Your new dog might have been housetrained at its last home, or he might have never been trained. After having been in the animal care facility, he is likely to have forgotten many of his old habits and could use a refresher. If you have adopted a new puppy, he will need the training from scratch. The best, most efficient and easiest way to housetrain your new puppy or dog is crate training. Crate training will require time and patience on your part, but it will greatly benefit you and your relationship with your dog.

Selecting the Right Crate

Crates are available in different shapes and sizes. It is important that you select a crate that is properly sized for your pet. Your dog must be able to comfortably stand and turn around in the crate, but make sure it is not large enough for him to eliminate at one end of the crate and retreat to the other side. If your dog is still growing, choose a crate made for his adult size and simply block access to the excess area.

Step 1: Introducing Your Dog to the Crate
It is important to create positive thoughts for your dog with his crate. Set up your crate so that it is in an area of the house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the living room. You should make the crate a comfortable, welcoming place for your new dog. If it’s a puppy, it might be their first night away from its littermates or mom and a snuggly crate can be a reassuring location. Encourage your dog to investigate and enter the crate by using a happy tone of voice and treats. Do not force your dog into the crate. If he is reluctant, try tossing treats or a favorite toy into the crate. If he does not enter the crate the first time, it’s okay—just continue praising him for investigating the crate. Some dogs will enter almost immediately while other may take days to coerce.

Step 2: Feeding Your Dog His Meals in the Crate
If your dog is still reluctant to enter the crate, put his food as close to or as far inside the crate that your dog will comfortably go, slowly moving it deeper into the crate at each feeding. If your dog is comfortably entering the crate, feed him so that he is completely inside the crate. Once your dog is comfortably standing and eating inside the crate, close the crate door while he is eating. The first time you do this step, open the door as soon as he is done with his meal. For each subsequent feeding, increase the time he spends in the crate in small increments until he is comfortable being in his crate for ten minutes or so after eating. If he begins to whine while in the crate, you may have increased the time he spends in the crate too quickly. Next time, try leaving him in for a shorter period of time. DO NOT let your dog out until he stops whining. Otherwise, he will learn that whining and crying is his ticket to getting out of the crate and he will continue doing so.

Step 3: Conditioning Your Dog to Crate for Longer Periods of Time
Once your dog is comfortable taking his meals in the crate, you can begin confining him for short periods of time while you are home. Call your pet over to the crate and give him a command to enter, such as “inside” or “kennel.” Praise your dog, give him a treat, and close the crate door. Sit quietly next to the crate for five to ten minutes, and then exit the room so that your dog cannot see you. After a few minutes, return, sit quietly next to the crate for another five to ten minutes, and release your dog. Again, do not let him out if he is whining. Repeat this process several times a day and slowly increase the amount of time he spends in the crate with you out of sight. Once he is comfortably crating for thirty minutes or so, you can begin crating him for short periods of time while you are out of the house or begin crating him at night.

Step 4: Crating When Your Dog is Left Alone and at Night
After your dog is comfortably crating for thirty minutes or so while you are home, you can begin crating him while you are gone for short periods of time. Have your dog enter the crate with the regular command and treat that he is accustomed to. You may want to consider leaving him with some safe toys while you are gone. It is advised that you kennel your dog at different points during your “getting ready to leave” routine. You may crate your dog from five to twenty minutes before you actually leave and then make your goodbye brief, relaxed, and uneventful. When you get back, remain relaxed and do not reward any excited behavior from your dog. Keeping your departures and arrivals as low-key as possible will help avoid increasing your dog’s anxiety about being left alone. Continue to crate your dog for short periods of time while you are home so that your dog does not associate the crate with being alone.

If you would like to crate your dog overnight, you may want to move the crate into your bedroom or a nearby hallway just during training. Puppies typically need to eliminate during the night, and you will want to be close enough to hear his whining if he needs a potty break. Older dogs should initially be kept closer so that they do not associate the crate with social isolation. Once your dog is comfortably crating overnight with the crate near you, you can begin moving it gradually further away.

Housebreaking Tips

Use the following tips and techniques in conjunction with crate training in order to housebreak your dog:

• The amount of time that your new dog can be kept in its crate will need to start at short intervals and then gradually lengthened. Once trained, an adult animal can control its bladder for up to 10 hours at night.
Puppies cannot be left in crates more than three or four hours at a time. A puppy will need time and training to develop the muscles. Plan on taking your puppy out 45 minutes after it eats or drinks.
• When your new dog is out of their crate, keep your eye and leash on them. If they start to relieve themselves, tell them “no!” and quickly grab the leash or the dog and rush them outside.
• When your dog relieves itself in the specific or appropriate place, praise them verbally and perhaps with a small treat.
• Keep in mind that smaller dogs have smaller bladders and might need to go out more often than large dogs.
• Do not punish your dog for any accidents in the house, as it is not an efficient mode of training and can traumatize your dog, causing him to fear you.
• Make sure that you carefully clean up any accidents with an enzymatic cleanser that will remove any trace of the waste, as animals are inclined to eliminate in areas that smell of urine or feces.
• All dogs will have accidents inside—it’s through your consistent training, praise, and routine that you will minimize them till your pet is 100% housebroken.

Potential Crating Problems

• Too much time in the crate: If not used correctly, your dog can feel trapped and anxious while in their crate and the benefits of crate training will be lost. You dog should not be crated for more than 40% of their day. You dog should not be kept in the crate all day and all night. Puppies under six months of age should not spend any more than three or four hours in the crate because of their small bladders.
• Whining: At first, it may be difficult to determine if your dog is whining because he wants out or if he is whining because he needs a potty break. If you work to avoid reinforcing the former, it will increase the likelihood of the latter. Do not reward your dog for whining (by letting him out or paying him attention) and do not punish him by yelling at him. The best thing to do if your dog is simply whining is to ignore him. If you suspect that your dog is whining because he needs to eliminate, use the phrase he associates with potty breaks and see if the whining stops or if he gets excited. If so, take him out to eliminate but do not play with him as sole purpose of this trip should be eliminating.
• Separation anxiety: Crate training is not a solution for separation anxiety. Thought the crate may keep your dog from being destructive, he may injure himself attempting to escape the crate. Separation anxiety can be helped by medication, counter-conditioning, and desensitization. Consult a professional behaviorist and your veterinarian in order to work out a treatment plan.