You may add a food treat during potty training – however, it’s a good idea to offer different reinforcements for specific activities. Doggy cookies are great, but your affection and approval is by far the reward that your dog wants the most.
Unless you have a fenced yard, you can also use these frequent potty breaks to reinforce walking on the leash. Don’t roam aimlessly during potty breaks. Give the German Shepherd puppy five minutes to do the job, and then go back inside.
That will teach the dog that casual walks are just for fun, but potty walks are short and purposeful. You’ll be glad you taught that lesson when the dog wakes you up at 3 o’clock in the morning in a desperate need to potty when the outside temperature is freezing.
To help you monitor the crate training, keep a log of times your dog spends in the crate and how often you take the dog out. In the beginning, you may need to take the dog out every 45 minutes to an hour for short breaks.
When you find that this is working, extend the time by 15-20 minutes each period. In a few weeks, you’ll learn the times of day the dog most commonly needs to potty and how long he can wait between breaks.
Don’t punish him for having accidents. Simply revise the training schedule to shorten the time between potty breaks. If your German Shepherd fails to potty after several breaks, be smart and restrict his access to a kitchen or bathroom.
You don’t want a dog with a full bladder to start active play or get excited. Those distractions often result in accidents. After a successful potty break, you can give full run of the house as an additional reward. This will train the dog to see that after potty, he gets to have fun with the family, which is another reward.
