3 Things Your Puppy Potty Training is Missing

When most people get a puppy, they read the books and articles, pick up a dog crate and some puppy training pads and they are ready to finish potty training their puppy by the weekend.

Unfortunately, its not always as simple as the books make it seem.

3 things that are going to be critical for success in your puppy's potty training journey that most people skip or simply don't know about:

1) Crates are not just for bedtime. If you are only using your crate when you are away or at bedtime, its hard for a puppy to truely learn to hold their bladder longer. Designate one or two nap times during the day that will become part of your puppy's routine. Just like children, puppies will eventually drop or reduce those nap times with age.

2) Control the lighting. I know what your thinking ... what does lighting have to do with potty training? Well, a lot. If that sunlighht is coming in and waking up your puppy at 6am, but you don't roll out of bed until 6:30 am, your puppy will probably have an accident. Darkening the crate itself or the room the crate is in will help your puppy sleep longer through the night and help keep the puppy from waking before you do.

3). Control the noise. Okay, I may have convinced you about the lighting but your probably wondering what mood music has to do with potty training. Well we aren't setting mood music. But much like we control the lighting to keep the puppy from waking, using white noise or a fan will also help your puppy sleep better through the night and keep from waking at random times if they hear a critter in the night or a neighbor slam a car door. You may believe your puppy is randomly waking up during the night but chances are, they are hearing things that are waking them up and an awake puppy is going to want to pee.

Hopefully these tips will help you reach your goal of potty training your puppy. We have several other blogs devoted to potty training questions as well and feel free to reach out if you'd like to set up a private training lesson or boot camp if you have more questions on potty training or other behavior issues.