Housetraining a Puppy with a Crate
By James O’Heare, CDBC
© James O’Heare
Golden Rule: Ensure that you achieve and reward a sufficient volume of trials of the dog voiding in the appropriate place at the appropriate time, while preventing voiding in inappropriate places. Then rule out the inside.
- Empty
Dog: Puppy who has urinated within last 30 - 45 minutes and defecated
within last 60 - 90 minutes.
- Full
Dog: Puppy who is presently, likely to have to void; after eating,
playing, sleeping, 30 -45 minutes has passed since last void.
- Night
Dog: Roughly between 20:00h and 06:00h in crate provided dog voids at
approximately 20:00h and 06:00h.
- Day
Dog: Waking hours; not being Night Dog hours.
Note: Very small dogs have to void more frequently.
Full Dog should either be in his crate or on his way to his voiding area. The crate should be big enough for the dog to stand, turn around and lie down unimpeded but no larger. Get one for the adult size of the dog and barricade the back end with peg board. Full Dog/Day Dog (7 to12 -14 wks.) should be brought to voiding at least every 45 minutes, upon waking from a long nap or after eating. Use a leash and carry or walk the dog quickly to the voiding spot. Stand in the voiding area without playing or talking. If the dog voids he is now Empty Dog. If the dog does not void within 3 minutes put him immediately back into his crate and try again 15 minutes later. reward and praise when voiding occurs, followed by a game of tug-of-war, walk or fetch. For the next 30 - 45 minutes the dog is Empty Dog and can be allowed more freedom. The dog needs lots of interaction and training and Empty Dog time is the time to do this. When Empty Dog becomes Full Dog put him back into his crate.
Night Dog, younger than 14 - 16 weeks of age, will usually have to void once through the night. Set an alarm and treat as above, cutting the reward to praise, and at least 3 minutes of play but not necessarily 20 - 30 minutes if you wish. Do not respond to whining. Set the alarm and follow it to prevent attention seeking habits. After 12 to 14 weeks of age you can set the alarm for an hour later each night to wean the dog onto holding all night. If he voids in this time inside then go back and try the weaning again, perhaps with 1/2 more each night rather than 1 hour. Night Dog (who has been weaned from going out in the middle of the night) can remain in a crate all night. Day dog should not remain in crate for more than 4 -6 hours at a time provided they are at an age where they have the appropriate bladder control. For periods longer than the dog can wait, or, for 6 hours or more, you will require a long term confinement (LTC) area. Crate is short term confinement (STC).
Once initial training is established quite well you probably have sufficient conditioning to allow a bit of freedom into the beginning of Full Dog time. You can tell you are on your way if he voids quickly when taken outside every time. Observe with 110% attention. If he starts to prepare to void, yell “outside!” or clap your hands to (merely) startle him and bring him outside to his voiding area, praising as usual for correct voiding. Go slowly with this part. You want to offer freedom and help the dog understand that not only is the voiding area the right place to void but that indoors is not okay, but, at the same time you do not want to overwhelm the dog with reprimands thereby creating an owner-absent problem. Do not offer unsupervised freedom until you are sure that the critical mass of conditioning is in place. If the dog manages to void in the house at any point, remind yourself that it is your fault for not following the golden rule and not the dog’s fault for being a dog.
Punishment will play no part in this training unless you want to create an insidious owner-absent problem. Never rub a dog’s nose in his feces; never hit a dog. It will serve no positive purpose. Clean up the mess with an enzyme odor and stain remover made for just such incidents and then figure out what you did wrong and prevent it from happening again. Remember that every mistake is a setback in training and every punished mistake is a giant setback in training.
Add a command by saying a word or phrase as the dog prepares to void. Make a separate command for urination and defecation. Use the command every time the dog voids for a week or so and there should be an association between the word and act. Now you can use the command when you are sure that the dog has to void but is not yet preparing.
Once fully house trained you can cut back to four or five out-times per day and you may allow the dog to go out sometimes as opposed to being brought out. Regressions can occur if training is not maintained so you must occasionally go with the dog to reward the appropriate behavior.
If you have adopted a puppy when you do not have the time-availability to train him, here is the damage control methods you can try, although it will take quite a bit longer. Provide a long term confinement area such as a kitchen with baby gates (not the accordion style, wood ones) with linoleum or hardwood flooring. When you cannot be there for a stretch longer than 3 to 4 hours (or 1 hour for young puppies) they must not be allowed to remain in short term confinement or they will be forced to void where they have to remain and they will loose the drive to keep clean, which will make house training next to impossible. When you are home follow the guidelines as outlined for proper house training and clean the flooring appropriately.
Keep in mind that young puppies develop a substrate preference, so if you attempt to “paper-train” do yourself a favor and avoid paper. If they develop a substrate preference to paper you will never be able to leave a paper or magazine on the floor again. Accidents will happen. You may also have a difficult time getting the dog to start going on grass or asphalt later. Use a large, low sided litter box with a turf of grass (or patio stone) in it and spray a “Puppy Trainer” chemical attractant on it to get them to use it. Remember, NO PUNISHMENT.
Training should proceed smoothly. Things should be getting better. If your dog looses his drive to keep his area clean or is not progressing contact a qualified professional dog behavior counselor for case specific advice. Bladder infections are common so if your dog appears to not able to hold it contact your veterinarian right away. Ask for instructions on how to get, handle and deliver a urine sample and make an appointment or a medical evaluation.