Potty Training Goals

Q: I watched all of the Palace training videos and still have am not sure what the ultimate goal is. Am I Training the dog to go in the crate and not outside? My primary goal is to have my pup learn to signal me when he needs to go outside. I’m not opposed to training him to the crate and just want to do what’s best.

A: The first step is for you to decide what your goal is-indoor or out. It sounds like you prefer outdoor training so that is the routine you enforce. The basic steps are to pick your puppy up from the cage after resting or sleeping and carry him outside and stay until elimination occurs. Then pour on the praise. Secondly keep your puppy outside as much as possible to create more opportunity for him to get it right and get more praise. With outdoor training as the goal the pad in the palace is an “emergency” option only, and a sleeping place.