A great way to prepare your dog to do well in our board and train programs is to start working on crate training and potty training, even before you bring your dog to us.

If you haven’t worked on crate training yet, click here to check out those instructions first. Here are some tips for potty training.

Prepare the crate

  • Dogs won’t usually pee/poop where they sleep. This is why having your dog sleep in a crate can help them control their pee/poop a little better when training.

  • Make sure that you start with a sleeping area only big enough to turn around in. This means using a very small crate, or using a divider to partition off a small portion of a larger crate for sleeping (most larger crates come with dividers).

Times to Take Your Dog Out to Go Potty

During potty training, it is very important to keep a strict schedule. The set routine will help your dog learn more quickly, and help you see their patterns more easily.

  • First thing in the morning. When you get up each morning, get in the habit of taking your dog out to go potty.

  • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Puppies usually potty train faster if you feed them three times per day (this can often be lessened as they get older). The last meal should happen at least three hours before you put your dog to bed. After you feed your dog each meal, put her in her crate, wait about 20 minutes, and then take her out to go potty/poop. If she doesn’t go, put her in her crate again, wait five minutes, and try again.

  • Bedtime. When you are ready to put her in her crate for the night, take her out to go potty.

  • When she whines. In the early stages of potty training, you’ll need to listen carefully day and night, and whenever your dog whines, you’ll need to take her out right away.

What to Do When It’s Time to Go Potty

  • When it’s time to go potty, put her on a leash, and walk her outside to where you would like her to go potty (don’t let her wander or play—keep the wait as boring as possible). When you get to the potty place, stop and say, “Go potty!”

  • If she doesn’t go potty, walk her back inside, put her back in her crate, wait five minutes, and try again. Repeat this every five minutes until she finally goes.

  • Every time she goes, when she is completely finished, say “Yes!” (the marker word) and give her a treat.

  • Then make sure to play with her for 10-15 minutes as a reward. After a couple successes, switch to saying, “Yes! Go potty!” (adding the command to the marker word). This associates the command with the desired behavior.

After First Couple Weeks

  • Follow this schedule closely for two weeks, and then, after each meal you can try waiting a little longer, and see if your dog will start to signal that she needs to go. (whining, standing at the door, doing a potty dance).

  • As your dog matures, you will become familiar with your dog’s potty signals, and you will be able to ease up on this strict schedule.