Poopy Potty Tips n Tricks?

[Baxter Tiberius]

Well Baxter has been "fully" potty trained numerous times now (LOL) only to (as you guys warned) regress consistently once in awhile.

His new thing, for some reason, is to simply drop a deuce right in the middle of the living room floor.

Even though his designated spot is right where its always been, no more than 20 feet away, through his doggy door out onto the balcony.

Sometimes he will also leave a pee puddle right on the floor. Thank God I have 100% solid surface floors.

I don't know how the hell you guys do it with English Bulldog + Carpet. I really don't.

I know we all post about this stuff, and the answers are almost always the same, but I was hoping for maybe some nuggets of wisdom.

He is now pushing 7 months, and still does this.

To make it even more interesting....

He will often go out on the balcony, walk 10 feet away from his designated patch of grass (which is quite large I might add) ... and poop on the tile.

The only consistent thing about it?

He only does this when he thinks I am not home.

If I am there, in the room, or he knows im in the house, he will go right where he's supposed to.

This only happens when I leave, or disappear to the other end of the condo for extended periods.

So there's some element of disregard ? / laziness ? / purposeful disobedience ? going on here.

He knows where to go, and goes there if I'm around.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dana F]

Don't know what to tell ya. Stinky is a year old and 2 months ago he potty on the rug by the front door. I was so mad at him...he didn't tell me he had to go.

 

[bullmama]

but I was hoping for maybe some nuggets of wisdom.

purposeful disobedience ?


Any suggestions?

Bullies are smarter than you think!

I had to at your "nuggets of wisdom".... pun intended?

I think he knows you are not home, and is therefore punishing you for leaving him alone, doing the one thing he knows will piss you off.

Suggestions? Only one I have that I can stand by is crate trained when not at home.... he obviously knows what he is supposed to do from what you are saying.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, I totally agree with Lisa, crate train him when your not home, until he's older, and maybe outgrows this, or until he proves trustworthy of not going in the house. Good luck.

 

[Manydogs]

Hi, I totally agree with Lisa, crate train him when your not home, until he's older, and maybe outgrows this, or until he proves trustworthy of not going in the house. Good luck.

and Monica

That sounds like the best solution. Some people say that dogs CAN'T be "spiteful" HA!! I have had enough of them to know that is not true! If you are not going to bring him in the room with you, where you can see him-then crate him. SOMETIMES too much freedom is temptation. I have had many-and some can be trusted, and some can never be trusted!!

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

I honestly don't know what his motivation is. I've tried to figure it out many times. I don't think he's upset that he's alone. The vibe I get is that when I'm not there, he thinks he can get away with it. I know he doesn't prefer going on the patch of grass on the balcony. If I'm watching, he'll go there. If he thinks I'm not home, he'll go anywhere he feels like it.

Another example: I decided to give him a little more water today. He was playing behind me for a couple hours, then just emptied out his urine on the blanket. He nver does that. Just a slight increase in water intake and suddenly all potty training goes out the window. I've seen him make the long trek from here to the balcony door many times. But today, didn't bother. So what's the mentality behind that one?

I do wonder about their intelligence levels sometimes, and being slow learners. I know some people get offended by that, but I actually think his goofy absent minded-ness is cute. But he's pushing 7 months old, and what just happened should not have happened. We're talking literally hundreds, maybe thousands of manual walks to the designated location. He's got no excuse to be doing this at his age.

There's a list of something like 50 breeds of dogs, based in order of how many "repeats" it takes to train them something. The top dog had like 2 repeats, then fully trained. English bulldogs were literally at the bottom of the list, with something like 100 -200 repeats necessary to train them. Again, its not an insult. What they lack in smarts, they make up for in a million other ways. And really ... maybe its not smarts at all. I often wonder if he's just plain being lazy....

Kevin

 

[bullmama]

Lol Kevin, I think the difference is that bullies make choices, and are like little toddlers. They know the rules, they just sometimes find it out of their desire to actually follow them. I've been working on an article and really need to finish it, because my theory of bullies are like toddlers is well described. I laugh just thinking about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

So maybe they're super smart!
Its funny how it could go both directions.
I find myself looking at *other* indicators of intelligence, to make my decision.
Mood seems to be a big factor for these guys...
I have noticed for example, that he picks up on things he *enjoys* with only 1 or 2 repeats.
Its effortless for me. Its like he's instantly self-trained.
So i know there isn't a cognitive deficiency, or memory deficiency.

By the way ...

One thing I noticed was when I caught him pooping on the balcony once...
I opened the door, and scared the living daylights out of him with a clap and a "NO!" ...
He never went poop in that area of the balcony again. (I have a very long, wrapping balcony)

I am considering getting a pet monitor. The new ones allow you to view the live feed on your iPhone.
If I see him doing something I can immediately let off some sort of horrifying noise that scares the crap out of him.
Or maybe put a walky talky in the room and he can hear my voice saying NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL .............
Just an idea. But i bet it works like a charm.

He will always worry that im actually there, even if he doesn't see me.
And I bet he gets his act together quickly ...

Might be fun just to try even though its total overkill....

Kevin

 

[brutus77]

I have to say there is nothing I enjoy more on this forum than the "Baxter Adventures" I'm sorry it's at your expense Kevin, but Baxter is a character. I think he is smart and Lisa is right he is doing exactly what he wants to do. There are some things Brutus just refuses to learn. Not because he can't but because he does not care to. Whenever I try to teach him to "come" he laughs and walks away.

 

[Texas Carol]

Nope...I completely disagree with anyone (including dog experts that do studies)
that bullies are dumb, slow or stupid. In fact, they are so intelligent as to CHOSE
whether to obey...or not. Unlike most breeds, bulldogs DO NOT care about pleasing
you, they care about pleasing themselves. Another reason they are not for everyone,
not everyone can handle such independent thinkers & stubborn bullyness. Food is most
generally your best motivator & reward.

And Kevin...Baxter is still a baby, very much so, they mature slower than most breeds.
Crate him until he gets it, patience & consistancy, just when you think your bully will
NEVER get it...they do. Hang in there!

 

[Petra]

Haha, Kevin you write it so funny that it's hard to see it as a problem I personally didn't have any issues potty training mine so I'm not sure why he would do what he does. He obviously know's what's right and wrong so it can be plain laziness. In the evenings especially my bulldogs mostly just walk onto the grass with their front legs and do their thing, and when I look at them or try to call them further onto the grass they just look at me as if: "What? I'm ON the grass", lol. Gotta love them

 

[cefe13]

Just a thought regarding the potty area on the balcony - could it be that it is not enough separated from his indoors environment in the sense that he doesn't fully understand where to go? As the grass patch is on your balcony, I assume there are no other dogs' scents that attract him to that spot? Is it not possible to take him out so that he can go outdoors?