POTTY TRAINING TIPS
– Crate your puppy! A crate that has enough room to turn around and stand up is all that they need. One too big allows for potty on one end and sleeping/eating on the other.
– How long between outings? Add two hours to the age of your puppy and that’s the maximum time between outings.
• 2 months of age + 2 hours = 4 hours( max) between potty breaks
– It’s bedtime. It’s important to be “all business”- go potty-no play-on leash-to bed-THE END. Bedtime should not involve playtime or you might be up for quite some time.
– Offer your puppy a potty break within 30 minutes of eating or drinking. So that means, you can’t just feed them and off to work – wake up early and get into a routine 0f:
Potty (#1 definitely, #2 maybe)
Training (with pups breakfast) during your walk
Water
Play (10-15 mins)
Potty (should see both #1 and #2 here!)
Crate
OTHER GOOD INFO TO KNOW
– Puppies, when playing, pee more frequently. It just means that you take them out every 15-20 mins during this time.
– If your puppy naps and wakes up, take them potty. They always need to go out anytime they wake up.
– If you need to put your puppy in their crate to leave, take them potty first. Anytime they are coming out of their closed crate, take them potty right away.
– All food finished by 6pm and water by 8pm. Feed your puppy 3 meals per day. Controlling when/how much goes in, you know when to expect waste to come out! Free feeding is not recommended…unless you want eating and pooping all day long which makes potty training doubly hard.
– If you can’t watch your puppy, they should be in their crate. When your eyes are off of them they WILL potty in the house. Starting and keeping a schedule is imperative to success and sanity.
– You need to be there to see that they have pottied, and most importantly REWARD them for going outside—time to Celebrate!
– If you take your puppy out and they don’t potty, bring them inside and put them in their crate. 10-15 mins later, take them back out again. Repeat this until they potty outside. (Resist the mistake of letting your puppy run around after they go out but don’t do anything and inevitably the puppy potties inside! They don’t want to potty in their closed space, so back into the crate!)
– Make sure your puppy does a #2 before bedtime. And remember No Punishing for accidents in the house. It’s your fault-not theirs. Stick to the routine as accidents will happen but a rhythm will be formed. Pack some patience and be calm…REWARD for outside potty.
