In their own way, dogs are surprisingly good at keeping their dens clean. They will do anything to avoid soiling the den with bodily wastes. (This is one reason why having a crate is so important.) However, this desire for cleanliness is not all because of high standards. It is the outgrowth of a long-ago survival strategy.

That strategy required pups to eliminate away from the den; by doing so, the smell of the dogs’ waste wouldn’t draw predators to the den.

As soon as the puppies are sufficiently mobile, their mother will start nudging them away from the nest when they begin to show signs of needing to eliminate. Eventually, the puppies realize when they need to go, they will scurry away from the nest.

• Get a Crate: Crates tap into a dog’s basic desire to keep its den clean. It will do anything to avoid pooping or peeing there. That avoidance gives your puppy the incentive to develop the bowel and bladder control that is essential to effective house training. Your puppy will also learn to see the crate as his place to relax and sleep.

• Pick a Potty Spot: Before you can teach your do to do its business in a certain spot, you have to pick that certain spot. Generally, it is somewhere close to your house.

• Give Signals: Before taking your pup outside give him a verbal signal like “Go Potty” then while outside repeat the phase “Go Potty” (or something similar, just make it short) while your dog is actually urinating or defacting. Then follow up with a delicious treat reserved only for potty breaks. This way when he hears this phrase he will know it is potty time. Eventually, your puppy will associate the phrase with deed, and potty pretty close to when you say it. Such skills will come in handy when you need him to go quickly. But Great Dane’s love to take their time and “smell the roses”, so to say.

• Make Scents: The canine snout has about 220 million cells designed specifically to detect scents. Adding to that incredible scent-detecting capability is the moisture in and on your puppy’s nose, which lets it collect large numbers of scent molecules that together amplify what it is already smelling. You can use your puppy’s amazing scent capabilities to your advantage in potty training. The next time your puppy pees, wipe its bottom with a paper towel or soft cloth and save it.

  At the next bathroom break, take the cloth and your puppy to the outdoor potty spot, and place the cloth on the spot. In all likelihood, your puppy will sniff the cloth intently, then re-anoint it. Repeat this process a few times, and soon your puppy will do its business on the potty spot without the cloth or any other prompting from you.

• Make A Schedule: The timing of the trips to the potty isn’t completely up to you at first. That is because at first a puppy can not hold it’s bladder for very long. In fact, puppies younger than 4 months of age may need 12 to 14 bathroom breaks a day. Definitely when first waking up, after a nap, after eating, and after play time.

• Be Vigilant: While your puppy is not in his crate, you must watch him carefully. If your pup shows any sign that it needs to potty, scoop it up and take it outside to his spot. Then when he goes outside praise it enthusiastically (which you should be doing every time anyway!) If you don’t get to your puppy in time and put your puppy in his crate put don’t punish him. Just clean up the mess without comment.

• Be Patient: Don’t expect your Great Dane Puppy to be housebroken overnight. It takes time, understanding and patience. Your puppy needs time not only to figure out what you want it to do, but also to develop the physical ability to control its urges to poop or pee until it gets to the potty place.