day. We keep Halle’s crate very close to the main hub of the house so she’s part of all the action and when she was a puppy we never brought the crate into the bedroom at night. We left it downstairs in the same busy day spot cause we didn’t necessarily want her to create a dependency of always having us around or in sight. It worked wonderfully yet she’s still very dependant – Weimaraners are very sticky breeds. The good thing is that she can happily sleep in another space on her own. She now sleeps out of the crate wherever she likes at night but we do put her in the crate once in a while to switch it up. Our bedroom door is always open, yet she always sleeps on the stairs. Night separation as a puppy was valuable for several reasons plus it set the stage for some incredible morning greeting rituals.

The puppy might and will make mistakes in the crate, maybe because of the luxury of too much space which is usually the result of the size being upgraded pre-maturely. Mistakes can also happen if you don’t do your job and push your puppy’s bladder beyond the tipping point. Mistakes can also be accidental. Whatever the reason make sure you clean the crate accordingly. A quick wipe will not suffice as you don’t want a scent trace of the mistake which might trigger even more mistakes. General household cleaners will NOT do the trick. There are products on the market that will remove odors and clean efficiently though we highly recommend just making your own super “mistake cleaning” solution. We keep a bottle handy and it works great. Never punish or reprimand your puppy for accidents. Clean the crate thoroughly to remove the scent and trace.This is very important should an accident occur. Leaving a trace can increase the chance of more accidents happening in the same spot.

HBD Mistake Cleaning Solution

1 Cup Vinegar
15-20 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil
5 drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil
to 1 Litre of Water
(keep handy in a recycled spray bottle)

Final Key Principle – you never give in when the puppy protests inside the crate. Doing so will only teach the puppy that barking, howling, whining gets your attention or gets the puppy the desired result. Will cover puppy protesting in the system below.

Crate training a puppy is intensive but doesn’t have to be difficult. So your puppy has no personal beef with the crate. The crate is in check, location has been decided, awesome chewtoy has been designated, your cleaning solution is ready and you understand that you should never give into behavior you don’t want. It’s finally time to dig into the system of housetraining your puppy.

Crate Training Puppies – The System

Your job is to help your puppy connect the dots and understand that the acceptable place to urinate and defecate is outside or wherever else you specifically prefer. This might be obvious to you but not so obvious for the puppy.

You never punish or reprimand the puppy when he makes a mistake because you shoulder all responsibilities for housetraining accidents. Scolding your puppy doesn’t teach him anything. Your puppy won’t even associate any punishment after the fact so you need to chill with the yelling. Most folks who punish do it out of frustration, confusion and a lack of understanding. The puppy has no idea why it’s being punished even if YOU feel it’s easy for him to understand. Don’t use your puppy as a scapegoat for your housetraining errors. You want any and all associations of doing potty in your presence to be positive. Punishing your dog won’t help one bit and will only increase the likelihood that he will locate special hidden spots to get it done in order to avoid punishment. The problem isn’t that the puppy is doing it in your face. The problem is that he is doing it in the WRONG PLACE. It’s never personal. It’s not about you or the puppy. Just follow the system and believe that scaring, and scolding your puppy is not conducive to smart effective puppy housetraining.

When you’re home your puppy should be in his crate with just the right amount of space for just the right amount of time. The crate should have a chewtoy to pass the time. At about 8 weeks you can leave your puppy in for about 45 minutes (though you might want to start off with 20-30 min and get a feel for your puppy’s bladder time) which is an acceptable amount of time before he’ll need to do some business. Remember if the space is just perfect for sitting, standing, turning around and lying down, your puppy will instinctively resist doing business. The time the puppy can hold bladder will increase slowly which will permit a little more safe crate time. You can bump the time up about 15-20 minutes every couple of weeks without EVER going over say 3 straight hours until your puppy grows 5 to 6 months (20-24 weeks). At night you can overnight crate the puppy but it’s ideal to make a couple of night stops outside to maintain the flow. It’s cumbersome but priceless. I can tell you all kinds of stories on how Asia and I did crazy night shifts with a sleepy, adorable, bladder-full Halle.

