On the first day you have your puppy in its new home, take it outside to its designated potty area every half hour. On the second day, take it out every hour. If there are no accidents, you can adjust to every hour and half on the third day, and to two hours by the fourth day. Two hours would be the maximum amount of time not to go out during the day if the young puppy is running about and playing. If the puppy is alone in a crate it will mostly sleep, since it doesn’t have water or food he can hold his bladder longer. To help reduce nighttime potty breaks, take food away after 6:00 PM and water after 7:00 PM. In the morning, take the puppy outside immediately, since it’s been holding its bladder all night.
We recommend that you tie a large bell or two to your doorknob with ribbon, low enough for the puppy to reach with its nose, and teach it to ring the bell each time before you let it outside. This works great in a large home or very active homes where you are not always aware of the poor puppy patiently waiting by the door.
Potty training normally takes around a week. Do not blame or punish your puppy if it does soil in the house, for it is just a baby and will not know why you are upset. Plus, an accident also means that you missed the signs that your puppy needed to go outside.