How to Potty Train a Dalmatian

Hello Ariel, At 8 weeks of age I am guessing that you recently brought pup home? If that's the case, then know that what you are experiencing is completely normal. Pup is getting used to sleeping alone and that's an adjustment. Usually the first five days are the worst. It typically takes about two weeks for most pups to adjust completely; however, you can help that adjustment be as smooth as possible by doing the following. 1. When pup cries but doesn't have to go potty (like after you return them to the crate when they just went potty outside) be consistent about ignoring the crying until they go back to sleep. The more consistent you are the quicker the overall process tends to take even if it's hard to do for the first couple weeks. 2. When pup does truly need to go potty (when it's been at least 2 hours since pup last peed), take pup to go potty outside on a leash to keep pup focused and things calmer. Don't give treats, food, play, or much attention during these trips - boring and sleepy is the goal, then right back to bed after. This helps pup learn to only wake when they truly need to go potty and be able to put themselves back to sleep - helping them start sleeping longer stretches sooner and not ask to go out unless they actually need to potty. Pup will generally need 1-2 potty trips at night even after trained for a couple months though due to a small bladder. 3. Wait until pup asks to go potty by crying in the crate at night before you take them - opposed to setting an alarm clock, unless pup is having accidents in the crate and not asking to go out. This gives pup the chance to learn to start falling back to sleep when they wake in light sleep if they don't really need to go potty, instead of being woken up all the way when they could have held it a bit longer. 4. Practice the Surprise method from the article I have linked below to help pup get used to crate time during the day too - so that there is less crying at night due to pup adjusting to being alone. Surprise method - only give treats during daytime practice, not at night though: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Once pup is can handle a bit more crate time, I recommend the crate training method from the article I have linked below for potty training also. In the meantime, you can use a combination of the crate training method and the tethering method, to keep pup closer to you to avoid accidents. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside I also recommend the free PDF e-book After You Get Your Puppy, which can be downloaded at the link below. www.lifedogtraining.com/freedownloads Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jodie, 9 weeks is a great age to start, but also know that the process will probably take at least a couple of months and pup's bladder capacity is really small right now, 3 hours max while in a crate during the day. Pup will probably need trips outside once or twice during the night too for a little while longer. I suggest crating pup at night and waiting until puppy wakes up crying to take him outside, rather than setting an alarm though. The crate can either be in your room or in another room with an audio baby monitor set up so that you will hear pup's nightly wakings. Keep night trips outside very calm, boring, and to the point, then straight back into the crate, without playing, treats, or lots of petting - so that pup will only wake up at night when he really needs to go potty and not for other reasons - and will thus start sleeping through the night sooner when his bladder capacity grows enough to be able to. Check out the crate training method from the article linked below. You can also follow the Tethering method found in that article but the crate training method tends to be the quickest way to train with the fewest amounts of accidents if you can follow it closely. It takes a lot of work at first but in the end can actually be the easiest, with fewer setbacks. Take pup out as often as is recommended in the article while you are home. When you are not home and pup is in the crate someone will still need to take pup out at least every 3 hours at this age too due to his age. That time will increase by one hour each month - so at 3 months of age pup can hold it for a maximum of 4 hours, 4 months = 5 hours, ect... Until 8 hours at 8 months as the maximum time for an adult dog. Crate Training method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden