Good grief - I need advice

GAbeachBum

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Nov 9, 2012
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Lily and Elvis
OK, so I am seeing a recurring theme here. For the most part, I am seeing that English Bulldogs are, for the most part, hard to housebreak.

I just don't know what to do. My husband trained dogs in the military and never had this much trouble training dogs. Our friend is a dog trainer, and said we are doing the right thing but nothing seems to be working.

We are trying to crate train her, which my husband, and the trainer, said is the best way. We have housebroken puppies this way before, and it usually works very well. Not with Lily. :( She pooped in the crate, so we made it a bit smaller, and last night she pooped in the crate again.


We take her out so many times a day, and we feel like she is just not getting it. I praise her profusely when she pees and poops. At first, we were trying to train her both using the crate and puppy pads, and then we read that puppy pads are the worst thing you can train a puppy with because it tells the puppy it's OK to go in the house. So about a month and a half ago, we completely got rid of the puppy pads and went straight crate. The first few days, it was great. I'd get up in the morning and immediately, she'd poop. Then I'd feed her breakfast and she'd poop again (yes, two times within 30 minutes). Then she'd have the run of the house all day, until mid-afternoon. I would take her out several times throughout the morning to pee, which she always did, and mid-afternoon she'd poop again. Then at dinner, I'd feed her and she would poop immediately after dinner. She'd have the run of the house again until bedtime. We've When she was doing it that way, she never pooped or peed in the house. Then - all of a sudden, it just stopped. We'd take her outside, and she'd do nothing. Just sit there, looking at me. Now, for every 20 times we take her out, she poops maybe once or twice. Before, it was almost every time, when it was time for her to poop, she'd poop.


The food is the same - we haven't changed anything. We feed her Blue Buffalo Wilderness puppy food. The time we feed her hasn't changed.


What should we do? We got her at 11 weeks. She is now 5 months. I know that she must have to go, because she always, always poops right after she eats. Also, I know if she doesn't poop, and runs around the house, she'll poop in the floor. I know that crate training says that if you take her out and she doesn't poop, you should crate her. I can't do that, though, because that would keep her crated too long.


Are they normally this hard to train? Of those of you who have successfully crate trained your puppy, how did you do it? And what am I doing wrong?


We have read so many conficting reports of what should be done, and the best way to train. I've hard "let her have run of the house" and I've heard "do NOT let her roam free." I've heard to crate her if she doesn't go and I've heard to NOT crate her.


Thanks so much in advance for any help anyone could give me. I don't know what to do. :(
 

Manydogs

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I have tried all methods of house training pups. The English bulldog is the most difficult! However, I did use puppy pads, and it seemed to work best with them-The youngest one I have just pad trained herself. I take them out VERY often-but have the pad down anyway. I was not mentioning the pad-just taking her out, and then I would just find a puddle or a poop on the pad, inbetween-she just started using it on her own,after I found a puddle under the table-I put one there.if I didn't catch her in time. I have found that most pups I've had do really great in the beginning, and then about 4 or 5 months-they forget all about it! Don't know if it may be related to teething-or rebellion. The best way I have found to train the EBD pups, is treat reward, when they potty outside! Bribery,bribery. The youngest is 10 mo. and it's been about three weeks since there has been no puppy pad down, because whenever they were playing rough-she still would go pee on the pad(though I wouldn't see her do it! It takes time, patience,persistence, LOTS o praise and treats to reward-(special yummy ones) do not give up! Eventually, she will get it! Mine sleep in crates at night, but if I am home-have freedom-though I always kept an eye on them!
 

jimmyjj

agingermom's minion and cabana boy
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Sep 16, 2012
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diesel - paisley & nula
Bully's are renown for stubborn / hard to train.
We used wee pads, you get to know there routine.... After the eat they poo, after they wake the wee etc.
watch them like a hawk and when there about to potty and there not near the pad, lift them to it and reward.
When they know what the wee pad is for you slowly move it towards your garden. Then the pad goes outside. Soon the dogs will be at the back door wanting out for potty.

Hang in there 😃


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OP
GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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Thanks, Many. See, that is exactly the opposite of what we were told by another trainer. We were told to never, ever treat-reward for going outside because it would confuse the pup into thinking that they were doing something to get the treat, not realizing that they were getting the treat because they did something. Does that make sense?