In a nutshell, you need to set everything up so you can easily predict when your puppy needs to go and take him to the correct location where you can reinforce the ideal outcome.

Once the allotted crate time is up, your puppy’s bladder will be full and ready to unleash. You take him out of the crate and quickly rush to the desired location. I say quickly because some pups can’t even hold it to the door in the early stages in which case you might want to carry the puppy. But don’t make a habit out of carrying to avoid any kind of dependency. Wait outside for anywhere between 2-5 minutes. When your puppy delivers, praise and kindly offer a tasty treat. Don’t be shy with praising, be dramatic, be super happy almost amazed that he did his business in the right spot. This is your chance to reinforce the behavior you’re looking for. Once your puppy connects the dots, he’ll slowly learn to wait until he arrives at the magic location where praise and treats are abundant. You could and should also put potty on cue which is covered in one of the next segments.

When the puppy goes potty, you don’t rush back home. This will only teach your puppy that going potty completely kills the outdoor experience. Puppies love to go outside, where exploration is fun and everything is new. Following successful potty, take a minimum 3-5 minute walk to reward your puppy before returning home. This will also teach your puppy that going potty not only gets praise and treats but walk time. As your puppy gets older, he will learn to take care of business immediately in order to kickstart each walk.

When you come back inside you can take advantage of an empty bladder to cuddle, play and love your puppy. Not too much as playing and excitement leads to know you what (accidents) but a nice little amount of play time. Then return to crate for the right amount of time and repeat.

If you play for a longer period of time, then please take your puppy out for a quick potty before returning into crate so you know the bladder is all good. We call this safety playtime potty insurance. Always praise and treat for going potty in the right place.

You never give free run of the house or leave your puppy unsupervised. Even supervised play should be in a contained environment you know is safe and void of any chewing hazards.

Given your puppy has been taught to love the crate, you never give in to protests. If your puppy complains, barks, whines, cries, howls and yelps when crated, you do not respond. You don’t go see the puppy. You don’t feel sorry for the puppy. You don’t let your feelings get in the way of the system.

Remember, your puppy has a chewtoy to keep him busy. You’ve taken him outside for potty and he’s gotten a little play time. Your puppy can also take a nap or relax calmly if he doesn’t want to chew. It’s only for a certain period of acceptable time. Given all of these conditions and important needs are met, why is the puppy complaining? To get your attention. This problem will only increase to dramatic proportions if you give attention and reinforce this behavior that you truly do not want. In fact, if you wait long and still give in, it will only get worse given the new precedent. This is guaranteed.

When you talk to puppy and dog owners, they all know THIS yet they still give in. Puppies are very cute and are extremely good at making you question the system. This is where most people fold and it’s truly unfortunate because it’s vital for a peaceful and mindful crate trained dog. Don’t get soft! It’s time to be a lionheart no matter how much the puppy cries. Again, if his needs are met and the puppy is healthy then he’s trying to win your attention. He’s not specifically hurting in any way. Giving in will only get you further away from your end goal. Babies and kids do the same thing, parents know this but still manage to give in creating all sorts of problems.

You can go see your puppy when he’s quiet or has been quiet for a couple of minutes following a failed attempt at protest. This is a great time to walk up to the crate, praise and treat. Puppy is going to figure that quiet gets you to come with treats in hand and making a ruckus does absolutely nothing. Keyword – ABSOLUTELY. This should be VERY clear, thus you never go see the puppy when it’s being fussy. Remember it does get better with time and if you’re aware and persistent, it will improve very quickly.

Halle protested 2 or 3 nights at 8-9 weeks for about 15-30 minutes. We had her downstairs in a crate in the main living space. We never folded. After that we had some minor experimental attempts of whining or complaining which quickly faded when they didn’t produce results. Whenever she was quiet for a few minutes we would go down and treat her. I can’t imagine what would have unfolded had we given in as much as our hearts wanted to. Of course, ALL of her needs were met. The positive puppy crate training system was in full effect.

