General puppy training information

[bitterrootbullies]

Here is some general info on puppies and this goes for all puppies, purebreds or mutts. As a general rule, puppies can only hold their bladder and bowels for 2 hours more than their age in months. I know that doesn't make sense so here is an example. An 8 week old puppy is 2 months old so 2 (months old) plus 2 hours is a total of 4 hours. Therefore an 8 week old puppy must go potty every 4 hours. A 16 week old puppy (4 months) can go approximately 6 hours (4 months + 2hours) between trips outside. These are general rules. Smaller breeds have smaller bladders so they may not be able to hold it as long. GSPs are not small dogs and so as long as there are no medical problems they should fit this general rule.
Housebreaking is much simpler if you have a very consistent routine. Crate training helps tremendously. Feed the puppy on a schedule, they should be getting 3 meals a day until they are about 6 months old and then can go to 2 meals per day. Do not give them free access to food if you can avoid it. Cat food is not the same as dog food and puppies should not have access to it. Do not put water in the crate with the puppy, but they should have free access to water any other time.

When the puppy cannot be supervised, it should be in its crate. This avoids accidents from happening when you are not watching. If an accident does happen, do not punish the dog. They don't know what you are mad about and will only learn not to pee/poo when you are around them. Simply clean it up very well using an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle to get all the smell.

Each time your puppy comes out of the crate, take them outside immediately. Go outside with the puppy so that you know if they have gone potty. As soon as they are finished heap on the praise, tell them what good little puppies they are for going outside. If they go poo and pee when outside, then they can come in for some play time out of their crate. If they don't potty outside then they come in the house and go back into their crate. Try again in about 5 minutes. Puppies shouldn't have free play time until they have pottied outside. Play time can be outside as well, but its better if they go potty first so if your puppy tends to go outside and play and forgets to go potty, try putting them on leash when you first take them outside and only allow them off leash to play, after they have gone potty.
If you are consistent with this routine, the puppy will learn very quickly that they are supposed to go potty outside.
When the puppy is playing in the house, make sure your are supervising closely. If they start sniffing around, get them back outside.

Crate training:
The puppy that is sleeping all day and then staying up all night simply has a messed up routine. You can change this with a little persistance. First of all don't allow the pup to sleep all day, get her out for walks, play time etc. several times during the day. The more exercise she gets, the more tired she will be during the evening and the better chance for a good nites sleep.
I can't remember how old you said she was now so refer to the above housebreaking time table to see if she is ready to sleep through the whole night or if she still needs to potty during the night. If she is old enough that she should be able to hold it the whole night, take her outside for one last potty break just before you go to bed. Put her in her crate and leave her there. Do not let her out if she cries!!! This may take a few nights and you may have to listen to her cry for a while, but if you are persistant she will eventually give up. Even if she does still need to go out during the night, do not open up that crate door if she is crying! Wait till she stops before you let her out. At first this may mean you have to quickly open up the door the instant she stops to take a breath! Each time you open the door when she is crying, teaches her that crying makes you open the door and she will keep doing it. However, if you wait till she is quiet (even for a second) you will teach her that being quiet gets you to open the door.
Another thing is make the crate a good place to be, feed them their meals in there and give them special treats only in their crate.

Obedience/training:
Positive/reward based training works on all dogs and is much better, faster and more humane than punishment based training methods that use choke chains and leash corrections or even worse methods. Try to find a good "clicker" trainer in your area to help you get started training your pup. Puppies can start learning at just a couple weeks old so your pups are definitely old enough to start training. A good puppy socialization class is a great way to start out.