We also read online that when you take a puppy outside, to just take them outside. Don't play with them or anything. But I know for a fact that when a puppy gets all worked up, running, and playing, that they will poop faster. So I started tossing a tennis ball to Lily when we would go outside. She would never return the ball, but at least she would run for it, and that seemed to work for a few days. Then she just decided that running after a ball had no redeeming value, and she realized she was just too lazy, so now she just looks up at me when I toss the ball LOL.
 
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GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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  • #5
Bully's are renown for stubborn / hard to train.
We used wee pads, you get to know there routine.... After the eat they poo, after they wake the wee etc.
watch them like a hawk and when there about to potty and there not near the pad, lift them to it and reward.
When they know what the wee pad is for you slowly move it towards your garden. Then the pad goes outside. Soon the dogs will be at the back door wanting out for potty.

Hang in there 


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Thanks, Jimmy! So you agree to treat-reward also?
 

brutus77

Skinny-Dippin' Smokin' Tidy Bowl Bionic Woman
Jul 18, 2013
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How is her poop? Is it soft serve or nice and firm? If it is soft perhaps you are feeding too much or the food isn't agreeing with her. My Brutus didn't start having a reaction to his food until he was on it for about 7 mos. At 5 months she should really only be pooping twice a day. In the morning and usually after dinner. I know when mine were pups, they pooped a lot but it tapered off as they got older. If She isn't doing her business outside she needs to be leashed and given a command so she knows you mean business outside. If I know mine have to go even at over a year of age and they aren't going, I will give their command "go poopy" and they will go. I think the most important thing here is consistency. She will get it again. It is very normal for them to regress.
 

jimmyjj

agingermom's minion and cabana boy
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diesel - paisley & nula
[MENTION=6888]GAbeachBum[/MENTION]. Defo reward.
Then the know there doing potty in the correct place. 👍


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GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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Nov 9, 2012
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Coastal Georgia
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Lily and Elvis
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  • Thread starter
  • #8
Bully's are renown for stubborn / hard to train.
We used wee pads, you get to know there routine.... After the eat they poo, after they wake the wee etc.
watch them like a hawk and when there about to potty and there not near the pad, lift them to it and reward.
When they know what the wee pad is for you slowly move it towards your garden. Then the pad goes outside. Soon the dogs will be at the back door wanting out for potty.

Hang in there 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

On average, how many times do yours poop? Ours started going 4 times a day. When we get her up in the morning, she poops immediately. Then we feed her. Then she poops again. Immediately. The breakfast that she just ate cannot possibly be digested in 2 or 3 minutes time, so that tells me that she is pooping twice from dinner.

we've never had to take her out overnight. She doesn't or bark. She goes to sleep at night, she sleeps all night, and we take her out the next morning. With the exception of this morning, she only pooped in her crate just one other time, and it was because the crate was much too big.
 

sburnett0609

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Treat - reward and LOTS of praise ALL the way! I have raised so many puppies and had them all house trained within 2 months.

I also take them outside EVERY HOUR while they are awake and say 'WEE WEES" until they do their business then they get a treat and lots of cuddles and dancing! Than when they are asleep I wake them ever 3 hours and take them outside and do the same. It makes for sleepness nights but a trained puppy in approx 4-8 weeks max! (usually 3-4)

Do not play with her, sit on a chair or walk around with her and say the word that you use for 'toilet', until she does it. At first you may be out there for 15 mins, then it will gradually take less, until she will pee on command!

Dont give in!. also show no reaction if you find a pee/poop, unless she you catch her doing it! then pick her up and say "ah ah" then take her outside and say the toilet word.

TREATS ALWAYS THOUGH!!!! cheese, sausage, something smelly!
 
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GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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How is her poop? Is it soft serve or nice and firm? If it is soft perhaps you are feeding too much or the food isn't agreeing with her. My Brutus didn't start having a reaction to his food until he was on it for about 7 mos. At 5 months she should really only be pooping twice a day. In the morning and usually after dinner. I know when mine were pups, they pooped a lot but it tapered off as they got older. If She isn't doing her business outside she needs to be leashed and given a command so she knows you mean business outside. If I know mine have to go even at over a year of age and they aren't going, I will give their command "go poopy" and they will go. I think the most important thing here is consistency. S-he will get it again. It is very normal for them to regress.

