Set your puppy up for successful and fast potty training!
Although puppies bring so much joy and precious moments, they require your time, energy and planning ! Once you decide you are going to get a new Puppy start to prepare for potty training !

It’s not as easy as it seems. Even with scheduled meals and potty time, there is gonna be an accident. Let me tell you how I like to potty train my pups! 

I want to start by explaining that an accident is the owners fault not the puppies fault. Instead of punishing your puppy simply say your dogs name to try and stop them in action and run them outside to finish. If your puppy has already had an accident and you didn’t catch it in time. Clean it up without scolding your puppy. Please don’t rub your dogs nose in their mess or yell at them. They will be confused.. And after all it’s YOU who forgot to take them outside to relieve . 

When I potty train puppies I don’t use treats. Why? Because your puppy is rewarded with the chance to relieve themselves. Another reason I don’t use treats to potty train is because it can cause a distaction. Your puppy will be so focused on the food and might not fully empty their bladder. Oh and one more reason I don’t use treats; most of the time when you see your puppy start to sniff around, it is a race to get your puppy outside and grabbing a treat could waste enough time for an accident ! I do use a lot of praise !

• Schedule – your puppy should be given food and water on a schedule so you can most likely predict potty 10-15 minutes after .
• Command “potty”– right when your puppy starts to go, say the word “potty”. That way your puppy with associate the word potty to his action.
• Signs of potty time– if your puppy is sniffing around the house, suddenly stops playing or just wakes up from a nap it is time to go out!
• Bladder control– A puppy can control their bladder for one hour for every month of age. So if your puppy is two months old, they can hold their bladder for two hours. I always like to take them a bit sooner to set them up for success! 
• Crate training your puppy– This will make all the difference in potty training. The crate is the only place your puppy doesn’t want to spoil. Make sure the crate is big enough to sleep and stand up but not big enough for them to spoil one side and sleep on the other. My favorite crate to use is the Midwest life stage because it has a divider that way the crate can grow with my puppy! Always bring your puppy outside to go potty before going in the crate. Depending on how long your puppy can hold their bladder, you will need to wake them up to go outside. You want to avoid them waking you up first. 
• No play all business– when you bring your puppy potty in the middle of the night it’s to do one thing.. Potty. No play, no talking! You want to make a midnight potty trip very boring, that way they don’t wake  wake you up to play! 
• Duration – Slowly increase the time you leave your puppy in their crate before going potty. This will help them learn how to hold their bladder for a longer time. 
• Success -Like all training we want to set our puppies up for success! That being said if your puppy has an accident , next time wait a shorter time before bringing them outside.