House training is crucial for your new puppy!
There are several methods to house train a puppy. This is what I tell my clients and what works for me.
Buy a wire crate that is large enough for the puppy after it is fully grown. For a German Shepherd this means 40 to 48 inches deep (front to back) to insure plenty of room. The side to side and height will be appropriate for the depth. If you have a choice, get one with a center divider. This will decrease the amount of room for your pup but also discourage wetting or messing in the cage due to not being able to get away from it to sleep. The use of a crate for house training is based on 3 things. It keeps your puppy safe while you can't watch him/her. It keeps the pup from damaging shoes, rugs, or the couch, etc.. It also keeps the pup in a confined area and your pup's natural instinct is to not wet or mess where they sleep. If you get your pup home early enough on the first day, put your pup in the crate once or twice before night time for 5 or 10 minutes the first time and 15 or 20 minutes the second time. You are teaching the pup that it it nothing to be afraid of and he/she will get out after a while and it will be ok. The first night in the crate will probably be noisy. Do not put the crate in your bedroom, lol. You should put it far enough away so you can get some sleep too, if you can. I strongly recommend you do not let the pup train you. If you let it out each time it cries it will learn that lesson and you will get no rest at all. If you put the pup in the crate the last thing at night and just leave him or her there til morning your pup will soon quiet down and sleep the night. Having said that a young pup is not always able to go the entire night without going potty. You will probably need to get up after a few hours for the first few nights or maybe even the first week or so until the puppy adapts. One or two times the first night or two, then one time a night, then longer intervals between taking her out until she (and you) sleep through the night. Puppies are like people, some learn faster than others and some take more time to get through the night. Patience is the key to success. First thing in the morning you let her out again and start your day. Buy some good quality toys such as Kong brand or equivalent for them to entertain themselves with while they are in there. Put an old towel or layers of newspaper on the bottom of the crate for comfort and cuddling.
My steps for fast and effective house training for puppies and even retraining adults.
1. Take her out immediately when you let her out of her crate.
2. When she is loose in your house she never gets out of your sight and you always watch for signs she needs to go.
3. Take her out a lot, every hour and a half, after every drink, very soon after she eats, after she has laid still for a while and then she gets up, etc.
4. Take her to the same place when she is supposed to go potty. Don't play first, don't take her for a walk, don't do anything but take her straight to the potty place. It will provide a scent trigger for her and she will soon know that the only reason you take her there is to go potty. If you think she should go and she doesn't after 5 or 6 minutes then don't wait all day cause that can be tiresome. Take her back in and do not let her run around but instead put her back in her crate for 15 or 20 minutes and then take her out again. If that doesn't work then she probably doesn't have to go, but still watch her when you get her back in the house.
5. Each time she goes potty when and where she is supposed to praise her like she just won the biggest prize you can think of and she did it on her own. Really go overboard with the praise but just for 20 or 30 seconds, then you're done. Go ahead and play with her or take her on a walk or just take her back inside, whatever you were going to do. For the next 2 weeks your main focus needs to be NO ACCIDENTS IN THE HOUSE.
6. Take her out the last thing before you go to bed.
7. When she is out of her crate and you can't have her in the same room with you or someone else responsible enough to watch her closely, then put her back in her crate until you can watch her. It is very important that she not be able to wonder off out of sight and go potty where you can't see her. If she goes potty in the house she has to do it in the same room with you so you can tell her in a very stern voice NO and immediately take her outside to the potty place. Do not rub her nose in it but simply make sure she is close to it when you scold her so there is no question what she is being scolded for. Your response has to be immediate! If she goes potty and you don't catch her in the act and you don't know when she did it then your scolding will not be nearly as effective. If you watch her closely enough she will not have the chance to do so out of your sight and that is the purpose of keeping her close. If she won't stay close and there isn't a door to close there is nothing wrong with putting a collar and lead on her and keeping her close that way. This is also a method I use to assist in leash training young dogs or retraining older ones. You can even attach the lead to your hip or belt for hands free use. Other advantages for doing this include rapid bonding between pup and owner, increased focus by the pup so that she is watching for what you are going to do and will react faster to your cues.
Last but not least the most important thing is to not give up on her. If you follow these steps you can train her to have good potty manners is a very short time. Remember, the whole idea is to severely limit or eliminate the opportunity for her to have accidents in the house and to make her feel wonderful when she does it outside where she is supposed to. This will work. I promise.
Don't use treats to reward her for potty training. Just use love and attention. Treats can be useful depending on the dog for training but she needs to know she is working for you, not just a treat. When you have 3 or 4 perfect weeks behind you then you have a pup/dog that is house trained but will still need watching for another month or so. Good luck.