Her poop is - how do I describe it? It looks soft, but it's solid. Not loose or anything at all. Normal doggy poop, but it doesn't come out hard or anything. We were told by a breeder that we weren't feeding her enough, so we upped her food. We now feed her a cup of high protein dog food for breakfast and a cup for dinner.
When we first got her, she was pooping like 4 times a day. Is it possible that the need for her to poop has diminished in only 2 months? We were also told that a puppy should have to poop 3 to 4 times a day. The last few days, she's only pooped twice a day. And I was mistaken - I forgot. We did change her food. She is not on Blue Buffalo. She is on something called Natural Selection from PetSmart. It has no by-products and it's first ingredient is real lamb. It's got a high protein count, but not too high. We were told that too much protein can damage the kidneys. The Blue Buffalo was 38% protein. We were told that it's OK for a short period of time, but normally a puppy should be at between 25% and 30%.
I am getting so much conflicting information online - that is why I came here. I need help from the experts LOL.
 

Manydogs

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Thanks, Many. See, that is exactly the opposite of what we were told by another trainer. We were told to never, ever treat-reward for going outside because it would confuse the pup into thinking that they were doing something to get the treat, not realizing that they were getting the treat because they did something. Does that make sense?

We also read online that when you take a puppy outside, to just take them outside. Don't play with them or anything. But I know for a fact that when a puppy gets all worked up, running, and playing, that they will poop faster. So I started tossing a tennis ball to Lily when we would go outside. She would never return the ball, but at least she would run for it, and that seemed to work for a few days. Then she just decided that running after a ball had no redeeming value, and she realized she was just too lazy, so now she just looks up at me when I toss the ball LOL.

No playing when going outside to "go". Have her on a leash. She must realize that it is potty time-NOT playtime.. After she does her biz, then gets a treat-then you can let her loose to play.
 
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GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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OK thanks, sburnett.

Even at 5 mos, wake her up during the night?

And her favorite treat is Cheetos LOL.
 

brutus77

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Jul 18, 2013
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So 5 mos she is heading out of the puppy stage. She really only needs to poop twice a day. Go to the home page and look at the food ratings because I'm not familiar with what you are feeding. 1 cup of food in the morning and 1 cup at night is good. As long as her poop is formed, soft is ok. It should not be flooding out of her or breaking into pieces as she poops (this means it's too hard). Isn't it great you can come to a forum and discuss POOP?? Anyhoo...is the food she's on an all stages food? I switched mine from puppy to an all stage at 7mos. I think if she poops after dinner she should be ok for the night. Does she give any kind of signal that she has to go? If she does, than I would get up and let her out.
 

4flowers

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This is what I did. It seems mean but Meatball was in his crate a lot as a puppy. I would let him out for 30min. Every hour to potty and stretch/play. Than with each couple of weeks I extended his crate time. Let him out every 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, until he learned to hold it for at least 4 hours. Once he got that down, I started letting him free around the house knowing he can hold it for 4 hours. I crated when we went out, ate, and for night sleep. It took a long time!!!!! At least 6 months and he still pees in house if he plays too hard with kids, and I don't let him out immediately after play. Now he can hold it for 6-8 hours give or take. Housebreaking sucks!!!!
 
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GAbeachBum

GAbeachBum

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This is what we are feeding her.

http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/si...catid-100004?_t=pfm=category&pfmvalue=faceted

I was wrong with the name. It's called Simply Nourish. It's a limited ingredient dog food, and we feed her the lamb and pea formula. The guy at Pet Smart said that it was OK at her age to feed her dog food instead of puppy food, because the dog food is so full of vitamins and minerals, and has such a high protein content, that it's every bit as good as puppy food. I hope so. This particular brand might not seem familiar unless you shop at Pet Smart because it's their house brand. It came recommended from friends, and Lily seems to love it. Plus, since we changed her food, well that is when she went from 4 times a day to 2.


I am wondering if her body is using the food more. We used to raise Dobermans, a million years ago, and we had them on a totally raw diet. They went from dropping bombs the size of a football helmet, to bombs the size of a hamster. Their body was just using the food - almost totally.
 

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