Big victory for Baxter

B

Baxter Tiberius

Guest
As I have mentioned a few times on here, it has been a process of blood, sweat, and tears trying to train Baxter (8 weeks old) to poop on his patch of grass.

I mean we are talking 10, 20, 30, 40 attempts. Mostly fails. Sometimes he'll poop 4 inches away. Sometimes nowhere near. Other times he seeks it out and goes right on it.

Its amazing how much personal emotion I invest in his success or failure. I don't have any kids, yet I am learning what it means now to be "proud" of your little one. And even that somewhat shameful experience of being disappointed in him. It has been a lot of new emotions for me just in the past week, that I have never experienced before. I'm doing my best to work through them constructively.

I began giving him treats every time he went to the bathroom on the patch of grass in the condo, thanks to your recommendations. Every time he missed it, I would give him a stern but gentle no. It killed me to see his sadness. He really can feel my mood without me even doing a thing.

But I kept giving treats. And each morning I would wake up with crap everywhere. All over the floor. Smeared in. Walked through. Poop foot prints all over.
A total disaster area that I would have to spend 30 minutes cleaning up.
Every morning. Getting no work done. Not even eating breakfast.
While feeling super let down, bewildered, and frustrated.

Tonight I left him in his playpen area as usual. With his crate open. And his patch of grass.
I went and made dinner, and was watching TV. He was perfectly silent for a couple hours.

Then suddenly I heard one really loud "Bark!"
I got up and walked to the back room, expecting a disaster.

He had literally just pooped in the middle of the grass. It was fresh.
And he was calling out to me, to let me know he had done the right thing!

Here I was a full grown man having a dance party with Baxter over this.
I was beaming with pride LOL .... and how cool that he wanted to let me know he had done it????

That's the part that I loved the most.

Obviously he just wanted his treat. But still...
You guys were right. Bulldogs are heavily influenced by food rewards. I never realized how much until now.

Now I finally have a "cause and effect" with Baxter.
This means I can now control the situation and effectively train him.
Now I know what he responds to.
Prior, it was a total mess of inconsistency and confusion in his behavior.

Just wanted to share this. :)
 

sheshistory

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Jul 11, 2010
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SUCCESS! Awesome work Baxter and Daddy!

...And yes, the way to a bulldog's heart (and head) is through his tummy! :)
 

Relley Freitas

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Aug 7, 2013
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Yay!! Congrats to you and Baxter!! Reading success stories during puppy training is always awesome!! :D

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk 4
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
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Oct 8, 2012
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:bravo::goodjob:Yeah Baxter, good job Dad. Congratulations. They sure can be stubborn, but they truly want to please you, and they are totally food/treat motivated. Lol
 

shanon0703

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Aug 9, 2013
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YAY BAXTER!! Good boy!! And good job, Dad!! Potty training can be so frustrating, I know. Way to hang in there!:guycelebrate:
 

Texas Carol

Texas Carol....put the heart in EBN
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Jul 4, 2012
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Brutus & Cami live in Heaven
Your post made my heart swell with happiness for you.

Great job, Dad...kiss that baby for me & Cami (who is a retired breeder
and made lots of these sweet babies for all of us). GOD bless!
 

LariP

..........
Aug 4, 2010
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(HRH) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie & Princess Amelia Pond (Amy)
Yea! Now we'll all just :pray: that Baxter is one of those puppies who once he "get's it" its a new habit!
I thought we were there with Amelia a few times. But we still haven't gotten there with any consistency. She'll be really good but then revert back to making a mess somewhere if we don't notice she's left the room.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
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Good job Baxter? Good job HUMAN! You've communicated clearly! Now Baxter knows what you want from him!!!!
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Jun 19, 2013
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bullmama

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Excellent! Patience and consistency is key :yoda:

He will likely goes 1 step forward and 2 steps back... If/when this happens just remember he's learning to be good with your guidance. Keep up with what you are doing!


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk :)
 

Manydogs

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Oh doesn't that make you feel great?! In my experience(when they GET it)they do so well. Then at about 3-4 months they seem to slip back for awhile. Then all of a sudden-pretty much potty trained! So be pre-pared in case!
 

Jennifer Clark

I can handle the whiskey, if you can handle the nu
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Apr 16, 2013
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:blowkiss::guycelebrate::happy2:YAY BAXTER!!! Way to go Kevin so happy to hear there has been progress!!!
 

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