Crate Training

 Excellent advise from Jaime Kaelyn, Dog trainer 

Make sure your crate is the right size. You can used an adjustable wire crate with a divider that can grow with her or start with a small crate and then buy a larger when she outgrows it. She should be able to lay down and turn around comfortably but you don’t want her to have extra space or it leads to accidents in the crate.  I wouldn’t open the top because she’ll probably try to jump out to be with you ;) and it can encourage the whining. However keeping it close to you like next to the bed is a great idea. She’ll be able to smell you and know you are near by. Many puppies do best with the crate covered if it’s a wire crate.

  If she cries in the middle of the night or early am, often a young puppy needs to go potty. Take her out to pee with minimal interaction with her and then straight back to the crate. Don’t be surprised I’d she’s ready to start the day by 6am though. Like newborns, a lot of puppies get up early and she’s probably not going to go back to sleep and be quiet at that point. 

Offer her toys in the crate and keep it open during the day so she can rest of play on there. Aside from if you really think she has to go potty like middle of the night, the most important thing is DO NoT let her out of the crate for whining or barking. If necessary wait for a split second pause between barks and start praising as you open the crate, “good girl! Quiet! Good dog!!” I also try shhhing or gently smack the crate gently if needed to distract then for a second to get the pause. Not loud enough to scare her but enough for her to stop and think what’s that? So you can get her out when she’s quiet. And then praise praise praise as you let her out. If you know she doesn’t have to go potty the do your best to ignore all noise from Her in the crate or you can try shushing and see if she responds well. Praise her being quiet. And add in the word quiet so she learns that too.  “Quiet. Good girl. Shhh good dog” Talking calmly so you don’t get her excited. 

Also use it for potty training during the day if there’s any times you can’t  watch her every move. I use a nylon 6 ft leash on new puppies and let them drag it around to quickly catch them if they start getting into things and to keep them next to me or in the same room as me. For example tying them in the kitchen with me while I cook or I slip it over my foot while I watch TV. Baby gates work well too :).  Until they are house trained and know the house rules it prevents a lot of bad behavior from developing.  Also a new 8 week old puppy I literally take out to go potty every 30-45min at first. Anytime they wake up, stop a play sessions or it’s been 45 min or so we go out. Take them out on a leash and stand in one place so they have a 5-6 ft radius. Keep her moving a bit. She can sniff for a few seconds and then move her along. As soon as she starts going potty give her a command like “go potty” and be very very excited about your praise. Teaching a potty command will teach her to go quickly when that’s what she’s supposed to be doing.  It’s very handy when you need to leave for work etc and it’s not okay time :). If she doesn’t go within 5 min for a young puppy take her inside and keep her in the crate or close to you and try again in 10 min. It’s a lot but it speeds up potty training dramatically. My last two puppies has 3 or less accidents in the house. Also use a good enzyme cleaner like natures miracle to clean up any accidents. Lots of great tutorials on YouTube too for training. :). Good luck with the new puppy!!!