It is normal to have a lot of crying and distress. Some families will report a puppy that settles in quickly, but these families are not the norm and don't judge your success by them.  They may pat themselves on the back and share their experiences as the "expert" but they just lucked out by getting an extra easy puppy!  Be patient, be relaxed, comfort your puppy and after a couple days of settling in, start working on your separation and kennel training.  Don't expect any degree of initial potty training success.   Once your puppy has settled you can begin the real work of training!  

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Some tips to decrease crying at night time and during the day: 

 

Have your puppy practice spending time in his sleeping area for short periods of time during the day.  Place your puppy in their sleeping area and ignore them completely until they have stopped crying.  This may take 10 minutes, it may take an over an hour.  Once they are silent and accepting of their location for about 5 minutes, retrieve them and take them outside for a little play.  This is their reward for accepting where you left them, and waiting quietly.  If you give the puppy attention of any kind before they quiet themselves, you are rewarding the loud and demanding behaviour and they will continue to carry on.  

 

Some puppies are so determined to have you near them that they will continue to cry, no matter how long and hard you try this “passive-reward” approach to separation training. In the case of these extra determined puppies, it’s time to add a negative consequence to this loud and demanding behaviour.  Get a squirt bottle and when the puppy starts to call out and demand you give him attention, say “no” and squirt him in the mouth.  Be very consistent.  Have the squirt bottle near at hand.  If the puppy acts like he loves the water, just add a few table spoons of vinegar to give it a “tang” that puppies detest.  The idea is to teach the puppy that when he cries, shrieks and demands he either gets nothing (no eye contact, no verbalization from you, no connection) or he actually gets a negative consequence (the squirt bottle).  On the other hand, when the puppy is quiet for 5 solid minutes and you go and get the puppy and make it a low-key (no excitement please!) cuddle time or bathroom break, he gets a “reward” for being quiet and that’s connection with you and a happy time.  He will VERY quickly learn that being loud and demanding gets him nothing or a wet squirt and being quiet gets him YOU!  As time goes on, you don’t have to run over every time you hear he’s quiet, but limiting going to your puppy to moments when he IS quiet will reinforce that barking and crying actually repels you.

 

Info for the first few weeks:

Night:

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For the first two nights, your puppy will appreciate having someone sleeping nearby to decrease their loneliness.  You can have him sleeping in his daytime location (exercise pen with the kennel OPEN and a peepad close by).  Alternatively, if you want him in your bedroom, he should have his kennel opening into a small, contained space only as big as a the peepad that should be placed infront of the kennel door.  You can set his kennel in a large rubbermaid with a peepad infront or reduce your exercise pen to its smallest possible size. Do not close the kennel door on your puppy, as this is a new experience for them and you need to train them to accept this.  See below for kennel training tips.

 

 You should place a pee pad/paper in the small, contained space you've created in front of his kennel and have a dish of water and softened food down as young puppies need access to a food and water source at all times, as they are predisposed to hypoglycemia. 

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After two nights a decision needs to be made to either:

1. continue this routine until the puppy sleeps through the night without a pee pad (approximately 4 months of age) after which time you can have the kennel door closed if the puppy is sleeping close enough to you that you can hear his cries should he have an "off" night and need a potty break.

2. if he is disturbing you too much, after two nights, move him to another area of the house (same as in daytime), with a pee pad down, and access to food and water, toys etc.  Be sure to leave his kennel door open.  If he cries, you need to ignore him.  

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You will note that neither night time suggestion is to close the door on the puppy.  Your puppy will require training to relax in the kennel with the door closed.  This training can certainly begin after the first few nights, but it would be a daytime exercise.  Your puppy will require freedom to get up to piddle or poop multiple times through the night and you'll spare yourself a lot of sleepless grief if you just put out the peeped and start getting up with him in the night once he's old enough to only need 1 or 2 breaks.  This would typically be around the 12-16 weeks mark.

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A tip for better night time success: Have your puppy practice spending time in his sleeping area for short periods of time during the day.  Place your puppy in their sleeping area and ignore them completely until they have stopped crying.  This may take 10 minutes, it may take an over an hour.  Once they are silent and accepting of their location for about 5 minutes, retrieve them and take them outside for a little play.  This is their reward for accepting where you left them and waiting quietly.  If you give the puppy attention of any kind before they quiet themselves, you are rewarding the loud and demanding behaviour and they will continue to carry on.

 

Day:

If you want use kennel training to aid the potty training process and avoid paper or pee pads peeps completely:  You must work through the kennel training process (week 8 and 9) and then you must be available to let your kennelled 10-12 week old puppy out every one to two hours. She should be taken from the kennel to the spot you want her to eliminate outside.  After you have watched her go to the bathroom, she can then have about 45 mins of supervised play.  If they choose to eat during this time, take them outside within 5 minutes of eating. If you have worked through their kennel training, they should return to a closed kennel within an hour of their last successful bathroom break in order to encourage "holding it" until the next one.

