General Question My Dirty Little Secret: My Almost 3 Year Old Bulldog is NOT Fully Housebroken

[sheshistory]

Let me preface this post by saying I have housebroken, without incident, 2 other bulldogs.

Then I got Truman.

Truman is a healthy 3 year old bulldog. He never goes potty in his cage. He never goes potty in the house when we are there. But when I go upstairs for a few minutes to shower, or when I run out for a few minutes to go to the store, he will pee or poop on the kitchen floor. I am convinced it is an entirely behavioral issue since, most times, it's barely a trickle of pee - but there it is.

Short of crating him every single time I leave the room, what can I do? How do I break this horrible habit? I don't know if scolding him does any good because I don't catch him in the act?

Truman has been given a clean bill of health as recently as last week so I'm sure it's not a medical issue.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[bullmama]

Let me preface this post by saying I have housebroken, without incident, 2 other bulldogs.

Then I got Truman.

Truman is a healthy 3 year old bulldog. He never goes potty in his cage. He never goes potty in the house when we are there. But when I go upstairs for a few minutes to shower, or when I run out for a few minutes to go to the store, he will pee or poop on the kitchen floor. I am convinced it is an entirely behavioral issue since, most times, it's barely a trickle of pee - but there it is.

Short of crating him every single time I leave the room, what can I do? How do I break this horrible habit? I don't know if scolding him does any good because I don't catch him in the act?

Truman has been given a clean bill of health as recently as last week so I'm sure it's not a medical issue.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Don't scold him, ignore him and only school that the mass itself. If you are giving him attention, even if it is negative attention, it is still attention.


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[bullmama]

Dang microphone I meant only scold the mess itself


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[kazzy220]

Yes, I agree, this sounds like attention seeking. He's acting out because you've left him behind. If I were you, when I went upstairs I'd take him with me! And when I run to the shops for a couple of things into the crate he goes.

We don't have the peeing and pooping incidents ... with us it's Linus who attempts to eat stuff whenever we're not looking at him. So if I shower he (luckily) follows me upstairs and enjoys annoying Bella by getting up on our bed ... because Bella can't get up there by herself .. and that REALLY pisses her off. When I leave he's in his crate (with no blanket and no crate tray/liner) even if I only intend to be gone 5 minutes!!

 

[sheshistory]

Yes, I agree, this sounds like attention seeking. He's acting out because you've left him behind. If I were you, when I went upstairs I'd take him with me! And when I run to the shops for a couple of things into the crate he goes.

We don't have the peeing and pooping incidents ... with us it's Linus who attempts to eat stuff whenever we're not looking at him. So if I shower he (luckily) follows me upstairs and enjoys annoying Bella by getting up on our bed ... because Bella can't get up there by herself .. and that REALLY pisses her off. When I leave he's in his crate (with no blanket and no crate tray/liner) even if I only intend to be gone 5 minutes!!

I guess I should crate him when I leave but, at 3 years old, I really hoped that I wouldn't have to. Taking him upstairs with me isn't an option since I don't really let the dogs on the second floor of the house, except for baths and other special occasions. (And because Linus can't get up there like he used to.)

 

[kazzy220]

I guess I should crate him when I leave but, at 3 years old, I really hoped that I wouldn't have to. Taking him upstairs with me isn't an option since I don't really let the dogs on the second floor of the house, except for baths and other special occasions. (And because Linus can't get up there like he used to.)

In which case I'd get a kong and stuff it with frozen veggies or fill with peanut butter and freeze that. Cos it looks like you're going to have to crate him every time you go upstairs or if you go out ... at least you won't feel so guilty if you can give him a frozen kong to keep him amused!!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I'm thinking this attention thing will get much worse in a few months??? But I agree, I think it's totally behavioral. The only way to correct it is to truly monitor him and I would even put him on a leash while out of a crate. Be on him like flies on if you don't get it corrected, he will not outgrow it. Little stinker..good thing he's so cute!

 

[thesspa]

Have you tried taking him out for his business prior to going upstairs first to see if that makes a difference? I was maybe trying some new habbits to break the cycle??

 

[sheshistory]

Have you tried taking him out for his business prior to going upstairs first to see if that makes a difference? I was maybe trying some new habbits to break the cycle??

Yes and no. I get lazy because Truman will literally go outside 300 times a day if I let him.

This evening, before I went upstairs to change out of my work clothes and do some chores, I let him out right before and no messes so maybe that's the key - even if he's comfortable on the couch or sleeping, make him go outside until he learns that a little pee in the kitchen is a big deal to me!

 

[sheshistory]

I'm thinking this attention thing will get much worse in a few months??? But I agree, I think it's totally behavioral. The only way to correct it is to truly monitor him and I would even put him on a leash while out of a crate. Be on him like flies on if you don't get it corrected, he will not outgrow it. Little stinker..good thing he's so cute!

He won't go potty when I am downstairs at all. I have to be upstairs or run out for a few minutes - even if it's only 15 minutes, if he's up and around, he will pee.

I have also considered how things will be in a few months, which is EXACTLY why I'm finally putting my foot down now. Next up is jumping. He's awful with that when he gets super excited. Eeeeesh, Truman!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

He won't go potty when I am downstairs at all. I have to be upstairs or run out for a few minutes - even if it's only 15 minutes, if he's up and around, he will pee.

I have also considered how things will be in a few months, which is EXACTLY why I'm finally putting my foot down now. Next up is jumping. He's awful with that when he gets super excited. Eeeeesh, Truman!

Cute stinker AND smart too!
it would be crate time every time I was out if it were me. A pain yes..but it will be a much bigger pain own the road!

 

[Corlando465]

We had a Shih-tzu that would do that. It was definitely a behavioral issue: Separation Anxiety or "I'll show you not to leave me" defiance. I never quite figured it out and we were never able to break this behavior in the 14 years we had him. He was a wonderful dog other than that but no scolding, fussing or ignoring helped. We just either made sure to put him in his kennel when we left or take him with us.

Hopefully you'll have better success than I did.

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[luseaann]

I had a similar problem with Liz when we got Amy. Amy was not quite housebroken and Liz started going in the house. I ignored her, but made a big fuss about cleaning up the mess. She got it. Don't k now if it would work with other dogs. Amy was only housebroken well once we got doggy doors. She used to just squat real quick and keep playing!

 

[anatess]

Separation anxiety, I believe. Don't feel bad about a 3-yr old... I have a 5-year old that does this! The usual "treatment" for separation anxiety is training... Basically, you start off with leaving your dog by going to another room where he cant see you but you know what's going on in the room for 5 minutes at a time then praising him when you come back and nothing bad happened. Ignore him if he behaves badly. Then extend the time until you can safely leave him for extended periods. This didn't work for my dog though but then he has a really bad case of it (he's a bichon frise and this is one of the common breed challenge). So, he goes in the kennel even if I leave the house for only a few minutes. It's gotten a bit better since we got the other dogs. He can be ok for up to an hour now...

 

[thesspa]

Yes and no. I get lazy because Truman will literally go outside 300 times a day if I let him.

This evening, before I went upstairs to change out of my work clothes and do some chores, I let him out right before and no messes so maybe that's the key - even if he's comfortable on the couch or sleeping, make him go outside until he learns that a little pee in the kitchen is a big deal to me!

I'm so glad it worked at least once so you had the chance to reinforce the desired behavior....
keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!