Need help with kennel training

Nate SERE

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Aug 7, 2014
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Buddha
We have a 12 week old English Bulldog and he is having trouble with kennel training. He is pretty good about letting us know when he needs to go outside when he is out of his kennel, or at night. We can take him on car trips and he doesn't have accidents.

However, when we are gone to work for the day it is a TOTALLY different story. We have a dog walker come 4 or 5 times a day and let him out. However, he has not went a day without going poop in his kennel. His kennel is blocked off so that he only had room to turn around and lay down. We use a bath mat in the bottom and it doesn't totally fit. He goes and then kicks it out, all over the place. It gets on the top of the kennel, everywhere. Its gross! Dispite being let out every 2 hours or so, he almost always has 2 or 3 "accidents" a day.

We started feeding him Buffalo Blue and were told that we should try Royal Canine bulldog as this might help. We were mixing it 50/50. We were also told to add sweet potatoes and greek yogert.

We feed him 1 cup early in the morning around 6am and let him out to go potty 2x before we leave around 7:30. By 8:30 or 9 we have someone there to let him out again and he has already had an accident. He seems to hold his pee, just not poop. He is not fed durring the day at all. After his late morning mess is cleaned up, he will be let out a few more times and by 4:30 or 5, there is always another mess to clean up. We feed him when we get home around 5 or 6 each day as well.

We are going to start feeding him 100% of the Royal without the potatoes or yogurt and see if that helps.

Out of desperation, we tried to unblock his large kennel and put a potty pad in the corner as it will be easier to clean up his inevidable mess. However he just shredded that and pood everwhere again.

Please help! He is a joy to own and a great family pet, but its getting out of control. It takes an hour each night to clean him, the kennel, walls, floors, and bedding each day.
 

Pati Robins

I'm Polish what did you expect! A lady like person
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From my own experience regarding RC food it is not good quality food , i would stick with what you were feeding -what consistency are his poops ?
Your pup is still young and will make mistakes and my first bulldog was the worst in potty training -
Also it could be the fact that he is locked up while you are at work for a bit to long (even tho you got someone taking him out) and his getting a bit stressed
Maybe have someone stay and play with him for a while ?
Pups this young should be feed 3-4 meals a day rather than 2-they are growing and have faster metabolisms (Like children) and need to eat more often


I hope more members who were potty training while working will be able to advise you how did they manage
 
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Nate SERE

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Buddha
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Thanks for the reply. His poops have had a good consisitency throughout. We were told that he would go less with the RC as it was formulated specifically for BD's.

He gets taken for walks and played with for about 30-45 min each visit. He isn't just let out to go potty and put back in his kennel.
 
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Nate SERE

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Buddha
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zag.jpg

Here is a pic of our little monster with the Gonzaga Bulldog statue. His Great Grandfather was the dog that was used for the model.
 
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Nate SERE

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Buddha
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buddha.jpg

He's cute when he isn't covered in poo!
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Thanks for the reply. His poops have had a good consisitency throughout. We were told that he would go less with the RC as it was formulated specifically for BD's.

He gets taken for walks and played with for about 30-45 min each visit. He isn't just let out to go potty and put back in his kennel.

View attachment 75311

Here is a pic of our little monster with the Gonzaga Bulldog statue. His Great Grandfather was the dog that was used for the model.


What a great looking bully boy --- love the picture with the Gonzaga mascot --- too cool that he is related!

RC is not a good food at all, it is most filler (rice and meals). Is the dog walker making sure that Buddha is going poo while on the walk some pups will be so distracted with being out and about .. sniffing and smelling that they do not go till they are back in the home. It is a tough one to break, but keep him out till he goes. Could also be the food is not agreeing with him.

going to tag a few members with puppy experience to see if they have any suggestions
 

cali baker

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Well, I'm definitely not an expert on this but, I how about if you fed Buddha in his kennel? many dogs will not want to go #2 in the same place they eat in. Just leave the door open and put his food bowl in the kennel. That is one thing I can think of off the top of my head.
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Hey there…
First of all we had a LOT of issues w/Blue Buffalo… in fact both of my bullies at the time were developing really bad gas & diarrhea. You might want to change him to a different food and see if this is causing problems. I have a 6 mos old bully right now, but I stay at home. I feed him Fromms Puppy Gold 3x a day, and give him fat-free greek yogurt in the morning & coconut oil at night w/his kibble. I agree w/Pati… maybe your sitter can spend more time playing w/him to see if this is stress related. He may just be upset that he's left alone during the day. I wouldn't advice putting ANYTHING in his kennel, bullies are notorious for eating bedding and pee pads. Good luck and keep us posted… Buddah sure is a cutie!!!
 

Roseann

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It took me as while to realize that I needed to keep Henry focused enough to poop and not just play and sniff when he went out. I'm sure the neighbors got tired of hearing me say "Henry go potty" over and over and over! After about 6 months (I'm a slow learner, lol) I learned his body language and would stay on him until he went poop. I can finally tell when he has to poop but wants to sniff flowers or whatever. He also pooped about 6 times as day at that age. Now it's 2 or 3.
 

Manydogs

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When my pups were small, I used a crate-but also had a wire pen that I put around the crate-so they could have an area outside the crate,if they had to be left for longer periods of time. If they chewed the puppy pads(I was lucky-most didn't) I have several pads made of cotten, with waterproof backing, that can be washed. I've never used Blue Buffalo, but it seems alot of pups have "pooping" problems with it-it sounds to me like it may be too rich or something? I use taste of the wild pacific for mine, and their poop has alwAys been solid. Lots of people use Fromm. I would slowly switch his food, and try a spoonful of PURE pumpkin(not pie mix) along with a meal.He should be eating at least 3 smaller meals a day, at that age. Maybe he can't handle a whole cup at once. Best of luck. Also has he been checked for worms/coccidia?
 

g8erjackie

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I had a nice long message typed out and then it just disappeared...perhaps that's my sign I should do some work instead of playing on EBN. You're little guy is stinking adorable, I love the picture of him in front of the big bulldog statue!

My my main suggestions were that you stay away from Royal Canine -- I was also curious about the breed specific formulas, but after some research I was disappointed with the quality. I highly recommend Fromm, but other members have good experiences with other grain free foods, I'm just not familiar with them. Also, I agree that at 12 weeks he needs 3-4 meals per day. I think this will probably help you predict when he'll go poo. You could also ask your dog walker to keep a little note for a few days of when he goes #2 , maybe it's the case that he has so much fun playing he doesn't realize he needs to go potty until the dog walker is gone.

You mentioned you use a bath mat in your pup's crate, is it plastic for cleanup ease or padded for comfort? If it's for comfort I'd take it out. Some bullies just can't have bedding in their crates or they go all over it. When Ruckus was little he would pee on whatever blanket we left him, then kick it to the side and take a nap. Good luck! He's just a baby, don't worry, it can be frustrating, but he'll be house trained soon enough!
 

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