I just got an 8-week old puppy. I'm trying to crate train her, but she doesn't go potty outside. She waits until she gets back in the house. Her screaming is slowly eating away at my heart.
Does she have a potty pad in her crate? Was she allowed to go in the crate before? If so, I’d take it out. Also, make sure her crate isn’t too large, she should be able to stand up and turn around but she shouldn’t be able to pace.
My only advice (which I’m sure you’re already doing!) is to watch her really closely and any time she starts to go in the house or looks like she’s going to go, pick her up and run her outside.
When she does go outside, give lots of praise and treats.
Good luck! It’s a tough process.
It’s worth it though!!
Last edited by Aderynbach; 06-09-2020 at 12:24 PM..
Reason: Clarity
We would take our dog out and say a phrase like " do your business" and if he didn't go take him back inside. If he did go we praised him and gave him a treat. Repeat all the time, haha! The goal was to teach him that outside was for going to the bathroom. Once he learned that, he could go outside for longer to run around.
He was 9 months when I adopted him ( the youngest I have adopted) all my other dogs were older. So there may be a different process for little puppers, but this worked for me.
We had a metal pen that we used with the crate. She had a blanket and a few toys, a potty pad, and water in the pen. She could go in the crate to sleep. She didn't like being penned when we were home but had to be sometimes. We heard all about it every time!
Do you know what the potty routine was before she came home with you?
Daisy's breeder used newspaper inside. When I tried just using a potty pad, she wouldn't go there. As soon as I put newspaper down over the pad she knew what to do. She may be used to a way of doing things and not understand.
Potty training was tough. When she goes outside be sure she gets lots of positive feedback.
I have found crate training is the best. You have to start at small intervals and give her a treat every time she goes in. Gradually expand the time as she gets used to it so that you can leave her in when you go somewhere or to sleep. Mine I trained to "go night night" and they'll go in the crate. They won't normally potty on the crate since it is their bed, unless you leave them in way too long and they can't help it. Take her straight outside after removing her from the crate and train her to " go potty" or whatever you say, and give a treat. If she doesnt go take her back out in just a few minutes.
I used to raise puppies for the Seeing Eye and we would use the words ‘park time’ whenever we took them out to empty.
- Take the puppy, on a leash, to the same spot every time. Say park time until they go. Praise wildly when they do.
- Take them out after they eat, again 30 min after they eat, when they wake up from a nap, and after they play. You may want to take them out every 30 min to start with.
-Only take them outside to empty. Do not take them for walks or playtime. They need to associate going out with emptying.
-no water after 7 p.m. for a while, just ice.
-We only used the crate for sleeping and when we weren’t home, they should not be in it all of the time.
-no water in the crate, or very little water. They will most likely sleep the whole time they are crated.
-They will come to live the crate and use it whenever they want to rest.
-Keep them confined to the room you are in. If they wake up from a nap get them outside right away. If they circle, take them out.
It is a lot of work the first couple weeks but you can do it!
For the crate, put a piece of your clothing in with her, put the radio on, really tire her out before the crate, put in ear plugs and let her cry it out.
For housebreaking, google bell training.
Good luck. Puppies are the best and the worst at the same time.
Dogs do not like to go potty in their crate. It shoul be a sleeping, my family is leaving for a while,, and an "I want to be in my own space right now" place. Make sure her crate is not too big, they want to feel safe and secure in their crate. As she grows you can expand it.
Potty. Don't wait until you think she has to go. When our dog was a puppy, we took her outside a million times a day, on a leash, and walked around the yard saying "go potty." When she did, lots of praise and a small treat, she was happy with a piece of puppy food. If she did have an accident, we did not act loud or upset, just picked her up and went outside with her. Do not clean accidents up with household cleaners, or vinegar, they only mask the smell to us, dogs still smell where they went. Use an enzyme cleaner, it eliminates the smell so dogs won't go back and think "this is a good spot to potty." Puppies can't hold it for a long time when they are young. We took her out during the night until she was about 12 weeks. Then one night, she magically slept all night, lol.
The magical puppy training advice is "a tired puppy is a happy puppy." Tired puppies sleep longer at night. Our German Shepherd is 1 year old now. She still has one last game of fetch before bed. It really does work.
Last edited by meandmyhouse; 06-09-2020 at 02:13 PM..
Reason: typo
I’ve had four dogs and two were crate trained. I agree with wildflowers and pp ideas. Also:
- don’t take the puppy out of the crate when it cries. This is hard, but it will expect to get taken out when it cries.
- play a radio during the day, classical music works best
- take the puppy out to do business every three hours on a leash.
- say the same thing, going potty, going out, whatever you choose
A puppy is work, but they are smart and learn fast. Enjoy your puppy!
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06-09-2020, 12:01 PM
