Crate Training Your New Puppy

There are multiple ways to potty train your puppy, and the way I chose to train Bailey is through crate training. Crate training involves splitting the day up into small sections of time and doing one thing or another during each section, always taking the puppy out right before and right after each activity.

Baby Bailey in her crate with her purple bunny named Spot

Crate training does NOT mean sticking your puppy in the crate all day!

These activities include playtime, socialization, meals, training, naptime, and more. You can personalize your crate training schedule to fit your needs, but it is important once you find a schedule that works for you to stick to that schedule.

At 8 months old Bailey would wake up at 7:30 AM. We would go for a short morning walk, she would pee and poop, and then we would go inside. Bailey's schedule was centered around her mealtimes. Breakfast was at 7:30 AM, lunch was at 12:00 PM, and dinner was at 5:00 PM. In between meals were broken up into 15-minute playtime sessions, 15-minute socialization sessions, and 30-minute naps in the crate.

Baby Bailey during playtime at the hotel we lived in when I first got her

Generally, at this point we would spend some time in the lobby of our hotel and Bailey would socialize with the visitors and the hotel management and staff. Everyone there loved her and it was a great way to socialize her! Socialization is super important when you have a new puppy. If you socialize them early they will be much more open to new situations and new people. If you don't live in a hotel or an apartment building you can invite people over to socialize with your pup. At this age, you do not want to take them to any public places where there may be lots of other dogs because they will not have all of their shots yet and you want to make sure they stay healthy!

Baby Bailey with a toy one of the hotel managers gave her

We would have one or two 5 minute training sessions in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. Training sessions are very short because a puppy doesn't have a good attention span yet. However, they are really important to ensure that you have a well-trained pup. These would generally be part of playtime. For more information about the clicker-training method I use to train Bailey, click here.

Baby Bailey playing with one of her teethers

Bailey would normally go to bed between 10:00 PM and 12:00 PM. During the night she slept in her crate, but I would take her out every 1.5-2 hours.

You can personalize your own schedule based on how you need it to be, but keep in mind that you will need to take your puppy out very frequently.

Here are a few tips for making this early schedule go as smoothly as possible:

1. Take your puppy out the same door every time you take them to go potty.

2. Choose a word or two to say before you leave the door, for example, "Wanna go out?"

3. In the beginning, I would carry Bailey outside and let her walk back inside. We were on the fourth floor of a hotel and this helped her not have accidents inside.

4. If you want your dog to go potty on command, pick a word to say when you notice them about to go. I say "Get Busy" every time Bailey does her business so that eventually she will associate those words with going to the bathroom.

5. Bring your pup to the same spot every time you go outside. The smell of their old business will make them more likely to go there again.

6. Bring your pup to a different spot if you are going outside for playtime.

7. Make sure to give your pup enough time to go potty. Usually, fifteen minutes is a good amount of time to stay outside. Keep this consistent, even if your dog goes within two minutes of going outside. If you go inside immediately after your dog goes, they will eventually begin to hold it so that they can stay outside longer.

8. Reinforce going potty outside with lots of treats and excitement.

9. If your puppy has an accident inside you can make a loud noise like a clap to try and startle them to stop. Don't punish your puppy, just take them outside and show them where they should have done their business and clean up the accident. I use an enzymatic cleaner that breaks up the scent of the accident so that Bailey has no desire to go inside again.

As your puppy gets older, you should shift this schedule to include longer playtimes, longer training sessions, and longer socialization periods. Eventually, you can make your schedule more flexible and do training and playtime at different times during the day. Just keep in mind your puppy will still wake up at the same time and want to nap at the same time every day. Bailey is currently my alarm clock - she wakes me up at 8:30 every single morning.

3.5-month-old Bailey taking a nap on the couch

Now that Bailey is almost 4 months old she spends almost all of her time outside of her crate. I knew she was ready for this because she started crying at the door whenever she needed to go out. You can teach your dog to ring a bell or go to the door to let you know it's time for a walk.

She still goes outside quite frequently, but now she can nap on the couch with me instead of having to go in her crate and I can sit on the couch and do work while she's playing with her toys and not worry about her having an accident. She still has the occasional accident inside the house but what's important is that she knows she is supposed to go outside.

Bailey now loves to go into her crate at night

Bailey still sleeps in her crate and goes in there whenever I need to leave the house without her. It is important to slowly work up to being outside the crate all-day!