Potty Training 

When you bring your new puppy home there will be some hard work involved in training your new puppy. While we do our best to lay the groundwork for their training and potty training, he/she is likely not going to be potty trained or know many commands when you pick him or her up. Potty training can be hard but we have some great recommendations that will help your new addition learn the ropes quicker and save you some gray hairs in the process. 

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First being vigilant of your puppy's potty cues is a must. Keeping a close eye out for patterns of actions prior to them pottying can help you know when they need to go. There are also a few products that you can get to help your dog communicate with you when he or she needs to go potty, like bells, buttons or a doggie doorbell. Some people have great success with these! There are many different types so pick one that works best for you, your home and your dog size and ability

Second, you must pick a word for potty time and use it consistently so they learn that word.

Third, taking them out frequenlty and using the potty word so they connect the area with the word. 

4 Square method

Between the ages and 8 weeks and 6 months old your puppy needs constant supervision. This is for their safety and your sanity. Unfortunately there will be times this is not going to possible like when you sleep, need to run to the store or have work or social obligations to attend. After raising many many puppies and trying many different methods to achieve this, I have found a way that works perfectly and I want to share it with you.

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The goal is to provide you puppy a safe area where they can sleep, play, have access to food and water as well as designated area to potty. This keeps them safe and happy while you are busy with other things and helps them learn the concept of "here not there". This is a concept they have been learning since they were able to walk while in my care and should be continued until fully potty trained.

The concept is simple, dogs are naturally clean animals and will learn there is a correct place to potty as not to dirty there sleeping and playing area. As they get older they learn outside is the best place, but until they can make due with a designated "ok" area to go if they cant hold it. Now this should not replace taking them outside frequently but only be used when not they are not able to be supervised. 

Needed Items 

You are going to need a few items. A doggie playpen, a kennel or crate, food and water bowls, and a some sort of potty product. Listed below are some of the specifications or types of products I recommend for this.​

• Sturdy playpen no less than 38 inches tall (Aussies are very agile and can climb anything shorter with a little determination by just 8 weeks old) This is the style I recommend.

• Dog crate/kennel that is appropriate sized. If the crate is to large this will not work as they will designated an area in it for pottying. The crate should be large enough to stand, turn around and lay down in comfortably, no more.  You can achieve this by getting a small/medium crate and upgrading it as they grow or you can get a crate that will fit them as an adult but it must include a divider to reduce the area they have access to unitl they need more space

• Water can be provided in 2 ways, if they do not play in it a simple bowl that does not tip over is fine. Alternatively a water bottle or bowl that clips on the playpen walls works as well.

• Last but not least a potty area. I do not recommend pee pads. With in moments of you putting them down, your new puppy will figure out they are fun to shred and play with. The only exception to this is if you get a pee pad holder that completely encloses the pad. You can also use a pan that holds paper or wood pellets, newspaper, or grass pads.

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Building your puppy area. 

• First choose an area in your home for your new puppies set up. You want this area to be on tile or hard flooring.

• Second make the playpen into a square or rectangle. 

• Third, place the dog crate in one corner of the playpen.

• Forth, The goal is to divide the playpen into 4 clear sections. Place you bowl or bottle for water that can not be split in one corner. Place your potty system in the third corner and last but not least leave 1/4th of the pen clear adding only a few toys to keep them busy.

It should look something like this...

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Reasons to crate train your puppy 

There are many potential situations where having your dog crate trained will come in handy. Even if you do not plan to utilize a crate often when they become an adult it is a good idea to train them to be comfortable with the crate as there may be times they need to be crated for example, evacuating for natural disasters, vet visits, travel, boarding, etc..