Method #2 – Crate Training
NOTE: This article is part of a series of articles on indoor potty training for your puppy or older dog. Before starting any of the training outlined below, make sure to read the main Indoor Potty Training article to learn the basics for teaching your dog to go potty on pee pads, in a dog litter box or on an artificial grass potty tray.
The crate training method is a good choice for owners who don’t have an appropriate space for creating a confinement area and for those whose dogs escape from their confinement areas. This method is also helpful for those whose dogs are not responding well to the small confinement area – for instance, being destructive when confined or pottying in the bed or food area instead of the potty area. It will only work for owners who are able to take their dogs out frequently for potty breaks. Please see the chart below for guidelines:
| 6-12 weeks | 12-16 weeks | 4-5 months | 6-7 months | 8-11 months | 12 months and older | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| daytime | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | 5-6 hours | 8 hours |
| nighttime* | 3-4 hours | 4-8 hours | 8 hours | 8 hours | 8 hours | 8-10 hours |
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*nighttime hours assume that the puppy or dog was not fed or watered less than 3 hours before bed |
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Rather than leaving your dog in a confinement area with access to his potty area when you’re away, you’ll be leaving him confined in his crate. He’ll need to learn to wait to pee and poo until you get him out and take him to his potty area. To train your puppy using this method, follow the instructions outlined in the crate training article, using trips to his indoor potty area in place of trips outside.
SAFETY NOTE: Your dog should never wear a collar when left unsupervised in his crate, because he could get it caught on any number of things – especially if he attempts to escape. You must be absolutely sure that your crate is secure, as an escape attempt could injure or even kill your dog.
Choose an indoor potty area as outlined in Indoor Potty Training. If your dog is a puppy or in the early phases of training, his crate should be kept close to his potty area so he can get from the crate to the potty area quickly without having an accident. The crate can stay there long-term, or if it isn’t in a convenient spot, you can move it farther away as your dog has more control and becomes more reliable.
As with the confinement area method, you may also find it helpful to carry your dog to his papers for the first couple of weeks so you can prevent accidents from happening on the way there. Once he’s matured a bit and is getting the idea, you’ll definitely need to let him walk with you to the papers so he can learn the path he’ll need to use to get there on his own later in training. As your puppy becomes more familiar with the location of his potty area, let him go there anytime you see him trying to head in that direction. You’ll need to follow him at first, of course, to be sure he doesn’t take a detour or have an accident along the way.
When your dog is at least 6 months old and has been reliable about using his potty area with NO accidents for at least 1 month, begin allowing him more freedom. Assuming that your puppy has no other behavioral issues that require him to be crated when alone, you can stop using the crate and move to confining him in the room that his potty area is in. Gradually increase his access to the house one room at a time, using puppy gates, exercise pens or closed doors to keep him where you want him. Most dogs do well on a schedule of adding a new room each (accident-free!) month. However, if you find that your dog begins having accidents in his newly expanded area, this means that you’re advancing too fast for him. You’ll need to go back to the smaller area temporarily, then try again in a month if your puppy is continuing to do well. Continue expanding your dog’s area until he can reliably get to his potty area from anywhere in the house.