There can be the odd instance of justified protest where you might leave your puppy past his threshold or for many reasons the puppy has to go in the middle of crate time. If the puppy is complaining and you think this MIGHT be the case, then you take the puppy outside for 3 minutes and see what happens. If the puppy delivers, praise and treat if not than go right back inside and back into crate. This might have been an attempt at sabotage. Re-think your crate schedule and timing to ensure you don’t get played often or puppies will take advantage of this. I’m mentioning this because it can happen, though very rare if you don’t keep your pup in for longer than it can hold and don’t over-play or excite the puppy before going back into the crate.

If at times you don’t wish to use the crate when you’re at home, you can tether your puppy by tying the leash to your waist or belt so he’s always in close proximity where you can keep an eye and go outside when needed. You always have to be vigilant and avoid mistakes.

Whenever you puppy is roaming, keep an eye out for signs that might indicate that he has to unload. Pacing, whining and sniffing are good indicators. Get ready to bring him to the desired potty location.

If, and only if, you catch a mistake as it’s occurring, you can urgently but nicely tell the puppy “Nope. Out. Out” or something of that nature to interrupt the mistake and immediately get to the desired location and reinforce delivery. Don’t sound angry or scare the puppy. Lovingly interrupt and direct your puppy. A few carefully calculated interruptions will really drive the desired location home. Trust me, your puppy wants to know where he can go safely just as much you want him housetrained.

If you missed the accident or catch it even seconds after, you clean it up and keep moving. If your pup makes a mess in the crate, you clean it up and keep it moving. We always recommend cleaning the mess when the puppy is out of sight or when the puppy doesn’t see you cleaning it so it comes back to a nice clean environment. Remember to use an appropriate cleaner or the quick recipe I shared above. You want to remove all traces of the accident.

The success of this puppy housetraining system relies on doing everything in your power to avoid mistakes. Every mistake in the house is a potential for few more bumps along the road. Every reinforced pee and poo in the right place is a big stride in the right direction. Predicting and avoiding mistakes is your job. Mistakes can and will happen in which case you clean up and get back on the system. If you’re vigilant enough, you’ll be able to quickly and safely interrupt mistakes as they’re occurring, which will only help you and your puppy reach the end goal.

When you are NOT at home you follow procedure for long term confinement. This procedure entails creating a Puppy Safe Space. What’s that you ask? You’re in luck, please keep reading!

Gone Long? Puppy Safe Space!

It’s always ideal and highly recommended that you take some time off work or plan puppy arrival during a vacation or in a home that has helping hands available at all times whether it be family or a pet-sitter. That being said, we can’t escape the fact that many new puppy owners have to go to work and leave the home for long periods of time without compromising the puppy crate training system.

You CANNOT under any circumstance confine a puppy in a crate for more that say one or two hours. For anything longer you will need to setup a designated pen or isolated area that is suitable in catering to some the puppy’s primal needs.

You can get a wired pen of a suitable size or designate a room in your home, whether the kitchen or the laundry room. You can also use baby-gates or a divider to designate a limited safe space for your puppy.

Puppy Safe Space Must Contain:

- Bowl of Water
- Bed or Open Crate for resting
- Acceptable and Safe Chewtoys stuffed with treats
- Suitable Potty area furthest away from resting spot
Read Lessons with Puppy Training Pads.

Puppy Safe Space Must NOT Contain:

- Anything that might be unsafe for the Puppy
- Household objects or any other items that might be chew-worthy
- Porous flooring like carpet

It’s your job to make sure the chewtoys and environment are puppy-proof and safe. Don’t leave anything to chance and plan hard.

You can also engage in exercises when you’re home to acclimate your puppy to this Puppy Safe Space. This will also allow you to reinforce your puppy when he chooses to do business in the proper indoor potty area. This will tip him off to where to go when you’re away.

