Training Them To Go Outside After Using Pads Indoors
While I generally use a crate to house train my German Shepherd puppy I also totally understand that you might prefer to learn how to potty train a German Shepherd puppy using a puppy pad .
Im not here to judge and I love that you want to help your pup learn his potty routine quickly by reading up on this training!
Create A Regular Feeding Schedule
Another important part of house training is to make sure that your German Shepherd puppy eats at regular times each day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be fed at the same times every day. This will help you to keep track of when your dog should be going to the bathroom.
After each time you feed your German Shepherd puppy, take them outside right away . This will help to reinforce that going potty is something that should only be done outdoors.
During the night, a good rule of thumb is that your GSD puppy should have dinner within three hours before they go to bed each night. This will give them enough time to digest the food before they go to bed so that they do not have an accident during the night. If they do their business inside after this time, call them out right away so that you can take them outside to do their business and then clean up the mess.
When creating a schedule for feeding and potty breaks throughout the day, you may notice that there are times when its inconvenient for you to get your puppy outside. For example, if you live in an apartment complex or condo, it may not be easy for you to bring them outside late at night or early in the morning when most of their potty breaks would need to occur. In these cases, you can train your German Shepherd puppy using a crate instead.
How To Potty Train A German Shepherd
Expect more accidents like this to happen when you have a puppy. Lucky for you, German Shepherds are the third most intelligent dog breed in the world next to the Border Collie and the Poodle. Which means it is the most intelligent large dog breed. Being obedient is natural for them. They can learn tricks in a snap of a finger. Plus, their character trait of being a pleaser makes them highly trainable. So, that makes German Shepherd puppies one of the easiest dog breeds to potty train.
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When Should You Start Potty Training A German Shepherd Puppy
German Shepherds become aware of their ability to control their bodily functions at around 3 weeks old. However, it is best to start potty training as soon as you bring your puppy home, usually, this is around 8 weeks of age.
If you bring your puppy home a little earlier, like a 6 or 7 weeks old, you should still start potty training immediately, just know that your pup wont be able to hold their bladder long at that age.
As a general rule, puppies can hold their pee for a maximum of one hour for every month theyve been alive. So, a 2-month old can hold their pee for about 2 hours.
To avoid accidents, take them for potty breaks once every hour. Thats something you need to do throughout the day, including sleeping hours.
Dont worry! This stage doesnt last long and you can add another hour for every month they age. Soon enough, theyll be sleeping through the night without waking you up every few hours.
How Long Does It Usually Take Potty Train A German Shepherd Puppy
A German Shepherd doesnt have complete bladder control until around 5 to 6 months of age, so intend to maintain your potty training efforts until they have control of their elimination behavior.
While you might start housetraining your GSD puppy as soon as you have them, expecting them to have no mishaps early on is unrealistic because theyre physically incapable of controlling themselves.
Begin a positive potty training plan that includes guidance, schedule, and routine for the best results.
Bladder control develops with age, yet a variety of factors can alter this. The amount of water consumption, activity level, and if your German Shepherd has any underlying medical problems can create your pooch to have more regular potty breaks.
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The Crate Training Method
Introduce the crate
To begin, introduce your puppy to the crate in a fun way. Leave the door to the crate open at all times and when your puppy is not looking, sprinkle treats in front of and inside the crate. Do this often, and allow your puppy to explore the crate to find the treats. When your puppy is comfortable going inside the crate to eat the treats, then stuff a hollow chew toy, such as a Kong, with moist kibble or treats, and when your puppy goes into the crate to eat the sprinkled treats, place the stuffed toy inside with your puppy and close the door behind your puppy while he is eating the food out of the Kong. When your puppy is finished, open the door again. Do this until your puppy seems comfortable inside the crate.
Increase the time
Take him outside
When your puppy can remain in the crate, without being afraid, for one and a half hours, then begin the process of potty training him using the crate. To begin, place him in the crate with interesting toys to entertain himself with. After one and half hours goes by, then take him outside on a leash to go potty. When he begins to go, calmly tell him “Go Potty”, and when he finishes praise him and offer him three small treats, one at a time. You can also use your puppy’s kibble as treats.
Give supervised free time
Return to the crate
Repeat
Increase free time
Maximum holding times
How Do You Potty Train A German Shepherd Puppy
When I brought my first GSD puppy home, I did not use any specific method to potty train him. We figured it out eventually, but it took some time, and there were a lot of accidents.
So the next time I got a GSD, I knew that potty training right from the start was something that I wanted to do. I was getting a lot of suggestions from different people, so I educated myself on how best to do it.
So, how do you potty train a German Shepherd puppy? The most effective way to potty train a German Shepherd puppy is by crate training it. Crate training uses your puppys instinct to avoid soiling where it sleeps as part of the training process, thereby making it easy for the puppy to grasp and quickly learn.
Crate training is a process. A simple one, but nonetheless a process. So its important that you follow the advice given below if you want your GSD puppy to be potty trained as quickly and efficiently as possible.
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How To Potty Train Your Puppy Using Potty Bells In 3 Easy Steps
Potty training is one of the very first things that owners teach their puppies. To avoid messy clean ups and bad habits from developing, house training begins the first day the new puppy moves into their new home.There are many schools of thought on potty training dogs. Each one has its merits and not all methods work for each dog. However, one fun way to house train German shepherds is bell training. Bell training works well for German shepherds because they are so clever that they catch on quickly. They are also eager to please their owners and naturally want to eliminate away from their pen. Combine these traits and youll find they are the perfect dog for bell training.
What is bell training?Bell training is simply teaching your puppy to ring a bell rather than silently stare, bark, scratch, or whine at the door when they need to eliminate outside. The puppy learns to ring a potty bell to get the attention of their owner when they need to take care of business.
