I have successfully bladder trained 15 week old Carter. We are currently working on bowel training...I can never catch the little man, he is so sneaky!
My answer would be
CONSISTENCY. I bring my dogs out every hour and command them to "go potty". Carter does it as soon as I say so, Lexi (who's one year old) is going through her "teenage years" and goes when SHE feels like it, although she is 100% trained. When I am not home, they both hold it (only a few hours at a time since their bladder's are so small). Remember that this is
training. Treats play a big part in any training.
I started by telling them "go potty and you'll get a treat". Now that they're trained, I have replaced the treat with praise. These little guys LOVE to make you happy. I praise and clap and say "good boy/girl, go potty" when they do.
They see how happy I am and make sure I'm watching when they go! My neighbours probably think I should be committed.
As for the crate training...neither of mine are crate trained but I have read suggestions on this forum. Use the search button and I'm sure you'll find them.
Welcome to YT! This is a great place to be.
