GSD Puppy Crating time versus Elimination Intervals & Teething.

by Ashraf Youssef
(Cairo,Egypt)

Hello Debbie,

I have just downloaded your eBook "Your Total German Shepherd Dog" and I find it very interesting.

I have gone through your recommended max. time to keep the GSD puppy in the crate, as you mentioned 2 months max. 2hrs, 3months max. 3hrs,and so on until 6months or older 6hrs.

My question is : Is that period related to the GSD maximum endurance inside the crate, or is based on the Puppy system that has to eliminate no more than those mentioned times?

In other words whats the maximum time that a GSD puppy can stay without eliminating at his 2 months, 3, 4, 5 & 6 months? ( I have noted that this has much to do with the feeding schedule)

The other question please is about teething: How long does the teething process usually take? starting from the 4th month?

Thank you very much and please accept my congratulations for the great work you have and are doing on your website and all relevant postings and educating on GSD.

Kind Regards
Ashraf Youssef


Total German Shepherd:


Hi Ashraf,

Thanks for writing and I'll do my best to answer your questions. First concerning teething - it can last for several months and does vary a bit from puppy to puppy - just do yourself a favor and keep a lot of chewable toys available to your maturing German Shepherd puppy at all times and you should do well.

In most cases I would say your GSD puppy should easily be done with it by around 7 to 8 months of age if not sooner. Talk to your vet if you have any specific questions about your own German Shepherd puppy just to be safe.

And concerning crate times, those times per age were only estimates and not hard core lengths of time so, for example, your 3 month old puppy may not be able to "hold it" for 3 hours - especially if it just had a meal or a lot to drink before you crated it. And your 4 month old puppy might be able to go a little longer than 4 hours in the crate - especially if it's asleep most of the time.

So you'll just have to really learn to understand your own puppies limitations concerning these times. I always suggest you go less than those expectations personally because it cuts down on mistakes, and makes the crate training go a little easier. And your puppy will not have as much trouble with potential bladder and kidney infections if you don't make it hold it for longer than it realistically can for multiple times.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is just play it by ear and learn to understand you own puppies limitations and signals and you will have a better idea than by trying to follow an absolute time table which will not work for all puppies or dogs. Especially when they're first learning the routine.

Those times are just a suggestions to help when you are first starting out crate training so you'll kind of have a guide as to what to expect. Good luck with your dog!