Housebreaking my 10 week old English Bulldog

[David H]

Hey All!

I've recently brought into my family a English Bulldog and I am currently trying to housebreak the little fellow.

I take him out after his meals (and also every 1-2hrs during the day) and at night every 2 hrs of the night. So I would get up at 12am, 2am, 4am, 6am it has been working fine but the last two days he has been peeing inside his crate. It's weird because last night's incident I woke up to my alarm clock at 2am to find a puddle of pee in his crate. Since all I saw was pee I still took him out just in case he needed to go #2, after I took him out he pee'd some more and a lot actually. So I am wondering if this is perfectly normal and it was just a accident? Also yesterday afternoon he also pee'd into his crate (he willing walked in and pee'd) after I just let him outside to relieve himself. I removed his bed and its only his blanket and pillow left.. should I leave the bedding? It's just a pain when he pees onto the bedding and I have to wash it.

Other information that may help?
The crate is just enough so that he can lay and turn around.
I have another 1.5 year old dog at the house.
I never punish him for peeing inside his crate, i simply just put him to the side and wipe down his crate with Nature's Miracle. (If I do catch him in the act I will yell out a No and carry him outside)
I also have two crates for him, one at work and one at home. He seem to enjoy his crate at work more then his crate at home.. Same things inside since when I leave work I take his pillow and blanket with me but will this be a problem?

Any guidance would help! Thanks in advance!

 

[2BullyMama]

Hello... welcome to the site. others will be along with some tips and advice, I haven't had a pup that young in years and the memory is not serving me well.

 

[David H]

Hello... welcome to the site. others will be along with some tips and advice, I haven't had a pup that young in years and the memory is not serving me well.

thanks! hoping to get some tips.. he did it again when i got up at 4am.. alarm rang and as soon as i turn on my light, i looked at him and caught him in the act.

 

[RaRett]

Right now Hershey is 16 weeks (as of today matter of fact) and we are still working with him. The tips I have learned so far

1) the crate must be 'sized' to the dog - if the crate is even a little too big - he will tend to use one end as a potty. The puppy should be able to stand in it, and turn around easily, its better to be 'a little snug' than too loose at this point - remember dogs by nature are 'Den Dwellers'.

2) do NOT leave food or water in the pen

3) Follow a schedule for feeding and water - ESPECIALLY dinner time - Hershey's water comes up at 730-8pm each night (unless we are outside and its warm and he is playing hard, use your common sense on it) but stick to no water 2 hours before bedtime - this gives the pup plenty of time to 'process' the water

4) there is a formula, I *THINK* its Age in Months + 1 is the Maximum a puppy should hold themselves. 10 week = 2.5 months so 3.5 hours (or so)

5) if there is an accident -
Immediately put puppy in his 'toilet area' (If you catch him in the act) dont yell at him. I'm usually like 'Oh CRAP!' - as I notice him standing looking at me dead eye and peeing, but I'm not scolding him. (if you scold him and scare him, it will teach him NOT to go potty in front of you, so he'll hide and do it, and it will be impossible to get him to go on a walk then)
Clean entire area with an enzyme solution (Like Natures Miracle or other similar products) FOLLOW DIRECTIONS !
and what people tend to forget - CLEAN THE PUPPY ! ! ! if the puppy smells urine, he will urinate at that spot, so if he has Urine on HIM, he'll have that smell too and will think he is in his bathroom area.

Will this work all of the time? nope it wont, but it will help. If the puppy keeps having accidents - a vet check might be in order, maybe an UTI ?

oh LIMIT the BEDDING too ! we have a simple 'reusable Pee Pad' (unscented) 'incase' he goes, it will absorb the mess.

Good luck.... and where are the little ones pictures?

