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Potty training and crate training: The first step in housebreaking is crate training. Training your dog to be in a crate is an absolute neccessity for any dog. There are many folks who simply donʼt think this is necessary but believe me, you will never regret it if you have a crate trained dog. Contrary to what many people seem to believe, crating your dog is NOT “caging” him, if you approach this in the right manner. And it is the first step to housebreaking!
From the first night that you have your puppy in your home, make it a point to put him in his crate. You can make this an easier process by putting the crate in the bedroom, next to the bed. Putting a fan that blows gently into the crate often is soothing to the puppy. Do not let the puppy out if he is whining and vocalizing. Let him out when he is QUIET. It wont take him long to learn at all.
When he is quiet, get him out. Put him back in with a cookie or a treat. (it is a good idea to always give him a little treat when he goes into his crate.) Once he has “settledʼ in the crate and gone to sleep, even if only for a short while, he will want to go potty when he wakes up, (this is where the housebreaking comes in.) He will not go potty in his “bed area”, this is an instinct trained and reinforced in him by his dam.
So then you get him out, and take him immediately to the outdoors, to go potty. Teaching the puppy to "go potty" outside, on leash, and in a specific area, or on demand, goes hand in hand with crate training.
Even if you have a fenced in yard, it is a good idea, while the dog is young, to put him on a leash and take him outside to potty. That way he will always know to go potty while on a leash and when you take him for walks in strange places he will go potty for you. Dogs who have never been taught to go potty on a leash sometimes just canʼt make the transition.
Using the correct schedules is also important! Potty time should always come after ʻsleep time” and you should crate your puppy three or four times a day for his nap. This is yet another reason to feed at measured times rather than feeding at will, you can more easily regulate the puppyʼs schedule.
NEVER leave the puppy in the crate for a full eight hours during the day until he is a mature dog. If you have to be gone during the day you need to be able to come home during the noon hour and let him out or have a friend or neighbor help you with this. When he is around five months of age he can probably be in the crate at night for eight hours if he is right next to you and you can hear him if he wakes and has to go potty.
AGAIN: When you take your puppy out of the crate to potty, LEASH him.