There are several methods to house train a puppy. This is what I tell my clients and what works for me.
Buy a wire crate that is large enough for the puppy after it is fully grown. For a German Shepherd this means 40 to 48 inches deep (front to back) to insure plenty of room. The side to side and height will be appropriate for the depth. If you have a choice, get one with a center divider. This will decrease the amount of room for your pup but also discourage wetting or messing in the cage due to not being able to get away from it to sleep. The use of a crate for house training is based on 3 things. It keeps your puppy safe while you can't watch him/her. It keeps the pup from damaging shoes, rugs, or the couch, etc.. It also keeps the pup in a confined area and your pup's natural instinct is to not wet or mess where they sleep. If you get your pup home early enough on the first day, put your pup in the crate once or twice before night time for 5 or 10 minutes the first time and 15 or 20 minutes the second time. You are teaching the pup that it it nothing to be afraid of and he/she will get out after a while and it will be ok. The first night in the crate will probably be noisy. Do not put the crate in your bedroom, lol. You should put it far enough away so you can get some sleep too, if you can. I strongly recommend you do not let the pup train you. If you let it out each time it cries it will learn that lesson and you will get no rest at all. If you put the pup in the crate the last thing at night and just leave him or her there til morning your pup will soon quiet down and sleep the night. Having said that a young pup is not always able to go the entire night without going potty. You will probably need to get up after a few hours for the first few nights or maybe even the first week or so until the puppy adapts. One or two times the first night or two, then one time a night, then longer intervals between taking her out until she (and you) sleep through the night. Puppies are like people, some learn faster than others and some take more time to get through the night. Patience is the key to success. First thing in the morning you let her out again and start your day. Buy some good quality toys such as Kong brand or equivalent for them to entertain themselves with while they are in there. Put an old towel or layers of newspaper on the bottom of the crate for comfort and cuddling.
My steps for fast and effective house training for puppies and even retraining adults.
1. Take her out immediately when you let her out of her crate.
2. When she is loose in your house she never gets out of your sight and you always watch for signs she needs to go.
3. Take her out a lot, every hour and a half, after every drink, very soon after she eats, after she has laid still for a while and then she gets up, etc.
4. Take her to the same place when she is supposed to go potty. Don't play first, don't take her for a walk, don't do anything but take her straight to the potty place. It will provide a scent trigger for her and she will soon know that the only reason you take her there is to go potty. If you think she should go and she doesn't after 5 or 6 minutes then don't wait all day cause that can be tiresome. Take her back in and do not let her run around but instead put her back in her crate for 15 or 20 minutes and then take her out again. If that doesn't work then she probably doesn't have to go, but still watch her when you get her back in the house.
5. Each time she goes potty when and where she is supposed to praise her like she just won the biggest prize you can think of and she did it on her own. Really go overboard with the praise but just for 20 or 30 seconds, then you're done. Go ahead and play with her or take her on a walk or just take her back inside, whatever you were going to do. For the next 2 weeks your main focus needs to be NO ACCIDENTS IN THE HOUSE.
6. Take her out the last thing before you go to bed.
7. When she is out of her crate and you can't have her in the same room with you or someone else responsible enough to watch her closely, then put her back in her crate until you can watch her. It is very important that she not be able to wonder off out of sight and go potty where you can't see her. If she goes potty in the house she has to do it in the same room with you so you can tell her in a very stern voice NO and immediately take her outside to the potty place. Do not rub her nose in it but simply make sure she is close to it when you scold her so there is no question what she is being scolded for. Your response has to be immediate! If she goes potty and you don't catch her in the act and you don't know when she did it then your scolding will not be nearly as effective. If you watch her closely enough she will not have the chance to do so out of your sight and that is the purpose of keeping her close. If she won't stay close and there isn't a door to close there is nothing wrong with putting a collar and lead on her and keeping her close that way. This is also a method I use to assist in leash training young dogs or retraining older ones. You can even attach the lead to your hip or belt for hands free use. Other advantages for doing this include rapid bonding between pup and owner, increased focus by the pup so that she is watching for what you are going to do and will react faster to your cues.
Last but not least the most important thing is to not give up on her. If you follow these steps you can train her to have good potty manners is a very short time. Remember, the whole idea is to severely limit or eliminate the opportunity for her to have accidents in the house and to make her feel wonderful when she does it outside where she is supposed to. This will work. I promise.
Don't use treats to reward her for potty training. Just use love and attention. Treats can be useful depending on the dog for training but she needs to know she is working for you, not just a treat. When you have 3 or 4 perfect weeks behind you then you have a pup/dog that is house trained but will still need watching for another month or so. Good luck.
