House training
Adopters love a house trained pup. We often don't know if a dog is house trained when they arrive, so we appreciate your efforts to help them along the way! We recommend starting house training with a crate. Here are some quick tips below, and you can also check out our main website's housetraining page.
Crate size
The crate is like a den and dogs naturally don’t want to soil their dens. The crate should be large enough for the dog to lie down and turn around – no bigger. If the crate is too big, they’ll eliminate on one side and sleep on the other (no need to “hold it” then). If you have a larger crate, block off the extra space with boxes.
Supervision
Dogs that aren’t house trained should always be supervised when outside of their crate. Whenever you can’t supervise the pup, leave them in their crate. This will keep them out of trouble and it will ensure they won’t eliminate while you’re gone.
Good job!
Praise them when they go to the bathroom outside.
Catch your dog eliminating in the house?
Stop them with a firm “No!” and take them outside.
Water
To avoid having to get up several times in the night to take your puppy out, you may limit their water. Feed your dog at least 2-3 hours before you plan on going to sleep. Let them drink water after their meal, but after that, take the water away. Take them out to the bathroom right before you go to sleep.
Time in the crate
Don’t leave your dog in his crate for longer than they can “hold it”; otherwise they’ll be forced to eliminate inside the crate. Generally speaking, 8 week old puppies can be left in a crate for 2 hours. 3-4 month old puppies can be left for up to 3 hours. 5-6 month old puppies can be left for up to 4 hours. Adults can be left in their crate for 7 to 8 hours if exercised well before and after.
The crate is like a den and dogs naturally don’t want to soil their dens. The crate should be large enough for the dog to lie down and turn around – no bigger. If the crate is too big, they’ll eliminate on one side and sleep on the other (no need to “hold it” then). If you have a larger crate, block off the extra space with boxes.
Supervision
Dogs that aren’t house trained should always be supervised when outside of their crate. Whenever you can’t supervise the pup, leave them in their crate. This will keep them out of trouble and it will ensure they won’t eliminate while you’re gone.
Good job!
Praise them when they go to the bathroom outside.
Catch your dog eliminating in the house?
Stop them with a firm “No!” and take them outside.
Water
To avoid having to get up several times in the night to take your puppy out, you may limit their water. Feed your dog at least 2-3 hours before you plan on going to sleep. Let them drink water after their meal, but after that, take the water away. Take them out to the bathroom right before you go to sleep.
Time in the crate
Don’t leave your dog in his crate for longer than they can “hold it”; otherwise they’ll be forced to eliminate inside the crate. Generally speaking, 8 week old puppies can be left in a crate for 2 hours. 3-4 month old puppies can be left for up to 3 hours. 5-6 month old puppies can be left for up to 4 hours. Adults can be left in their crate for 7 to 8 hours if exercised well before and after.