Hey guys, in my last vlog when I took my puppy Charlie for a walk, I posted my puppy area setup for training and said I would show you.
Things I Used:
- Crate
- Crate Cover, Towel or Blanket
- Bed for Crate
- Play Area Foam Mat (optional, I have hard wood floors foam mat makes cleaning accidents easier, also soft and comfy for Charlie)
- Dog Bowls
- Dog Feeding Mat (Optional)
- Panel Play Pen with Gate
- Training Pad Holder (with Training Pad) (Training Pad holder is optional)
- Night Lights (Optional)
The key to setting this up is to have 4 main functional areas; sleep, eat, poop, and space for your puppy to play. Ideally, the pooping area should be at the furthest point from the sleeping and eating area, however, apartments and homes are different and so are puppies. I’ll illustrate the best setup I had for Charlie when experimenting and training.
This setup was used for short-term pre-outdoor training and not necessarily for long-term situations.
I chose to do this for my puppy’s health and safety because he was not fully vaccinated.
The crate represents the inside and the outside of it represents the outdoors.
Update: The next thing I did was start taking my puppy outdoors. I took him out in the morning after breakfast, then during lunch, then late afternoon a quick late walk. I timed it when he ate and needed to poop also (this was 20-30 minutes) There were a few accidents indoors. I didn’t do any form of negative reinforcement. I did positive reinforcements such as cheering him and giving him treats on our walks. He enjoyed being outdoors and quickly figured out the routine. He viewed the entire house as his crate (So he stopped peeing and pooping in it).
Other than potty training this setup helps with anxiety and independence with puppies. He was left in his puppy area at night until he was mostly potty trained. He was then easily comfortable with being left alone. He doesn’t cry or bark when we leave home, and once he stopped teething nothing got chewed. He currently just sleeps in the couch or look out the window when left alone.
