elonepb
New member
- Aug 19, 2013
- 31
- 1
- Country
- USA
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Butter
Hey all, wanted to give a recap of our first day days with Butter. Sorry if it's a bit long but maybe it will be useful for other owners!
Day 1:
He is the most loveable boy with a tail that wags constantly. He didn't show any issues at all with being in his new place. He had a couple pee accidents in the house but only because we weren't recognizing his "search for spot" mode.
First feeding. This boy loves food more than anything I've ever seen. Either that or he had to fight very hard with his litter for food because he goes berserk like there is no other food on the planet. We decide to not allow this and require him to be calm and still before he can eat. A process but eventually he stays still for 2 seconds which is a good enough start. Ideally I want him to be completely calm and wait until we tell him he can eat.
He took to his crate wonderfully, with only a small amount of fuss at first, but generally seemed to enjoy the time in there snoozing. The main issue we were having on thr first day is that he doesnt want to potty on the concrete sidewalk in front of our apartment. i would stay there with him for 25 minutes and he would do nothing at all. Bring him inside and immediately he goes pee on the carpet. He only peed once outside and that was at the park a block and a half away on the grass.
We kept his crate in the living room and when it was bed time we waited until he was comfy and then went to our bedroom with an alarm for 2 hours to let him out. Two hours later we find him with poop everywhere, soiled himself and all his toys and blanket in the crate. Flustered, we took him out and again he does no potty at all outside on the sidewalk. Cleaned up the crate and removed all the smells and gave him fresh new blankets.
Back to bed to check on him in 2 hours. Two hours later we come out and find the same thing. Poop everywhere... Not good. I take him out and wait for 25-30 minutes in the cool night for him to do smething on the sidewalk, but he refuses. So i take him inside and he immediately pees INSIDE his crate. We're quite stressed now because if he's so willing to potty in his sleeping quarters, I have no idea how we are going to housebreak him.
Its 4:30am and first change we do is move the crate into our bedroom right by the bed. If he has to go, I'm assuming he'll make some noises or cry a bit and I'm thinking maybe now I can hear him and get him out before he goes. It seems like he got all his potty-needs already done earlier (in his crate grr) because he sleeps until 7am. Good boy.
Day 2:
At 7am we take him to the park and he immediately pees on the ground. Wow, ok so he seems to be fine with peeing outside, he just requires grass right now. Fair enough, it's a process. We compliment him and give him a kibble as positive reinforcement.
Feeding time, same berserk crazy puppy for food, but we continue to wait until he is calm for a few seconds before feeding training. Better than day 1 definitely. After eating we put him in his crate to rest and digest. After 20 minutes or so we carry him to the park and he pees again right away. WHOOZAGOOBOY! No poop though. So I bring him back in the apartment and play for about 20 minutes, then back carried to the park. He poops!
it is clear to us now that we have to use the park to housebreak him. We start telling him to GO POTTY right as he is about to, and then positive reinforce with kibble and love. Caught a few of his "seeking for spot modes" after playing but immediately scooped him up and brought him to park where he pees unless he gets distracted (which happens often). Oh we'll it's a process.
He is really loving his crate now. No fuss, will curl up and go to sleep. We leave him unattended for the first time for about an hour and a half. Come back and he is now awake but no mess. Right to the park!
He had 2 accidents in the house on day 2 but only because I didn't catch his search mode.
Night time the true test. We feed him 4 hours before bed and this seems to be the right timing as we get a poop out of him. He hasn't yet poop and peed together on the same trip, but baby steps right? With the crate by the bed I figure he will let us know when he has to go, but I wake up after 2.5 hours anyway and he's asleep. Take him out anyway to the park and he pees. Back to bed immediately, we dont get into any playing or fun walking, it's all business.
Around 4:30 I wake him up again and take him to the park. POOP AND PEES! We are very excited about this and he now appears to be running over for his treat after he goes. This boy is learning very very fast.
I'm typing this on the morning of Day 3 having gone through a whole night with no crying, accidents, or failure to go potty when brought to the park. The plan is to train him to "go potty" on command at the park and then begin to try to use the sidewalk with the command. Right now he's sleeping in his crate after eating, and his disgestion seems to take 45 min or so, so it's time to get him outside.
I hope this helps anyone who might be stressing about whether their dog will "get it" or new puppy owners. We have the next adventure of going to work tomorrow morning all day and will have a dog walker coming 3 times for the first week to see how he does. Will report back in if anyone is interested!
