Stadnhound
New member
Hello again everyone. I briefly introduced myself a couple of weeks ago just before picking up my bully pup. I have since then brought him home and wanted to ask some questions regarding his behavior and attempted potty training progress. I am a first time bulldog owner and noticing this is definitely alot of work! LOL
1)Behavioral- I've had Winston for almost a week now (currently approx 9 weeks old) and wanted to try potty training him right away but his behavior seems to have done a 180 degree change. When I first brought him home he was meek and stuck beside me. I introduced him to his wire crate and he naturally went into it by himself and even brought his toys in with him. The first night I put him in there and of course he whined most of the night but I got up every few hours to take him out. Night two he didn't whine quite as much but had 1 pee accident. I had a bed in there for him so after a couple of nights of maybe 1 accident I decided to replace it with one of my t-shirts. Not too bad. Then the change came. After about the third day came around he is noticable braver with exploring etc. and I have continued the nightly routine. Lately I have been having to coax him into his crate and he now howls alot and has been having more accidents. Last night he did #2 twice in the night. What I think may be wrong is the breeder was feeding him twice a day but when I got him home he was slow on eating to I tried making up for it by giving him the rest at lunch. Tonight I left him in there for only about 15 minutes after dinner to let it "settle" and when I returned he had done it again. I feed him his dinner around 5pm and his last water access is at 8pm. Does anyone have any input? Is he howling because he really needs to poop vs just wanting out of his crate?
2)Potty training- The next question is regarding potty training which kind of goes with the above. As I stated I take him out after waking up from naps, eating, playing, and during the night. The problem I'm running into is I am the only member in the household currently and I have a full time job. I can manage the getting up at night but in the mornings sometimes I cannot get him to go when I need him to. Because of my schedule I cannot always wait for him and subsequently he has accidents. Luckily I can run home at lunch but that may not always be the case. Am I going to be able to potty train him effectively with this type of schedule? I am thinking of connecting the crate to his playen because I am getting tired of cleaning his crate. I was under the impression from all the reading that I have done that they don't like to relieve themselves in there but he must be one of the exceptions as I am constantly having to clean it.
Basically is it normal to be a little overwhelmed at all this. I'm pretty sure these behavior changes are just due to the stresses of being taken away from his litter mates etc. Perhaps I am expecting too much from a young baby? Any input would greatly help me out. I just want to make sure he gets set off on the most positive way as possible.
1)Behavioral- I've had Winston for almost a week now (currently approx 9 weeks old) and wanted to try potty training him right away but his behavior seems to have done a 180 degree change. When I first brought him home he was meek and stuck beside me. I introduced him to his wire crate and he naturally went into it by himself and even brought his toys in with him. The first night I put him in there and of course he whined most of the night but I got up every few hours to take him out. Night two he didn't whine quite as much but had 1 pee accident. I had a bed in there for him so after a couple of nights of maybe 1 accident I decided to replace it with one of my t-shirts. Not too bad. Then the change came. After about the third day came around he is noticable braver with exploring etc. and I have continued the nightly routine. Lately I have been having to coax him into his crate and he now howls alot and has been having more accidents. Last night he did #2 twice in the night. What I think may be wrong is the breeder was feeding him twice a day but when I got him home he was slow on eating to I tried making up for it by giving him the rest at lunch. Tonight I left him in there for only about 15 minutes after dinner to let it "settle" and when I returned he had done it again. I feed him his dinner around 5pm and his last water access is at 8pm. Does anyone have any input? Is he howling because he really needs to poop vs just wanting out of his crate?
2)Potty training- The next question is regarding potty training which kind of goes with the above. As I stated I take him out after waking up from naps, eating, playing, and during the night. The problem I'm running into is I am the only member in the household currently and I have a full time job. I can manage the getting up at night but in the mornings sometimes I cannot get him to go when I need him to. Because of my schedule I cannot always wait for him and subsequently he has accidents. Luckily I can run home at lunch but that may not always be the case. Am I going to be able to potty train him effectively with this type of schedule? I am thinking of connecting the crate to his playen because I am getting tired of cleaning his crate. I was under the impression from all the reading that I have done that they don't like to relieve themselves in there but he must be one of the exceptions as I am constantly having to clean it.
Basically is it normal to be a little overwhelmed at all this. I'm pretty sure these behavior changes are just due to the stresses of being taken away from his litter mates etc. Perhaps I am expecting too much from a young baby? Any input would greatly help me out. I just want to make sure he gets set off on the most positive way as possible.