I dont know what to do anymore...

[xxaprilrose]

So we had Jovi completely potty trained. And when I said Jovi was Houdini I was NOT kidding. She manages to get her way out of EVERYTHING. Anyways she was completely house broken then one day my boyfriend and I had to work 8 hours so we had to crate her longer than usual. So we left her in the crate (because we have to) and came home to find she was out of the crate... she somehow broke the entire front part of the cage off and she **** and pissed in 5 different spots. Ever since then (the last 2 weeks) She has been getting worse and worse with her potty habits. She KNOWS better and to go outside and we watch her like a hawk but still keeps ending up doing it. Yesterday was the worst. She **** in the house 3 times and pissed twice. THEN today I got home and for some reason I left the bedroom door opened this time instead of closing it......... Jovi managed to unhook the bottom latch (not the top) and SQEEZE her way out of it. I have no idea how this is even possible and didnt break a bone. That must have hurt. I cant even open it that wide by myself. Anyways she **** and pissed everywhere. I dont know what to do at this point. I am at my wits end with this. No I will not get rid of her... I just really need some help and advice.

 

[Texas Carol]

April, I hear your overwhelmed feelings, it's perfectly normal to feel as you do
and venting here is very helpful as we've been there, done that and lived on.

How old is Jovi and how long has this been happening? Any major changes occur
to make her insecure or unhappy or...out of the blue?

The great news...she can be retrained. The bad news...it will be work & effort.

I've been thru this with 2 different bullies at two different times, I will share my
thoughts & help as I can just need more background, thanks!

 

[xxaprilrose]

April, I hear your overwhelmed feelings, it's perfectly normal to feel as you do
and venting here is very helpful as we've been there, done that and lived on.

How old is Jovi and how long has this been happening? Any major changes occur
to make her insecure or unhappy or...out of the blue?

The great news...she can be retrained. The bad news...it will be work & effort.

I've been thru this with 2 different bullies at two different times, I will share my
thoughts & help as I can just need more background, thanks!

she just turned 6 months on sunday. I dont think there has been any changes.. she still seems like a happy puppy. I guess the only real change POSIBBLY could be it... but me and my boyfriend have been in the "honeymoon stage" while we got her up until 2 weeks ago when we had a huge fight how I seem to take up his time from playing video games (yeah and hes 26 yrs old) but ever since he comes home from work and plays video games and doesnt spend much or anytime with her. I however try to find things to entertain myself so all day I play with Jovi but when Gary comes home I play on my computer... maybe she feels like she isnt getting much atttention? But I play with her ALL day (i usually only wor 2-3 days a week)

 

[Texas Carol]

April, I'm sure you spend great time AND give quality attention to her. I meant,
things like moving, new job, major change in routine, etc...do not guilt yourself.
Sh$t happens! I looked at some of your threads to get clues and I think several
things are going on.

First, Jovi's yeast may be causing an urge to pee as well as severe itchiness (could
be leading her compulsion to escape crate). Google yeast in dogs so you'll understand
what you're dealing with but yeast feeds off sugar & moist conditions and it's hard to
eradicate so you must fight it AND stay on top of it. I'd stop all things sugar even things
normally good (add maybe later on) look at yeast diets~carrots, green beans, most fruit,
potatoes even sweet potatoes are off limits. So are all grains even in shampoos-oatmeal.

Can you hire a friend, neighbor or high school kid to come by and take Jovi on walks/potty
breaks when you're gone 8 hrs or more? At just 6 months, Jovi is still a puppy and that's a
long time to hold her bladder and go w/out activity to stretch her legs. Could you put up
x-pen area and lay down potty pads for a short while?

 

[cali baker]

I am just brain storming a little here…the first thing that came to my mind was separation anxiety. Also, if she's still peeing in the house, keep her on a leash while inside. You will have to watch her carefully and when she looks like she's ready to pee, pick her up and take her outside fast. Then praise her as much as possible. Also, you can keep her in a confined area for the time being…like getting one of those x-pens so she's not able to wander all over the house by herself. When you go out and she's in her crate, can she have any safe toys with her…like a Kong filled w/treats? turning the radio/tv on may also be helpful. Don't give up, April…you can do this and I know Jovi is a smart, good girl and you will get there.

