German Shepherd Dogs are naturally neat and don’t like to soil their den. As long as you give the puppy enough possibilities to do his business outside of his hole, he will not befoul it.
However, you must actively work to get your new GSD puppy potty trained as quickly as possible. So your task in the potty training is to prevent accidents by letting out the puppy regularly. Yes, even at night.
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How Long Can a German Shepherd Puppy Hold its Bladder?
Let’s talk German Shepherd puppy bladder control. Most puppies leave the nest at about eight weeks of age. From this moment on, they already have much better control over the sphincter muscles than at a period of three weeks.
The sphincter muscles control the opening and closing of the urethra. In the beginning, this sphincter does not function properly and the GSD puppy has little or no control over his bladder. In summation, a puppy has a small bladder. That blending, sphincter muscles that do not yet operate optimally and a small bladder, causes the puppy to pee a much.
There are dozens of factors that influence the time the puppy can hold his pee or stool. Consider, for example, the amount of fluid that a German Shepherd puppy receives, the processing speed of the body, the activity of the pup, and the tension.
How Long Can a German Shepherd Puppy Hold It At Night?
A German Shepherd puppy of eight weeks can’t hold his pee for seven or eight hours. His bladder is not big enough yet. However, it is possible that the puppy is so amazingly tired of all the new impressions that he sleeps throughout the first night.
However, this does not mean that this will also be the case all the following nights. It is most satisfying to place the puppy next to your bed in a crate that is not too big or box for the first few nights.
That way, you’ll be at a hearing distance of the pup, and you will hopefully wake up when he starts to toss and turn. This is the time to take the GSD puppy out to do his business.
If you’re usually vast asleep and you’re afraid you won’t wake up in time, you can always set your alarm accordingly and wake your puppy up to pee. For example, get up at 4 o’clock the first night and allow the German Shepherd puppy to do his or her needs.
If your puppy is still calm and did not have to go, you can set the alarm half an hour later the next day. Keep doing this until it is no longer necessary to let your puppy pee at night. You should expect to make a midnight potty run for at least a few weeks until he’s able to hold it long enough.
To make the German Shepherd puppy housebroken as quickly as possible, it is up to you to prevent accidents. As soon as your puppy goes to lie in his crate during the day when he wants to go to sleep, you can leave him alone in the living room at night.
It is also vital that you continue practicing from the first day that the puppy is in your home. If the puppy is clean at night (often around 12 weeks), you can consider not to close the crate at night or to exchange it for a dog bed.
How to Potty Train Your German Shepherd Puppy?
Suppose you want your German Shepherd puppy house trained as quickly as possible because you want to keep your home tidy. That’s perfectly understandable! But potty training a puppy is one of the most time-consuming tasks out there.
Unfortunately, no method guarantees that you are successful with the housebreaking within a particular time. It is a natural process. Of course, some tactics can speed up the housebreaking process, but much depends on the puppy, the living conditions, and how you, as the owner, handle the situation.
A variety of factors affect the rate of the housebreaking process of pups. There are many factors you as a dog owner can not control. It is, therefore, not possible to determine in advance how much time it will take before your puppy is housebroken.
Every dog is different, just like every owner, which always creates a unique combination. Your dog quickly changes according to your nature as simple. Apart from that, dogs cannot be compared with each other because the health of each dog is different. Puppies have a lower resistance than adult dogs, causing them to get sick faster. And when your puppy is sick, this will not encourage the toilet training process.
Weather conditions also affect that process of potty training a puppy. In the summer, you are more often outside than in the winter, so the chance of indoor accidents in the summer is naturally lower.
With a good breeder, the mother dog has a whelping box and cleans the pups’ stools. As soon as the puppies can walk, the breeder puts newspapers in front of the whelping box. The breeder helps the puppies the first few times doing their needs in the newspapers. He does this by putting the pups in the newspapers as soon as they wake up. The German Shepherd pups learn this very quickly.
Not all dog owners are just as stubborn and consistent with raising their puppies. Motivation and discipline play a significant role in this. Sometimes they just do not want to go outside with the pup, because of rain, cold or other reasons. Here lies the difference between a motivated dog owner and the less motivated one. If there is a tight potty training schedule that is followed consistently, the GSD puppy will be housebroken faster.
The longer a puppy is left alone, during the day or at night, the higher the chance that he will do his needs indoors. Ideally, you would take a few weeks off to raise the puppy and get it toilet trained. You need to give proper time to prepare outdoor.
There are many different dog breeds, each with its characteristics. But even dogs of the same kind do not respond the same. Just like people, dogs learn at their own pace. A period in which a puppy will be housebroken, can therefore not be given.
The quality of the relationship between you and your dog is of great importance. The better you know your dog, the sooner the puppy will be housebroken. The more time you spend with the puppy, the better you can anticipate dog behavior. In the end, you’ll know exactly when your puppy needs to pee or poop.
Every living situation is unique. Housebreaking a puppy, when you live in a house with a garden, is more natural than if you live in an apartment. Do you have a family with children, or you live alone with the German Shepherd puppy? In a family with children, you have to divide the attention, and there is less time to watch the puppy. Someone who lives alone and does not work has all the care and time for the puppy.
How Old Was Your puppy When He Came to Your House?
Regularly you can pick up the puppy from the breeder when he is eight weeks old. When the puppy is a bit older, it is more challenging to teach him new things, and so the housebreaking might take longer.
In short, it is difficult to estimate how long it takes for your puppy to be housebroken. It may be that you suddenly realize that your puppy has not done anything in the house for a week, but even then, an accident can still happen. No one method works best.
The prevention of accidents through an excellent potty training schedule forms the basis of the potty training. A crate is an ideal tool to housebreak your puppy. Try to avoid accidents as much as you can.
