How to effectively potty train my 4-month-old Great Dane puppy?

Crate training is great and definitely the way I have always house trained my dogs. Basically any time you cannot be at home to watch him he needs to be in the crate. When you get up in the morning or get home, you take him outside to a specific spot and tell him to "potty". When he does, you praise him. If he doesn't, then you put him back In his crate. The crate needs to be large enough for him to stand up and turn around but not so big that he can pee/poop on one side and sleep on the other. Also I do not recommend putting him in his crate with water as that is just setting him up for failure. If you are home on the weekend, make sure you watch when he eats and drinks and take him outside about 30-45 minutes after that. If you catch him IN THE ACTION of peeing or pooping, you can tell him "no" then take him outside to his spot and tell him to go "potty". If you don't see the pee or poop until after he has done it, it doesn't not benefit him to run his nose in it. Crate training is the best way to house train in my opinion. Just remember that he is young and it will take some time. You can also go to veterinarypartner.com and look up crate training to find some more reliable information. I hope this helps!

Keep in mind that no method is full proof, and it can takes weeks to months to fully potty train a puppy. It requires time and patience, and I can give you my recommended method for potty training a puppy. Start by keeping your puppy on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away her food between meals. Take her out to potty first thing every morning, and once every 30 minutes to an hour. Always make sure she goes out after meals, first thing when she wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take her to the same spot each time to go potty. Her scent there will encourage her to go. Stay with her outside each time she goes to potty, at least until she is fully house trained. When she goes outside, praise her and give her a treat. You might want to consider crate training as part of her house training. It allows you to keep an eye on her for signs that she has to go potty, and will teach her to hold it until you put her outdoors. The crate needs to be big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but it should not be big enough for her to go potty in.

Great question! I will give you the method I typically recommend for house training a dog. Crating training is a great way to do it, but it's also important to put Bambi on a schedule. Start by keeping him on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away his food between meals. Take him out to potty first thing every morning, and once every two to three hours at first. Once he gets better at holding his bladder, you can stretch it out but he can never go longer than eight hours without a bathroom break.. Always make sure he goes out after meals, first thing when he wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take him to the same spot each time to go potty. His scent there will encourage him to go. Stay with him outside each time he goes to potty, at least until he is fully house trained. When he goes outside, praise him and give him a treat. In terms of the crate, it needs to be big enough for him to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but it should not be big enough for him to go potty in. You will have to slowly train him to get used to a crate. Start putting him in it when you are home and sitting nearby so he doesn't think you are abandoning him, and slowly increase the time he is in it. He can have toys in the crate, and puzzle toys with treats in it that he has to figure out how to get the treats out. You can put a tablespoon of peanut butter in a Kong toy and freeze it in the freezer overnight, then give it to him in the crate. That will keep him occupied for a while. I hope this helps!

Thanks for posting this question. The thing to remember about house training is that we are actually teaching the dog the preference and desire to go outside. We aren't really teaching them to not go inside. Kind of backwards, but that's how they get trained. Keep her close when she is inside, even tether her leash to your belt loop. Anytime you see her act like she might need to go potty get her outside. When she successfully urinates outside give her treats and lots of praise. Keep doing this and she will want to go outside. Good luck and thanks for using Pet Coach!

Four months is a very young age still and one where I wouldn't expect Fendi to be completely potty trained. That said, she should still be able to hold it about an hour or two, and if she can't, then scheduling a vet visit to make sure there isn't a health issue related first is a good idea. If she checks out healthy, sticking to a strict potty training routine is best. This means going out every 1-2 hours, after waking, eating, drinking, playing, etc to give her opportunities to go outside. If she is pottying in her kennel, it may be too big for her (it should be just big enough to comfortably lay down and turn around in, but not so big she can potty on one side and lay on the other.) Blocking off the house so she has limited access and limited chance to have an accident can also help. Here are a few additional articles that may help as well: https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-tips-to-potty-train-your-dog-young-and-old/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-common-housetraining-mistakes/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-housetrain-your-dog-or-puppy-using-a-potty-cue/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/housetraining-tips-and-tricks/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-common-reasons-for-potty-accidents-in-dogs/

The best way to potty train a puppy is with a crate: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-crate-train-your-puppy-or-older-dog/ At this age, Sophie should be able to hold her urine comfortable for 6 hours. If you must be gone longer than that, I recommend to try to have someone available to let her out to relieve herself. This will speed up house breaking. I hope this helps.

I'm not sure if you want to crate train Bud for potty training or for getting used to the crate, so I will give you advice for both. Getting used to a crate: You will have to slowly train him to get used to a crate. Start putting him in it when you are home and sitting nearby so he doesn't think you are abandoning him, and slowly increase the time he is in it. He can have toys in the crate, and puzzle toys with treats in it that he has to figure out how to get the treats out. You can also fill a Kong toy with peanut butter and freeze it in the freezer overnight, then give it to him in the crate. That will keep him occupied for a while. Potty training in general: Start by keeping your puppy on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away his food between meals. Take him out to potty first thing every morning, and once every 30 minutes to an hour. Always make sure he goes out after meals, first thing when he wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take him to the same spot each time to go potty. His scent there will encourage him to go. Stay with him outside each time he goes to potty, at least until he is fully house trained. When he goes outside, praise him and give him a treat. Crate training is a great tool in potty training. It allows you to keep an eye on him for signs that he has to go potty, and will teach him to hold it until you put him outdoors. The crate needs to be big enough for him to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but it should not be big enough for him to go potty in.