Puppy Crate Training

Question
QUESTION: Hi Kristen,
I have a 2-month-old shih-tsu and I'd like to start his potty training.  He is currently setup with a crate (he's comfortable staying inside) and we've got the crate set up inside a playpen inside the house.  My intention is to train him to come outside of the train when he needs to go (for that, I've laid potty training pads outside of the crate and also inside the crate).  I need your recommendation since I've read several options via the web... first, isn't it too small to be taken "outside" for potty training? if so, by him getting used to pottying on the diaper pad would that be ok when he's grown?  Second, is my approach feasible?  should I remove the diaper pad inside? or only open the crate when he's awake and keep him in the pen until he goes?  
Your help is greatly appreciated, thanks.
ANSWER: Jennifer, at his age, he will probably need to pee every 2-3 hours, so unless you want him to get into the habit of 'going' in his crate, your approach is fine. However, I would not put wee wee pads inside the crate, because that could encourage him to 'go' in there. Instead, I would get a large, shallow cat litter pan and put the pad in *it*, on the other side of the playpen from his crate. The playpen should not be very big; you only want a few inches between the crate and litter pan, so that he doesn't have much of a choice when he needs to potty; it's either potty in his den, or in the litter pan. Make sense? Put the crate so that the side of the crate is 'facing' the litter pan, rather than the opening of the crate. If you want to give him access to water, put it at the rear of the crate so he's not as likely to step in or spill it.

The reason I like litter pans is because they make cleanup much easier, provide a clear boundary to the dog so they are not as likely to 'miss' the pad, and if your plan is to eventually teach the dog to go outside, then all you have to do is remove the litter box and he *should* hold it rather than going on your floor because he's not already used to going on your floor.

The general rule with puppies is that they will have a bowel movement within 20 minutes of eating, need to pee about as many hours as they are old in months (so a 4 month old puppy should be taken out at least every 4 hours), and will do both when they wake up.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Kristen,
My puppy seems to enjoy playing and resting in the litter pan, is he confused and might use the crate for when he needs to go?

Is it ok for me to remove the water from his crate after he's done with his last meal and relieved himself?  and do you recommend that I keep the crate's door closed at night when he's sent to bed? Would that make him soil the bedding inside the crate?

After he drinks or is done with his meal, do I let him stay within the playpen where the litter pan is until he's finished pottying? or can I play with him until I think he should be ready to "go"?

Since no one is home during the day, we try and feed him in the morning, but if he's not in the mood to eat or won't finish, can I leave the food dish inside his crate? or should I pick it up afterwards?

Thanks.
ANSWER: Hello again, Jennifer. You've asked some very good questions!

As long as he's not soiling in his crate, I wouldn't worry about him playing or resting in the litter pan (unless he's going to the bathroom and then just laying in it or whatever).

It's perfectly fine to remove the water from his crate when he's through eating and has gone potty. There's nothing wrong with that at all, just as long as you give him access to water when someone is home to watch him. You don't want him to become dehydrated. ;^)

At just 8 weeks of age, he will probably not be able to go all night without needing to go to the bathroom, so you can either leave the crate door open, so he can come out and go potty as he needs to, or you can close the crate door and get up a few times during the night to let him out to potty.  If you do this, getting up 2 times is probably enough, as long as you don't feed/water him within 2 hours of bedtime and ensure that he empties his bladder and bowels before going to bed. By the time he's 5 or 6 months old, he ought to be able to hold it all night.

After he eats or drinks, you can play with him if you want, but watch him very carefully, because when he has to go, he's going to go! You will have to hurry and get him to the litter pan before he makes a mess on the floor.

I'm not a fan of free-feeding, which is leaving the food dish down all day if the dog doesn't eat all his food at one sitting. I prefer to leave the bowl down for 30 minutes and then pick it up. If there's any food left in the bowl, it should go back in the dog food storage container, and not added to the next meal. This teaches the dog to eat when food is given to him, and it can also prevent food aggression or bowl guarding issues. However, very young puppies like yours need to eat 3-4 times a day, so leaving the food for him right now is probably not a bad thing. By the time he's 3-4 months old, though, I'd start putting him on a schedule.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Kristen,

Over this past week, the puppy has pooped in his crate twice, but has also soiled in the litter pan and outside of the crate where we lay down newspaper.  I'm not so sure he gets the idea of going in the pan, how would I go about enforcing it?

I can try limiting his space in the crate (I've tried putting up a cardboard leaving him 3/4 of the space but that wasn't really effective) should I cut down on his crate space some more?

Is he pottying on the area where we lay down newspaper ok? We're concerned that he might think the litter pan is his resting area as well, because he likes to also cuddle up and sleep in the pan.  I was tempted to buy one of those urine scented products that supposedly attract puppies to the training pad, would that help?  (i think by spraying or give the pad a couple drops of the chemicals)
ANSWER: You need to make sure his crate is only large enough to allow him to stand, turn around, and lie down in. Do you have bedding material in the crate?

Is his litter pan enclosed, or open? If it's enclosed, take the top off. Again, I wouldn't worry too much about his sleeping in there, unless he's laying in his own waste.

Spraying the puppy pads with an attractant may help some, but at just 8 weeks of age, your puppy's scenting abilities are still developing, so I wouldn't rely a whole lot on that.

If you're keeping him in a small pen during the day, try to limit the amount of floor space there is, so that the puppy basically has two choices - to be in the crate, or in the litter box. There should be no more than a few inches of floor between them.

Again, at such a young age, your puppy's body is still growing and he does not yet have full control over his bladder and bowels. He should, at the very least, though, be leaving his crate to go to the bathroom. I'm guessing the crate is too large.

The only way to enforce going potty in the litter pan is to keep an eye on the puppy at all times, and whenever you catch him NOT using the pan, making a sharp noise to startle him, and then immediately getting him to the pan, whether it means picking him up and placing him in the pan, or getting him to go there on his own by using body language and a happy voice to encourage him to go with you to it. Ideally, you want to get away from picking him up and putting him in the pan as soon as possible, so that he learns to go there on his own when he feels the urge to potty.

If you are not able to watch him at all times, then you're just going to have to do the best you can until he's a little older and better able to control himself. Then you can start crating him while you are gone.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Kristen,
We lay down bedding only at night. Should we leave the bedding in there at all times?  I've also just discovered that he's urinated on the bedding as well (don't know when he did it as I've just checked the bottom of the bedding yesterday and noticed a stain), so I'm going to try and limit his space inside the crate.

I've heard different recommendations as far as taking him to puppy school, is it too young for him? should I at least wait until he's done with his rabies shot?

Answer
Generally, puppy obedience classes are not offered to puppies younger than 4 months, because of the risk of them contracting diseases. An 8 week old puppy is really not ready for a group obedience class, but there's no reason you cannot go ahead and begin to teach him the basics using praise and treats. A one-on-one 'class,' where it's just you, the dog, and the trainer, is best for beginning training, because there's limited distraction and the trainer can focus all their attention on you, rather than having to split it up between several other people and dogs. During the course of an hour-long group class, you *might* get 5 or 10 minutes of the trainer's time. To me, that's just not worth it. To me, a group class should only come AFTER the dog has mastered the commands being covered in the group class, in a low distraction environment.


It's going to take a while to get him completely housebroken, Jennifer. He's still very much a baby, and he's going to have accidents until he figures out how to control his bladder and bowels. As I said before, you're just going to have to do the best you can until he's a little older and more reliable.