Step 1: Acquaint your puppy with his or her safe space. Show him/her the crate with the door open, maybe toss a piece of the Royal Canin puppy kibble in as an enticement to enter. Let the puppy run in and out freely for a little while so that they get accustomed to the space.
Step 2: You want your puppy to be comfortable in his/her new home so place the divider in the needed space to allow your puppy enough room to stand up, lie down and be comfortable. Put an old towel or blanket that is easily washed as accidents can happen. A toy is always nice as well so that your puppy has something to play with or chew on while he/she is in their bed.
Step 3: Your puppy will go to bed when you go to bed or in his/her crate when you cannot watch them. If it’s an extended period of time make sure to use water management, so take all the food and water away 1 – 1 ½ hours before puppy goes in the crate to ensure and empty bladder and bowel. If it’s bed time, puppy goes to bed when the last person goes to bed so 3 – 4 hours before bed no more food or water. That way puppy has 3 – 4 hours to empty out. If you put a puppy to bed empty they wake up dry. This also ensures that he/she will be able to last longer in the crate without you having to go to them to take them out. The odd accident will happen. Don’t get discouraged, they are babies and have to learn. You want to set them up for success and so water management is a key part of crate and potty training.
Step 4: It is normal for a puppy to cry in their crate the first couple nights. The key is not to go to them when they cry. If you do all you’re doing is rewarding bad behavior If it’s the middle of the night and you’ve taken puppy’s food and water away 3 – 4 hours before bed the likelihood of them having to pee or poop at 2 am is slim.
If it’s 5 am and puppy’s been in his/her crate since 11 pm then it’s probably time to take
puppy out for a potty break. If you’re not ready to start your day do it quietly so they don’t think it’s
time to party. Put puppy back to bed in the crate after you take him/her out and go back to bed
yourself and get up at your normal morning time.
Step 5:Understand the young puppies need to go potty every couple hours so if you’re home make sure you’re taking puppy to the potty every 1 – 1 ½ hours to catch those accidents in the spot where you want them to happen. Whenever puppy leaves the crate he/she should immediately go outside. For the first little while you will need to pick puppy up and carry him/her to the bathroom. If not puppy is likely to walk out of the crate and go potty on your floor. So when his/her feet touch the ground they are where you want puppy to pottyv
Remember PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE every time puppy goes potty in the right place. When puppy has an accident in the wrong spot it’s not his/her fault it’s yours for not paying attention. If you catch puppy in the act quickly pick him/her up and take him/her to the potty and PRAISE there, then go back and clean up the mess on the floor. If the accident happened and you don’t know when, clean it up and watch puppy. It’s not puppy’s fault it’s yours.
Do’s
- Supervise your puppy at all time and if you can’t watch him/her put puppy in the crate
- Put soft washable bedding and a couple toys in the crate with puppy
- Get puppy used to his/her crate gradually during the day, letting him/her run in and out freely
- Take your puppy out to potty every time they leave the crate, even if puppy’s only been in there for 5 minutes.
Don’ts
- Don’t puppy in the crate with collars or leashes on as they pose a choking hazard
- Don’t put food or water in the crate with puppy as the point of the crate is to train puppy and use their natural instinct to not potty in their bed
- Don’t use the crate as a punishments place.
Posted in: PurdyPuppy FAQ