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

So we had Jovi completely potty trained. And when I said Jovi was Houdini I was NOT kidding. She manages to get her way out of EVERYTHING. Anyways she was completely house broken then one day my boyfriend and I had to work 8 hours so we had to crate her longer than usual. So we left her in the crate (because we have to) and came home to find she was out of the crate... she somehow broke the entire front part of the cage off and she **** and pissed in 5 different spots. Ever since then (the last 2 weeks) She has been getting worse and worse with her potty habits. She KNOWS better and to go outside and we watch her like a hawk but still keeps ending up doing it. Yesterday was the worst. She **** in the house 3 times and pissed twice. THEN today I got home and for some reason I left the bedroom door opened this time instead of closing it......... Jovi managed to unhook the bottom latch (not the top) and SQEEZE her way out of it. I have no idea how this is even possible and didnt break a bone. That must have hurt. I cant even open it that wide by myself. Anyways she **** and pissed everywhere. I dont know what to do at this point. I am at my wits end with this. No I will not get rid of her... I just really need some help and advice.

Welcome to potty training an english bulldog (also known as: HELL!) LOL ...

Baxter is the perfect dog. In every possible way. I can't even begin to explain how perfect he is. But when it comes to potty training? An absolute disaster.

Everyone has tips and tricks. I tried them all. None of them worked. It was purely a process of walking him to his designated spot, every single hour of the day, with the most fatty, tasty, delicious treat you can find. It has to be the best treat. He has to want it bad. And take him there and give him that treat when he pees and poops. You have to do it every hour. And you have to expect to continue this process for weeks, and weeks, and weeks. With no exceptions. It can become the most horrible nightmare. Trust me - many of us here have gone through it already. But after trying every trick in the book, for me, it came down to "Every hour, manually walk him out. And give him a treat at the proper location". If you do it every hour, he doesn't have the ability / or need to go, so you end up with no accidents.

You have to manually build a habit. And that isn't easy. And even then, he may backslide, as they say. Baxter has been fully potty trained 10 times now. His biggest success streak has been the last 2 months. Not a single accident in the house. Then tonight - yes tonight! Pissed twice in the house on the floor. For no apparent reason. So back to the drawing board I go. Back to walking him out and giving him treats.

-B-

 

[ddnene]

April, I'm sure you spend great time AND give quality attention to her. I meant,
things like moving, new job, major change in routine, etc...do not guilt yourself.
Sh$t happens! I looked at some of your threads to get clues and I think several
things are going on.

First, Jovi's yeast may be causing an urge to pee as well as severe itchiness (could
be leading her compulsion to escape crate). Google yeast in dogs so you'll understand
what you're dealing with but yeast feeds off sugar & moist conditions and it's hard to
eradicate so you must fight it AND stay on top of it. I'd stop all things sugar even things
normally good (add maybe later on) look at yeast diets~carrots, green beans, most fruit,
potatoes even sweet potatoes are off limits. So are all grains even in shampoos-oatmeal.

Can you hire a friend, neighbor or high school kid to come by and take Jovi on walks/potty
breaks when you're gone 8 hrs or more? At just 6 months, Jovi is still a puppy and that's a
long time to hold her bladder and go w/out activity to stretch her legs. Could you put up
x-pen area and lay down potty pads for a short while?

 

[AubreysMom]

Welcome to potty training an english bulldog (also known as: HELL!) LOL ...

Baxter is the perfect dog. In every possible way. I can't even begin to explain how perfect he is. But when it comes to potty training? An absolute disaster.

Everyone has tips and tricks. I tried them all. None of them worked. It was purely a process of walking him to his designated spot, every single hour of the day, with the most fatty, tasty, delicious treat you can find. It has to be the best treat. He has to want it bad. And take him there and give him that treat when he pees and poops. You have to do it every hour. And you have to expect to continue this process for weeks, and weeks, and weeks. With no exceptions. It can become the most horrible nightmare. Trust me - many of us here have gone through it already. But after trying every trick in the book, for me, it came down to "Every hour, manually walk him out. And give him a treat at the proper location". If you do it every hour, he doesn't have the ability / or need to go, so you end up with no accidents.

You have to manually build a habit. And that isn't easy. And even then, he may backslide, as they say. Baxter has been fully potty trained 10 times now. His biggest success streak has been the last 2 months. Not a single accident in the house. Then tonight - yes tonight! Pissed twice in the house on the floor. For no apparent reason. So back to the drawing board I go. Back to walking him out and giving him treats.

-B-

We had the same problem with our first bulldog, but she eventually got it after lots of praise and patience.

