Please keep in mind that the muscle that controls the bladder does not develop to the point of being able to hold back urine until the 16th week after birth and that is just the start point. Up until then it is pretty much a matter of the dog being near the potty when it needs to go, which obviously is up to it's human.
When you crate train you have to be there to get the puppy out to potty very regularly and you have to time those outings along with when the pup last ate and drank.
Most busy people do not have the time to be near a crate for the amount of time it takes to properly crate train. All you have to do is be off in your timing a few times and the pup starts to learn that it has to potty in the crate. There is noting else the pup can do. They have no control and can't let themselves out.
Many people here use puppy play pens rather than crates because the puppy has access to puppy pads when no one is able to get the puppy outside to potty.
Gracie was trained to puppy pads and when she was older we started taking her outside regularly so she learned to potty outside (which she prefers) This was much easier for me than having to run her outside all the time when she was tiny.
It is time consuming to train a puppy and you have to do it right or you will end up with a grown up dog that does not understand what you want it to do. I have seen dogs that know what they are NOT supposed to do but they never learned the behavior that their owner actually wanted them to do instead. It's very sad. |