Potty Training Tips :)

[Michelle Rodriguez]

So we picked out our puppy today and we are SUPER excited and can't wait for her arrival! She should be ready to come home around the first of May so we are working on getting everything ready.

I would love to get some potty training tips :) We have a pretty large fenced in yard so I do plan on having her going outside in a specific area. My main concern is the middle of the night potty breaks, our bedrooms are upstairs and I'll be putting her crate in the room with us to sleep. I was planning on having a potty pad in the upstairs bathroom to have her go in the middle of the night, my question is would that cause any confusion for her since I do want her to only potty outdoor once she's sleeping through the night?

[Theresa and Doodle Dagny]

How old will she be when you bring her home?  Have you joined the "Puppy Madness" and "Training, Experiences, and Challenges" groups?  They are FULL of invaluable tips! So helpful for me when I joined DK (and still are to this day for my 7 month old).  There are a lot of really great tips about potty training there. 

[Michelle Rodriguez]

I haven't joined those groups but will be adding them now! :) She'll be 8 weeks when she joins our family.

[Theresa and Doodle Dagny]

Excellent! Do a search on potty training once you get onto the training page and the number of results will blow you away, lol. Mine was 11 weeks when we brought her home and already crate trained and sleeping through the night. A lot if us have had great success with bell training. I'd never even heard of it before joining DK. When Dagny finally learned that trick it was AMAZING because prior to we were taking her out every 30 mins or so because we couldn't recognize her cues. Once she learned the bells, the accidents nearly halted. I know my answer wasn't very helpful because I think what you'll want to read is in the training group ;)

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Your comment was definitely helpful cause now I know what groups to post in! :) I've thought of using the bell method but I'm not sure how effective it would be in our house since I know my two year old son would be ringing the bell nonstop lol 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The training group is for obedience training of dogs over 4 months, not housebreaking. 

[Theresa and Doodle Dagny]

Oops - Karen's right.  It's been a while since I've read about potty training.  Your new puppy questions are perfect for Puppy Madness.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Theresa is right- you will get lots of good information about potty training in the Puppy Madness group.

My gut thought is to skip the potty pads and just carry her downstairs and to the yard. The time period where they have to get up during the night is fairly short for most pups (only 3 nights for us). So, it's not like you are going to be traipsing up and down the steps during the night for for months. And, if you carry her, she won't stop and pee on the way down there. :-)

Best wishes- puppyhood is fun, but soooo challenging! Rest up.... :-) 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree with Lori--if you put puppy pads in your room and use them at night, you might teach her that it is OK to go potty in your room! It won't last too long--and the weather is not bad, so take her outside! And congrats!!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I think your gut instinct that the potty pads would confuse her is spot on. If she wakes up and needs to go in them middle of the night, just take her out without any interaction, put her back into her crate and go back to bed. She'll go back to sleep, as well. My two never had to go during the middle of the night, though at first they couldn't hold it until much past 5 or 6 in the morning. So, we took them out then (only for a few nights) and put them right back into the crate until a more civilized time! 

Someone mentioned using bells. My personal opinion is to skip this altogether. Do you want your puppy to train you to take her out when she wants to go, or do you want to train her to wait until you decide that it's time? Of course, you would never make her wait until she can't hold it any longer. 

It sounds like you are going to be well prepared in early May when she joins your family. Congrats!