We couldn't do that with Aubie though. She is too smart for her own good and would purposely misbehave to get treats. Case in point: ear and fold cleaning. She runs and wiggles if she sees I don't have a treat in hand, but if I do? She will sit and be good (for the most part) because she knows she is getting a treat. We have caught her in many ways playing our game to get what she wants! LOL

 

[Roseann]

I'm waiting for some tricks and tips too. Henry isn't exactly potty trained, it's more that his mama is trained. As long as I don't loose track of time and take him out frequently he's fine. BUT if I don't let him out or don't repeat "Henry! Go potty!" when I'm pretty sure he has to poo he will come in and 5 min later poo on the floor. I hope you figure it out soon so you can tell me what to do!

 

[AubreysMom]

Carol gave some really good advice. I'd also combine that with Kevin's advice... put her on a strict routine and stick to it. It's the only thing that worked with our first bulldog, and it worked like a charm with Aubie. I can count on one hand the number of accidents she had (outside her crate before she could hold it a while) because we kept her on a strict schedule. We also taught her to "go potty" and we still use that now that she's 2 when we want her to go potty right away.

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

I'm waiting for some tricks and tips too. Henry isn't exactly potty trained, it's more that his mama is trained. As long as I don't loose track of time and take him out frequently he's fine. BUT if I don't let him out or don't repeat "Henry! Go potty!" when I'm pretty sure he has to poo he will come in and 5 min later poo on the floor. I hope you figure it out soon so you can tell me what to do!

How old is Henry now?

In a twisted way its good to know that this just sort of is how it is with a lot of english bulldogs. It makes the insanity seem not so insane. Because honestly, I get caught in the trap of comparing Baxter to other breeds of dogs who learn potty training in a matter of weeks, and remember it for life. When I do that, I feel a lot of discouragement about him, about me, and sometimes it affects our friendship a little. I dont like that. So hearing stories like this is actually uplifting. I can laugh a little and realize this is just how they are sometimes.

 

[Roseann]

[MENTION=9462]Baxter Tiberius[/MENTION] Henry is 6 months. The crazy thing is that I didn't know I could obsessively love a dog so much. I don't like most breeds of dogs and always thought I just wasn't a dog person. Henry is my perfect companion. I love his stubbornness and defiance and laziness and all his quirky stuff. I don't even mind when he poops on the floor. I just wish he'd let me know he had to go. I am unable to work so I have the wonderful life of spending all my time with my Henry. We'll all get this potty training down together!! Good luck guys!

 

[xxaprilrose]

That you ALL for your help and encouragment. Seriously it means so much to me. I am glad to have you guys. And yes Jovi knows "go potty" and when she is outside she knows when I say that she needs to hurry up and go. Thats funny that you guys do that too! haha she learned that within the first week of me getting her. She is very smart, hence why she can get out of things. But I feel like that ONE time she was able to get out and roam free reversed her potty training. Because I admit when my boyfriend and I would go places for less than 2 hours we would leave her locked in oput bedroom and not the crate.. she would do good. She wouldnt go anywhere. But the day she was able to get out of her crate and into the whole house, bam. There goes all that hard work :[ It just bothers me I spent so much time teaching her and was SO PROUD when she was finally potty trained and I bragged about it so much and she knows she can only go outside because she usually pouts when she knows i will find her accidents.. So i was lost on what to do. You guys helped me so much. Back to potty training we go! and yes I do still give her treats everytime she comes in. and when i give it to her I tell her "treat is for potty outside" because she knows treat, potty, and the word outside so i assume she would put it together and thats what made her potty trained.



ALSO, another thing is that MIGHT have reversed it. Before when she had to go potty she would go to the front door anf sit down until someone noticed she was there. Well we used the front door to potty train her. Now that my boyfriends sister moved out we can now access the door from her old bedroom to our fenced in yard and now we have been using that door to bring her out to potty.... would that have something to do with it? maybe she is confused on how to tell us now?

 

[dolphin]

That could be it, when she learns that that door is the one she needs to use to go out and do her thing it could all resolve itself. You just have to stick with the routine and she'll get it, she's still a little baby. Like everyone has said potty training is the worse thing and when you have a little magician like her it doesn't help but like Carol said we've all been through it and are here to help.

 

[Texas Carol]

Checking back on y'all and would like to add, many of our bullies regress on
going potty about 6 months-9 months, it's weird! Even ones that 'got it' early
on and were great...goofy bullies

Yes, going out a different door might be throwing her off. However...no matter
the reason, the key is going back to potty training and since she got it so quickly
& early, she should do fine, lil stinker! Lucky for her...she's so adorable!

My Cami has had to have potty retraining a couple of times. This after doing it
perfectly for months, it is a very puzzling thing with many bulldogs. I just go back
to square one, consistent schedules (my fault, not hers) and effusive praise.