Crate Training & Potty Training
Crate training and potty training go hand in hand. How? Crate training not only teaches your pup that it can stay/sleep in a safe confined space but it also helps the puppy learn to hold urine and feces until it is let out to go to the bathroom. By gradually increasing the length of time that the pup is left in the crate, the puppy learns to “hold it” longer. A good rule of thumb is that your pup will be able to “hold it” approximately 1 hour for each month of age, so a 2 month old puppy can hold it for 2 hours while a 4 month old puppy can hold it or 4 hours.
A good rule of thumb is that your pup will be able to “hold it” approximately 1 hour for each month of age, so a 2 month old puppy can hold it for 2 hours while a 4 month old puppy can hold it or 4 hours.
At this age your puppy will only be able to “hold it” for about 2-2.5 hours.
Puppies raised in the right environment are very clean animals and do not want to sleep where they go to the bathroom. That is why crate training works. If you start with a crate that is the right size, just enough room to sleep, your puppy will not want to go to the bathroom in their sleeping area. If you purchased the crate that I suggested from our suggested products page, it comes with a divider. You simply snap in the divider giving the puppy just enough room to sleep. The nice thing about this design is that you can move the divider as the puppy grows and you only need one crate.
Your puppy is way ahead of most pups are far as crates go because they were already sleeping in a crate with the doors open. They should transition to sleeping in the crate easily. You will want to make the crate a safe fun place. I suggest placing several items that I sent home in the crate such as the blanket that smells mom, toys that smell like their littermates and several chew items in the crate.
It is normal for puppies to cry or whine the first few times they are placed in the crate. When your pup whines, you can dangle your fingers into the crate and let the pup lick your fingers.
Do NOT take the puppy out because they are whining or crying!
If you take your puppy out, you just trained the puppy that if you cry you will get out.
If you are working on making the crate a safe place during the day, you can drop treats into the crate. At night you will want to put your pup in its crate after it has gone to the bathroom. It also helps if the pup eats around 3 hours before bedtime. If your pup is a water gulper who drinks just to drink, take up their water around 2 hours before bedtime. If he is a normal drinker, limit water an hour before bedtime. Remember that when pups play hard they will need more water just like humans playing sports.
***Make sure that your puppy is not drinking water because it is hot.*** You can not remove water from a dog that is hot or they will get dehydrated and will require medical attention.
How do you know if they are hot? You will see them panting. Hot dogs will not want to sleep in a bed or on a blanket. They will prefer to sleep on a cool surface such as a tile, concrete or wooden floors.
As cute as they are, Corgis do NOT need clothes, sweaters or coats. Just because you are cold does not mean that they are cold. Remember that they have a double coat to insulate them. As a side note I had a client years ago who dressed their pup in a sweater because it was Christmas. The problem was that they were located in a warm climate and while the dog was wearing a sweater they were wearing shorts. To make a long story short, the pup got into a large bowl of water meant for another dog and drank so much water that he had to be treated by an emergency vet for water intoxication. They did not believe that he would live but thankfully he pulled through. I tell this true story to emphasize that Corgis are not like Dachshunds or Chihuahuas – they do NOT need clothes. Dogs that are too hot will need more water and it will be harder to crate and potty train them too.
So crate training will be used to train your pup to hold it longer. What do you do when you take you pup out of the crate? Carry it to the bathroom spot immediately.
No matter if you have a backyard or not it is important that your puppy knows where to go to the bathroom. Your puppy is litterbox trained to alfalfa pellets so they are used to going to the bathroom in a specific place. If you do not have a backyard you will need to choose a safe bathroom place for your pup to go to the bathroom until they have been fully vaccinated and can go outside where other dogs have been. I have worked with owners living in apartments who have used grass pads, litter boxes or pee pads to train their pup until fully vaccinated.
I sent home a baggie with alfalfa pellets. Your puppy associates the scent of the alfalfa pellets with a bathroom so if you sprinkle these pellets where you want your pup to go they will associate that area as their bathroom.
Your puppy will not constantly be in a crate so what signs should you look for to indicate that they need to go to the bathroom or when will they need to go out?
Signs that your pup needs to go to the bathroom
- circling
- sniffing the floor
- whining
- an abrupt change in play or behavior
- door scratching
- returning to an area where they went before
- they wake up
- after they eat or drink
- after playing
For more info on potty training watch the Zak George video in the link below.