Using the specially created spatial den is also great for when you are too busy to be catering and closely watching your puppy. Though you want to keep that to a minimal since every indoor potty occurrence is another missed chance at reinforcing an outdoor potty.

When your puppy is left alone, you cannot guarantee where he will do his business. Without someone available to reinforce proper soiling or interrupt/redirect inproper soiling you can only hope for the best. If the space you’ve designated and equipped for the toilet area is suitable, everything could and should work out as planned but will not technically housetrain your puppy. The “Puppy Safe Space” is just your best available option if you need to leave your puppy alone.

When you come home, the following THREE things are substantial:

1. Don’t punish the puppy or scold it for not doing what you might have expected. Clean up any messes and don’t complain. Be happy to see your puppy. He’s going to be damn happy to see you.

2. Take him outside for a little potty and walk.

3. Once you’re back home and available for your puppy, go right back to the above crate training system where you anticipate every aspect of the game. Control playtime and reinforce proper potty behavior.

Remember using long term confinement with an indoor designated potty area can slow down the process of getting your dog trained to go outside but will not hinder the housetraining process – the system – if done the right way using the specifications outlined above. Crate training puppies is the only solid way to get your puppy to develop bladder control. He’s learning not to go whenever and wherever he pleases.

I would highly recommend having someone cater to the puppy’s needs during housetraining, like a pet-sitter or a family member. Coming home during breaks or lunch might also be a suitable option. You have to be as flawless as you can with getting your puppy out on time when required without having the puppy do ANY of it’s business inside the home. That being said, the puppy safe space is an option for long term confinement. In fact, it’s the only appropriate lifeline available to you if you have to leave the puppy alone for a prolonged period of time.

The key is to toggle between the Puppy Safe Space and utilizing the all out puppy crate training system when you or someone else is available.

Simon Says – Go Potty Please!

Whenever you take your puppy to the desired outdoor location, you should use a word like “Go Poopy” or “Pee-Poo” before your puppy does its duty to slowly but surely put Potty under cue. Halle responds to “Business”. We take her out when it’s time and say “Business” and she normally delivers within a couple of minutes.

This is great for times when you need to get results on the fly, in different locations or under time and weather restraints.

Just use the cue right before you know your puppy is about to go based on the predictors and situations I’ve already outlined earlier. You say the cue, wait for the goods and then praise and deliver a treat for doing the right thing. With enough reps and consistent reinforcing your dog will learn to offer the behavior on cue.

Special Considerations

If your puppy is having problems getting his business done or seems to be soiling at an alarming rate, be sure to get him checked by a vet. There’s a very good chance there are other powers at work and you want your puppy’s health to be optimal if you want proper potty etiquette.

Crate training is also crucial if you ever need to travel or if your puppy needs to stay overnight at the vet or guardian. A crate trained puppy will be much calmer and well behaved in some of life’s unexpected situations.

Remember that a solid understanding of the system and the principles that make crate training puppies so wonderful is key to success. Housetraining a dog is one of those things many pet owners fear or don’t prepare for adequately. If it’s done right, with extreme patience, positive methods and consistency, you will start to see results very quickly and can expect a housetrained puppy in a matter of weeks. Every dog AND owner is different and the estimated time frame can vary a great deal. Yes the weeks will be exhausting and trying but priceless in the long run, especially if it’s done the right way. It’s all worth it in the end.

When your puppy is all grown and housetrained, he will only have to go out for potty at most 3-4 times a day.

Before we wrap this, make sure you read our series on Clicker Training for Dogs to get you on the right path to training your puppy using the principles of positive reinforcement.

I never expected this article to be this long but truly felt the need to lay it all out. I did my best to break it down into fun sub-sections. I hope it wasn’t too daunting to read. :P Successfully crate training your puppy is a very important first step that will set the tone for a healthy, safe, stress-free and remarkable companionship. I truly hope this article serves your family (puppy included) well.

Where would we be without your stories, thoughts and input? Please leave a comment or post a question below. Thanks!