Using a crate for housetraining

Every dog has a natural desire to keep his home clean and not eliminate where he sleeps. Once you have crate trained your dog and he is comfortable with it as a place to sleep, you can begin housetraining using a crate. 

Housetraining teaches your dog to always eliminate outside the house in the location you have chosen for his toilet area. 

Puppies should be taken to their toilet area after eating, sleeping, playing or every hour. 

Proper crate use helps the puppy learn to "hold it" for longer periods of time because they want to keep their crate clean. 

Until your dog is housetrained, he should always be under direct supervision or in his crate. If your dog is not reliably housetrained and you have to be away for more than two and a half hours, you should set up a long-term confinement area for your dog. For more information on long-term confinement areas, 

For every accident-free month, you can increase the size of the confinement area until your dog is reliably housetrained.

  1. When housetraining your dog, place your dog in his crate with a chew toy. You can have the crate in the same room with you so your dog does not feel isolated.
  2. After your dog has been in the crate for an hour, allow your dog to leave the crate.
  3. Attach the leash to your dog's collar.
  4. Walk quickly with your dog to the outside area you have designated as a toilet area for him
  5. Wait for five minutes for your dog to eliminate.
  6. When your dog has finished eliminating, give him a special treat and praise him enthusiastically. 
  7. After your dog has eliminated in the toilet area, allow him to play in a very limited area inside the house for approximately 30 minutes.
  8. After playtime, return your dog to his crate for a rest. 
  9. Repeat steps 2 to 8 throughout the day.
Note 1: If your dog shows 6 signs of needing to eliminate, such as circling or sniffing, allow him to leave the crate before the hour is up and continue with steps 3 to 8.

Note 2: Walking quickly prevents your dog from eliminating on his way outside.

Note 3: You must closely supervise your dog during playtime to watch for signs that he needs to go to the toilet area, such as circling and sniffing.
  • If your dog does not eliminate after five minutes, walk him back to his crate and leave him inside the crate for another hour. Then repeat steps 3 to 6.
  • Each week, increase the time your dog remains in his crate by 15 minutes until he reaches two hours. You can also increase his playtime by 15 minutes.   

What should I do if I catch my dog eliminating in the wrong spot?

You should never punish your dog if you catch him in the act of eliminating in the wrong spot. This will only teach him to not eliminate where you can see him. He will learn to hold his bowels and bladder when in your presence and find places to hide while he eliminates, which can make housetraining very difficult.

What should I do about housetraining during the night? 

Dogs do not eat and drink as often at night and are not as active as during the day, so they don't need to go to the toilet area as often. If your dog is very young, keep his crate close to your bed so you can hear when he cries, indicating that he needs to go out. As your dog matures, he will eventually be able to last through the night without having to eliminate. Until then, when he has to eliminate at night, take him out quickly and quietly so he learns that it is not playtime, placing him right back into his crate
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Crate training your dog house training

Using a crate for housetraining

Every dog has a natural desire to keep his home clean and not eliminate where he sleeps. Once you have crate trained your dog and he is comfortable with it as a place to sleep, you can begin housetraining using a crate. 

Housetraining teaches your dog to always eliminate outside the house in the location you have chosen for his toilet area. 

Puppies should be taken to their toilet area after eating, sleeping, playing or every hour. 

Proper crate use helps the puppy learn to "hold it" for longer periods of time because they want to keep their crate clean. 

Until your dog is housetrained, he should always be under direct supervision or in his crate. If your dog is not reliably housetrained and you have to be away for more than two and a half hours, you should set up a long-term confinement area for your dog. For more information on long-term confinement areas, 

For every accident-free month, you can increase the size of the confinement area until your dog is reliably housetrained.

  1. When housetraining your dog, place your dog in his crate with a chew toy. You can have the crate in the same room with you so your dog does not feel isolated.
  2. After your dog has been in the crate for an hour, allow your dog to leave the crate.
  3. Attach the leash to your dog's collar.
  4. Walk quickly with your dog to the outside area you have designated as a toilet area for him
  5. Wait for five minutes for your dog to eliminate.
  6. When your dog has finished eliminating, give him a special treat and praise him enthusiastically. 
  7. After your dog has eliminated in the toilet area, allow him to play in a very limited area inside the house for approximately 30 minutes.
  8. After playtime, return your dog to his crate for a rest. 
  9. Repeat steps 2 to 8 throughout the day.
Note 1: If your dog shows 6 signs of needing to eliminate, such as circling or sniffing, allow him to leave the crate before the hour is up and continue with steps 3 to 8.

Note 2: Walking quickly prevents your dog from eliminating on his way outside.

Note 3: You must closely supervise your dog during playtime to watch for signs that he needs to go to the toilet area, such as circling and sniffing.
  • If your dog does not eliminate after five minutes, walk him back to his crate and leave him inside the crate for another hour. Then repeat steps 3 to 6.
  • Each week, increase the time your dog remains in his crate by 15 minutes until he reaches two hours. You can also increase his playtime by 15 minutes.   

What should I do if I catch my dog eliminating in the wrong spot?

You should never punish your dog if you catch him in the act of eliminating in the wrong spot. This will only teach him to not eliminate where you can see him. He will learn to hold his bowels and bladder when in your presence and find places to hide while he eliminates, which can make housetraining very difficult.

What should I do about housetraining during the night? 

Dogs do not eat and drink as often at night and are not as active as during the day, so they don't need to go to the toilet area as often. If your dog is very young, keep his crate close to your bed so you can hear when he cries, indicating that he needs to go out. As your dog matures, he will eventually be able to last through the night without having to eliminate. Until then, when he has to eliminate at night, take him out quickly and quietly so he learns that it is not playtime, placing him right back into his crate

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