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Your training area should be close to the kitchen so your puppy can be placed there quickly if you cannot supervise him (under four months, for time such as making meals, answering the door, etc).  

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Some age related expectations:

The 8-9 week old puppy needs to work on separation training and kennel training with you.  This is not an appropriate age to close the door on a puppy for more than about an hour.  Because of this, kennel doors need to be open at night time.  Generally, there is no potty training success during this age range.  You are just helping the puppy settle in, teaching them that you will only give them attention if they are quiet and learning their bathroom cues.  You can also regularly introduce them to the yard and take them out to potty every 1-2 hours, depending on naps.

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The 10-12 week old puppy can now wait in his kennel for 1-2 hours, provided you have worked diligently on your kennel training skills for the first two weeks.

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The 12 to 14  month old puppy can be kennelled for up to two hours, then put out to eliminate, eat and play for one hour before returning to a closed kennel. 

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A 14-16 week old puppy may be able to hold for 3 hours, but if any accidents are happening in the kennel, don't try to move up the length until they are having success for several weeks.

 

The 4-6 month old puppy can hold for up to four hours. They can then be out of their kennel for one and a half to two hours before returning to a closed kennel.

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Essentially, we calculate that he will be able to wait to be let out one hour per each month of his age.  For example, Barkley, the three month old puppy, can wait two hours. Will he choose to wait for two hours?  Likely not, unless you put him back in his kennel after his playtime or he is old enough that he has grasped the idea of waiting and holding it until you take him out again. But he is capable of waiting the two hours and can be encouraged to wait this length of time by closing him in his kennel after his playtime is over.

 

Pups should be over 8 months of age before they are caged for the maximum of 6 daylight hours in one time period.  A limit of 6 total hours per day maximum kennelled (not including the night) should be observed to avoid stress related to over caging. 

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I close my new puppy in the kennel and he cries and caries on.  Is he afraid of the kennel?  How do I get him used to this?

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Given the choice, the vast majority of our puppies choose to sleep in a kennel with their siblings.  The only difference between this and when you put your puppy in the kennel for his first few times is companionship and restriction.  Your puppy is used to going into the kennel with friends and having to hang out there on his own is new and somewhat lonely. Your training will help him actually enjoy the experience.  Additionally, he isn't used to being closed in a kennel without the freedom to come and go as he chooses.  So he's crying as a protest and saying "hey you, let me out of here!".  Kennel training is a valuable tool for potty training and safety and with just a tiny bit of time and effort, your puppy will actually love resting in his own "cave".

 

Kennel training is similar to separation training.  We'd suggest waiting until your puppy has gone to the bathroom and is played out before you try it the first few times.  Once he's getting tired, just put him in, close the door and walk away. If he starts crying, don't stand there looking at him or talk to him about how sad it is... this will only encourage the poor behaviour.  It may take 5-60 mins to settle on your first few attempts.  As he gets more practice, this settling period will dramatically decrease.  Once you hear he is quiet for about 5 minutes, walk over, open the kennel, pick him up and take him outside for a potty break.  He did a great job!  Giving him attention is his reward for accepting where we put him and relaxing there.  Don't make a big deal about it... no treats and wild praise.  Those rewards create excitement and we want everything about the kennel to be relaxing and quiet. Just open the door and let him out or pick him up and take him out.  Mission complete.  Then repeat this little training exercise a couple times a day.  

 

Is it mean or detrimental to kennel a younger puppy so frequently?

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Younger puppies sleep a lot of the time as their energy is going into their rapid growth.  Essentially, they will play wildly for brief durations and then "crash" for hours.  If you kennel them after their playtime, you are encouraging them to briefly hold it when they wake up, which gives you the opportunity to take them straight outside and eliminates their chance to wake up, sneak off and make a mess. In conclusion, when you are kennelling a younger puppy you are essentially kennelling him during the frequent and lengthy nap times he would have been taking anyways.

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At what age can my puppy make it through the night without a potty break?

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By four months of age, the majority of puppies can sleep through the night with the door shut and no need for paper.  This can be achieved a bit earlier by closing them in their kennel for a couple hours at a time, at various points in the day.  This helps them learn how to hold it.  By practicing this skill, you are preparing them to make it through an entire night.  To assist with making it through the night, we'd recommend picking up food and water about 2 hours before bedtime once they are 4 months of age until they are completely potty trained.

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Should I use "indoor alternatives"?

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Outside training is the fastest and most natural training for a puppy.  Using a kennel training only, with no inside paper or pee pads, is successful only for people who are home the required amount and can fully focus on the puppy’s needs. Your puppy can start using your yard from the first day he is home.  In the winter, we'd suggest continuing with outside potty breaks until about -15C.  The key is watching your puppy and keeping it brief.  You don't want the puppy to get too chilled.