Dont Punish Or Scold Puppies
Never scold or punish your puppy when they have an accident. Make sure your guests and other family members understand why you are not punishing him for having an accident. This isnt new age dog ownership its simple dog psychology. They wont understand what theyve done wrong, so theyll only develop a fear of you, instead of an understanding that they shouldnt go in the house.
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Training Goal #: Begin Obedience Training
The German Shepherd Dogs work ethic is legendary, and you can encourage your dogs best working traits with early and ongoing training. GSDs excel at obedience, so begin teaching your puppy basic commands like sit, down, and stay, as well as loose-leash walking, from an early age. Enrolling in a puppy obedience class can be extremely helpful both for teaching these commands as well as socialization, and its not too early to begin thinking about CGC training as well.
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Tip : Clean Up Accidents Thoroughly
Since they use their scent to find the right place to eliminate, its critical that you clean up indoor accidents properly. This is also the best way to maintain proper hygiene and good health.
Typical household cleaners might not be enough to remove the traces of odor that your dog leaves behind, so find a cleaner thats made specifically for puppy accidents. Youll also find plenty of excellent pet stain removers that will help you survive this stage of puppyhood.
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How Can I Tell If My German Shepherd Is Potty Trained
If your German Shepherd is potty trained, you will be able to tell by the way they behave when they need to go to the bathroom. They will likely go to the door or a specific spot in your home that you have designated for them to relieve themselves. If your German Shepherd is not potty trained, they may have accidents in the house or try to go to the bathroom in inappropriate places.
You Might Have To Give Up On Your Sleep
A lot of pups and dogs pee more often during the night. It is natural that your dog cant hold their bladder for over four hours in total.
So they might pee on your carpet or any other convenient spot in the house.
To prevent that, initially, wake up several times in the night and take him to the designated spot to pee. This might interrupt your sleep, but in the end, your German Shepherd Puppy will be well trained!
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Finding A Puppy Who Is The Best Fit For You
Finding a good, ethical breeder is one of the most important ways to ensure you are getting off to the right start in obtaining the puppy who will be the best fit for you and your household. Breeders observe their puppies personalities and drives and can match the right puppy to the right individual or family.
You may also wish to acquire a puppy from one of the breed-rescue organizations listed in the AKC Rescue Network currently, over 40 GSD rescues are listed, a testament to the popularity of this magnificent breed. If you choose this route, be sure to discuss with the breed rescue organization your needs and what you are looking for in a puppy they should also be able to help you find the puppy whose temperament and personality will be the best match for you.
Nadia Adams of Oher Tannen German Shepherd Dogs has been a GSD breeder for 15 years and comments, A well-bred German Shepherd Dog is highly intelligent, thriving on praise and wanting to please the owner. This combination makes them very trainable, which is one of the most appealing qualities of the breed.
This breeds high level of intelligence and strong willingness to work mean your GSD must receive consistent and ongoing training from an early age. A bored GSD is a destructive GSD. That said, states Adams, the sky is the limit, if the owner ca devote a good amount of quality time to the dog, especially during the critical first year of life.
Learn Your Puppys Potty Signals
In the course of time and with curiosity, you will learn the signals your puppy makes when it wants to potty.
It may not be easy to denote this at first, but with constant studying of your puppy, you will observe such behaviours. When it displays such signals, take your GSD to the potty spot.
Some of the potty signals are:
- Circling while sniffing.
- Movement towards the door that leads to the outside.
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How To Potty Train Your Puppy On Puppy Pads
If for whatever reason, youre unable to take your dog outside frequently, you can teach them to use a puppy pad instead.
Before we begin, there are two important rules to keep in mind. Firstly, make sure that the pad is placed somewhere with easy to clean floors, for instance, the bathroom. Secondly, make sure that you place more pads down than you think your puppy needs. This is because puppies have a poor aim and often miss the pad entirely.
Here are some steps for training your dog to use a potty pad:
Using Puppy Pads Successfully
Change your puppy pads as they become soiled.
Although, at the beginning of training I like to leave a pad thats soiled with urine only under a clean, new pad so that your pup learns that they are soiling in the right area and their previous odor attracts them back to the pads.
I dont let the dirty pad sit out for days or weeks and smell too strongly. But a lightly soiled pad is attractive to your pup in the beginning stages of training and helps them learn the right area to potty indoors at first.
Once they are reliably using the correct spot, you need not continue to use this trick and can throw away the pads as they become too soiled.
If theyve missed the pad or soiled another area you dont want them to use, then you must clean with an enzymatic cleaner. This pet enzyme cleaner will remove your puppys urine smells, stains, and lingering odors that cause your dog to soil in the same spot.
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German Shepherd Puppies Are Fast Learners
After three or four days, your puppy will understand the procedure, but this does not mean he is completely potty trained. This usually takes about a month, at which time you can start weaning him off the treats. Give him one occasionally, but not every time. Continue giving him verbal praise.
Being extremely diligent with these steps will make housebreaking a German Shepherd simple and easy.
Create A Regular Potty Schedule
To make sure that they dont have an accident inside, try taking them outside immediately in the morning, after each meal, and a couple more times throughout the day. Each time you take your puppy out, repeat the following steps:
- Bring them to an area where they can do their business on grass or another surface that is natural for them for a potty break.
- Walk them to their potty zone on a leash. This will be helpful as someday youll probably want your dog to potty on walks.
- Give a command to let them know that you expect them to go potty now, such as go pee/potty, and then praise your German Shepherd puppy when they do just that.
- When theyre done with their business outside, be sure to reward them. With some puppies, its recommended that you take
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