Hershey at 14 weeks

[/URL] Hershey being cute by Rettinger, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[David H]

- Crate size is just about perfect for him, sometimes his feet will stick out a little because of the way he is laying lol.. but it is a medium size one that i blocked off using a divider.
- No food or water is left only during meals is he getting them inside his crate. After he is done I remove them. Also his feeding hours are 7am, 12pm, and 7pm.
- If there is any accidents I just pick him up and take him outside. I usually will say no and grab him.

We are definitely on the same page as far as methods on housebreaking goes.. One thing that kinda raises the flag for me is that he can't hold in anything longer then 2 hours. After two hours he will go anywhere he can.. Could it be a UTI problem?

Here is a picture of the little fellow:

 

[RaRett]

Yes UTI could be a factor, I'm not an expert, and I havent had that pleasure of dealing with one - but I'm sure others might be able to assist - let me try this tagging system [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] and see if either of them can point you in the right direction

 

[BIJAH]

My 10 week old Ari seems to be able to hold it for 3-4hours. He has never pee'd in his crate so I dont really know how long he can REALLY hold it. He sleeps at 11pm and we let him out 3am-ish and then at 7:30am-ish. Feeding and drinking times are 8am, 12:30pm, & 7:30pm. His potty #2 times are off as he doesn't go 15-30mins after he eats. It is usually an hour or so. That is one thing that is inconsistent with him, sometimes he will got right after he eats or most of the time an hour afterwards. We frequently let him out to pee during the day and he goes whenever we let him outside.

 

[RiiSi]

At that age you can't really expect them to really get it have no accidents. Some pups get it sooner and with some it takes a bit longer. Keep the schedule, don't scold for accidents and praise, praise for doing it in the right place. Some have used treats. Usko had it at around 4 months and them had a set back and we had to start from the beginning. Took him out every 3 hours at night for two weeks. At just under 6 months he was 100% housetrained.

 

[Texkota]

What a cute little bully, welcome to the nut house. er ah I mean EBN (Everyone's Basically Nuts)

 

[Davidh]

Well welcome to the site, and your pup is a cutie. First of all is sounds like you are doing every thing right to help potty train your pup, except I would change one thing. I NEVER, EVER, withhold water from my pups or adult bullies. They will learn to hold their pee and poop as they get older. He should be able to hold it for about 3 to 4 hours at night, and 2 to 3 during the day unless he is playing or very active and drinking a lot. You may have him checked by a vet to make sure he does not have a UTI. Be consistent in your training and be patient. He will learn in time. Now we need to think of another name for you, because there is already a davidh, me.

 

[David H]

ill do that, seems like he is getting better at holding it in. this morning i woke up at 6am and just watched him for a hour (he was sleeping) and he didnt have any issues wetting the bed. last i let him go was at 4am so seems like hes doing his best to hold it in now days.. haha

also, didnt realized that someone would have such a similar name. where can i change the name at? lol

 

[David H]

Cuddi is getting better at holding it in. Last night i took a go with him and allowed him to sleep with his crate door open in my room (due to the heat he likes to cool down on my hardwood floors), he did fine. In fact he woke me up around 4am jumping on the side of bed begging to go potty. Proud of the little guy.

This lead me to another training question, is it a bit to early to remove his crate and allow him to just sleep on just his bed? or should i leave him in his crate until he is a bit older, if so when would it be ok?

Also [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] since your tip about leaving water out, I have since left water out for him and he is doing fine with it.

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=5266]David H[/MENTION] glad you are leaving water out for him, that's great, plus what kind of crate do you have? Is it a wire or plastic? If its alas tic one they tend to get too hot in them. We have wire ctrates for all of ours and they sleep in them and stay in them during the day when we are gone. They like their crates and will go in there on their own when they want some quiet time. I would just crate train him and when you leave him home by himself, he will gladly go into his crate. This is the safest way for them to be when you are not at home. Keeps them out of mischief. Plus I was just kidding on the name change, glad to have you here with us.

 

[David H]

gotcha! thanks for your tips!! ill just leave the crate there for him. his crate is a wire crate as well!