Using a crate as a tool in the housetraining process works very well. The concept of crate training is based on the fact that a puppy or adult dog does not want to soil or wet her private space. Therefore, when a dog is in a crate, she will let you know when she needs to go out. If you're not around, she will do her best to wait until you come home and walk her.

For crate training to work, however, the crate must be the correct size for the shepherd. If the crate is too big, she can soil one corner and retreat to another. This is particularly true for a puppy that is being housed in an adult's crate — there's too much space. This defeats the purpose of using a crate as a training tool.

Ideally, the crate should be just big enough for the shepherd to stand up without crouching, turn around without getting stuck, and lie down comfortably. If you don't want to buy a new crate every few months, you can either look into purchasing a wire crate that has dividers, or you can borrow crates from other dog owners. If you have to buy three different sizes of crates, it's still going to be a lot cheaper than replacing a precious Oriental rug or buying new wall-to-wall carpeting for your entire first floor.

Linings

You want your shepherd's crate to be comfortable, but you don't want to spend a lot of time washing wet or soiled bedding. When beginning housetraining, therefore, consider lining the crate with a thick layer of newspapers. Puppies and adult dogs may shred some of the top layer to pad their crate a little more, which is fine. With a paper lining, if there's an accident, you can simply pull out the papers and slide new papers in.

When you're more confident that your shepherd can keep his space clean, you can add some soft but easily washable towels to his thick newspaper bedding. Once he's really got the hang of things, you can buy him a nice, comfy crate pad to nestle down in.

Using a Puppy Playpen

For puppies, placing the crate in a large puppy playpen can be the perfect second step in housetraining. The pen gives a puppy more space to play in but doesn't give her too much room.

If you do use a playpen, here are a few helpful tips:

Place the puppy playpen on a hard floor that is easy to clean.

Put a few toys in the playpen to occupy your puppy.

Keep your puppy's water bowl in the playpen area. This prevents spills in the crate and wet bedding.

Use the playpen only when you are around to supervise. Shepherd puppies can climb or knock down almost anything if they are determined.

Do not use the playpen with an adult shepherd.