How to Potty Train Your Puppy Properly: A Crate Training Guide

Bringing home a new puppy is exciting, but one of the first things every puppy needs is to learn where to potty. Potty training does not happen overnight, and an eight-week-old puppy is too young to be house trained. With a proper routine, consistency, supervision, and crate training, pups learn very quickly.

We believe crate training is one of the most effective tools to establish good potty habits from the beginning.

Why Crate Training?

Dogs naturally want to keep their sleeping area clean. A properly sized crate teaches your puppy to learn to hold themselves until they are outside to potty.

The crate size should be large enough for your puppy to stand comfortably, turn around, and lie down, but not too large so they sleep on one side and potty on the other.

For an eight-week-old puppy, we recommend purchasing a 24 inch crate or a 42 /48 inch black wire crate with an adjustable divider. You can adjust their divider as the puppy grows. Remember, the crate is a safe, comfortable place for them—not a punishment.

How do I Prevent Accidents Before They Happen?

One of the biggest mistakes new puppy owners make is giving a young puppy too much freedom too quickly. Until your puppy is potty trained, your puppy should either be: outside going potty with you, resting in the crate, or fully supervised in the house after pottying outside. A young puppy should not be outside of the crate unsupervised at anytime.

If an accident does happen inside, please remember, it is our mistake, not theirs. They are still learning. Adjust the routine, and continue reinforcing the correct behavior by giving them plenty of opportunities to successfully potty outside.

An eight-week-old puppy needs to go out to potty every one-to-two hours during the day. At night they need to go out to potty as well. For example, if a puppy potties for the last time before bed at 11 PM, they should go out to potty again at around 2 AM.

Potty Command & Rewards

When you take your puppy outside, use the same command each time. We use “Get Busy” as our potty command. Give your puppy a few minutes to sniff and find their spot and as they begin to potty, calmly say, “Get Busy.”

As soon as they finish, praise them and immediately reward them with a small treat. We want the puppy to quickly make the connection that “Get Busy” means it is time to potty, and pottying outside is what we want to teach them. Be consistent and use the same command each time.

How Do I Know When My Puppy Needs to Potty?

Not every cry or whine in the crate means your puppy needs to potty. Puppies may whine because they want attention, want to play, or simply do not want to be in the crate. This is why it is important to learn your puppy’s schedule and keep track of when they last went potty.

If you know your puppy recently pottied and does not need to go again, don’t immediately let them out because they are crying. Give them a chance to settle. Otherwise, they will learn that crying in the crate means you will come and let them out.

On the other hand, if your puppy has been sleeping and suddenly wakes up and begins whining or becomes restless, assume they need to potty and act quickly. At this age, you don’t have much time!

Open the crate and take them directly outside to their potty area. If the backyard is only a few steps away, they may be able to walk. If they have any distance to go, we recommend picking up a young puppy and carrying them outside. An eight-week-old puppy may be able to hold their bladder while resting in the crate, but once they get up and start walking an moving around, it can become much harder for them to hold it. That is when accidents happen on the way to the door.

Once outside, put them down in their potty area, give your “Get Busy” command, and praise and reward them as soon as they potty.

The key is learning your individual puppy’s routine. Know when they last ate, drank, slept, played, and pottied, and you will quickly become much better at anticipating when they need to go outside.

Keep Meals on a Schedule

Puppies need to eat on a schedule to keep bathroom breaks predictable. Rather then keeping food on the ground for a long period of time, we recommend to feed pups twice a day, in their crate, and giving them about 30-40 minutes to eat. We then take them outside to potty about 30 minutes to an hour after feeding.

For morning feedings, we feed at about 6:30- 7:00 AM. The afternoon meal, should be fed no later than about 4:30 PM. This gives your puppy plenty of time to digest, and have several opportunities to potty before bedtime, which helps make the nighttime routine as smooth as possible. We want to ensure the pup has plenty of time to potty prior to bedtime so the nighttime routine is as smooth as possible.

What if My Puppy is Pottying in the Crate?

Check the size of your crate. It may be too large, if so ensure it is only large enough to comfortably turn around and lie down.

Also look at how long the puppy is in the crate and whether they were given plenty of time to potty before crating them.

If your pup has access to lots of water, limit it to a small amount at all times, so they have enough to drink, but not too much so they drink too much and play in it. At nighttime, take away any water about an hour before bedtime.

Don’t Expect Too Much Too Soon

This is the most important thing we tell our puppy families.

Your new puppy is only eight weeks old. They have just left their mother and littermates and moved into a completely different home with different people, smells, sounds, and routines. Everything is different, and they need patience, consistency, and understanding while we teach them what we expect.

Our job is to set our puppies up for success. Keep a consistent schedule, supervise them closely, use the crate properly, take them outside frequently, and praise them when they get it right. If they make a mistake, don’t get frustrated. Look at what we can change in the routine to help prevent the same accident next time. Remember, they are babies and they are learning.

They grow up very quickly. If you put in the work and stay consistent during those first few weeks, you will make life much easier for both you and your puppy for years to come.