Day 1:
He is the most loveable boy with a tail that wags constantly. He didn't show any issues at all with being in his new place. He had a couple pee accidents in the house but only because we weren't recognizing his "search for spot" mode.
First feeding. This boy loves food more than anything I've ever seen. Either that or he had to fight very hard with his litter for food because he goes berserk like there is no other food on the planet. We decide to not allow this and require him to be calm and still before he can eat. A process but eventually he stays still for 2 seconds which is a good enough start. Ideally I want him to be completely calm and wait until we tell him he can eat.
He took to his crate wonderfully, with only a small amount of fuss at first, but generally seemed to enjoy the time in there snoozing. The main issue we were having on thr first day is that he doesnt want to potty on the concrete sidewalk in front of our apartment. i would stay there with him for 25 minutes and he would do nothing at all. Bring him inside and immediately he goes pee on the carpet. He only peed once outside and that was at the park a block and a half away on the grass.
We kept his crate in the living room and when it was bed time we waited until he was comfy and then went to our bedroom with an alarm for 2 hours to let him out. Two hours later we find him with poop everywhere, soiled himself and all his toys and blanket in the crate. Flustered, we took him out and again he does no potty at all outside on the sidewalk. Cleaned up the crate and removed all the smells and gave him fresh new blankets.
Back to bed to check on him in 2 hours. Two hours later we come out and find the same thing. Poop everywhere... Not good. I take him out and wait for 25-30 minutes in the cool night for him to do smething on the sidewalk, but he refuses. So i take him inside and he immediately pees INSIDE his crate. We're quite stressed now because if he's so willing to potty in his sleeping quarters, I have no idea how we are going to housebreak him.
Its 4:30am and first change we do is move the crate into our bedroom right by the bed. If he has to go, I'm assuming he'll make some noises or cry a bit and I'm thinking maybe now I can hear him and get him out before he goes. It seems like he got all his potty-needs already done earlier (in his crate grr) because he sleeps until 7am. Good boy.
Day 2:
At 7am we take him to the park and he immediately pees on the ground. Wow, ok so he seems to be fine with peeing outside, he just requires grass right now. Fair enough, it's a process. We compliment him and give him a kibble as positive reinforcement.
Feeding time, same berserk crazy puppy for food, but we continue to wait until he is calm for a few seconds before feeding training. Better than day 1 definitely. After eating we put him in his crate to rest and digest. After 20 minutes or so we carry him to the park and he pees again right away. WHOOZAGOOBOY! No poop though. So I bring him back in the apartment and play for about 20 minutes, then back carried to the park. He poops!
it is clear to us now that we have to use the park to housebreak him. We start telling him to GO POTTY right as he is about to, and then positive reinforce with kibble and love. Caught a few of his "seeking for spot modes" after playing but immediately scooped him up and brought him to park where he pees unless he gets distracted (which happens often). Oh we'll it's a process.
He is really loving his crate now. No fuss, will curl up and go to sleep. We leave him unattended for the first time for about an hour and a half. Come back and he is now awake but no mess. Right to the park!
He had 2 accidents in the house on day 2 but only because I didn't catch his search mode.
Night time the true test. We feed him 4 hours before bed and this seems to be the right timing as we get a poop out of him. He hasn't yet poop and peed together on the same trip, but baby steps right? With the crate by the bed I figure he will let us know when he has to go, but I wake up after 2.5 hours anyway and he's asleep. Take him out anyway to the park and he pees. Back to bed immediately, we dont get into any playing or fun walking, it's all business.
Around 4:30 I wake him up again and take him to the park. POOP AND PEES! We are very excited about this and he now appears to be running over for his treat after he goes. This boy is learning very very fast.
I'm typing this on the morning of Day 3 having gone through a whole night with no crying, accidents, or failure to go potty when brought to the park. The plan is to train him to "go potty" on command at the park and then begin to try to use the sidewalk with the command. Right now he's sleeping in his crate after eating, and his disgestion seems to take 45 min or so, so it's time to get him outside.
I hope this helps anyone who might be stressing about whether their dog will "get it" or new puppy owners. We have the next adventure of going to work tomorrow morning all day and will have a dog walker coming 3 times for the first week to see how he does. Will report back in if anyone is interested!
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I guess he's still a work in progress... LOL I had to take all bedding out of the crate too because he kept peeing in the crate which thankfully he has stopped that. Good Luck w/Butter he's adorable!!!
She'll scratch on the bathroom door if she wants to go lay on the tile, the front door if she wants to look outside, etc. We joke that she thinks she has magic paws. 
