New Member! Having BIG problems...Help! :[

[LiLlilly]

Definitely try the not looking at her when she is outside, when we adopted our 4 yr old frenchie 6 weeks ago she would only go to the bathroom inside. After a few weeks we were outside one morning and I dropped her leash and she literally walked like 15 yards away from me and went!! It was amazing, I guess she just wanted to go further away from us. She will still have an accident in the house once in awhile, but it went from 5 a day to maybe 1 or 2 a week! Its all about routine, we just bring her out at least every two hours and if she doesn't go we will bring her over to where Gio peed and once she smells it she goes. Also when Gio is going to the bathroom we just praise him and clap so when she sees that she usually goes right away. Good luck, don't give up you will get there eventually!!

I also thought this. I tried keeping her on the retractable leash, and then just letting her go loose. But she's SO scared of the outside she won't do anything but run home, or sit right next to me. I try making her walk away from me or me walk away, but she just comes right back to me and sits there. She'll also run under things. If there is a park bench in her sights when she off leash she runs to it and sits under it. If I call her once she's under there she would sit there all night, and not move if I let her. She's so afraid, it's very sad.

 

[Cooper11]

I didn't read all the comments but I am thinking they are saying the same thing. She is already a year old and sounds like she didn't come from a loving family. it is going to take time and patience but she will learn all you want her to if you are persistent. You need to get her outside more and get her use to it. Make sure there is not a lot going on where ever you take car wether it be other dogs, cars, kids, loud construction....she will come over here fear sooner or later. The food and bone aggression is a hard one and I hope you don't have any little ones. If you do or if you don't you already know she has this problem and you need to be extra careful yourself and not bother her. I think this type of problem is something very hard to get them out of it. I wonder if she is a "mini" because they never fed her enough and she is just so hungry and use to not getting food,,,that when she does she doesn't want anyone to take it. I dunno if the term mini bulldog even exist but she is def a tiny one. The breeder I got my bully from had a past buyer post a pic of her 3 year old bully who weighs 23 lbs! So there are smaller English Bulldogs out there. But like I said just keep up the work. They say try canned pumpkin for loose stools. Also have you taken her to the vet yet....maybe parasites??? I would consider Fromm dog food....many have had good luck with that kind of food and it seems to mesh very good with bullies! Good Luck!

 

[Poppy]

Puppy mills are awful mass breeding facilities that are focused on profits over animal welfare. The dogs usually live their entire lives in cages in their own filth and no vet care. The social challenges you mention w. Lilly, i.e. the fear and hiding under things & soiling in her crate are all very common with a puppy mill dog. Of course it's hard to speculate and given the wrong owner any dog can turn out like that. For example when my boy was a pup he was terrified of outside noises, whenever a car drove by he would hit the deck. This is because he's from a breeder in a very small town in Manitoba. Like, population of 80.
Now, amplify that by a year and constantly being crated and soiling in your crate and you have Lilly. Whatever it was it's done a real number on her.

As for if you think your approach is working or not. If you have been consistent for months and your energy is calm and you've stuck with it, still no changes, then no it's not working for her. It depends on how long you've kept up the routine, the walks, and the encouragement. Have you noticed she seems more comfortable since you got her? Go for the small victories and work your way up.

Anyway it may not be a bad idea to speak with a behaviourist and get their take on it as well. It's easy for us to provide you with encourage and tips, we all mean well and are so thrilled you have her. But a professionals advice might speed things up or give a perspective that is more primal, and less animal-lover-with-a-keyboard (me!).

Good luck! Have a tall drink this weekend LOL

 

[Cooper11]

o and if you put the pee pad outside will she pee on it????? Just a try!

 

[kazzy220]

Puppy mills are awful mass breeding facilities that are focused on profits over animal welfare. The dogs usually live their entire lives in cages in their own filth and no vet care. The social challenges you mention w. Lilly, i.e. the fear and hiding under things & soiling in her crate are all very common with a puppy mill dog. Of course it's hard to speculate and given the wrong owner any dog can turn out like that. For example when my boy was a pup he was terrified of outside noises, whenever a car drove by he would hit the deck. This is because he's from a breeder in a very small town in Manitoba. Like, population of 80.
Now, amplify that by a year and constantly being crated and soiling in your crate and you have Lilly. Whatever it was it's done a real number on her.

As for if you think your approach is working or not. If you have been consistent for months and your energy is calm and you've stuck with it, still no changes, then no it's not working for her. It depends on how long you've kept up the routine, the walks, and the encouragement. Have you noticed she seems more comfortable since you got her? Go for the small victories and work your way up.

Anyway it may not be a bad idea to speak with a behaviourist and get their take on it as well. It's easy for us to provide you with encourage and tips, we all mean well and are so thrilled you have her. But a professionals advice might speed things up or give a perspective that is more primal, and less animal-lover-with-a-keyboard (me!).

Good luck! Have a tall drink this weekend LOL

Good explanation of a puppy mill!!!!

 

[LiLlilly]

o and if you put the pee pad outside will she pee on it????? Just a try!

I did try this. I tried taking a pad out and not looking at her to give her privacy. And nada...

 

[bulliemommi]

Just wanted to see how you guys were doing? Do you take treats out on your walks? I mentioned this in another thread. Maybe if you rewarded her every step of the way, she'd associate going outside with getting a treat/positive reinforcement? Do you talk excitedly to her, and say Let's go for a walk in a positive voice? before you go out? (Because I wouldn't blame you if you were grumbling by the 5th time you were going out there after cleaning up poo and pee - but she could be picking up on your frustration too. I feel for both of you! )
And if she does go potty, reward her double, praise etc? Do you have a long leash so she can get away from you, so to speak, to do her thing?

ETA: And you may feel stupid, but do you talk to her on your walks? If you're talking to her, maybe she would focus more on you then the noise going on around her? People probably think I am a freak but I talk to our bullie all the time and I swear he seems to understand a lot of what I say to him.

 

[kazzy220]

[MENTION=4443]LiLlilly[/MENTION]. How is Lilly doing now?

 

[LiLlilly]

UPDATE:
4/11/12

Lilly has been doing pretty well, and is finally starting to come around. Slowly, but surely we have been seeing small steps at helping her figure it out. I have calmed down A LOT, and really do think it's helped a lot. I was expecting too much from her I think, and the pace we're going now seems to be a lot more comfortable for her. We have uncovered some new interesting details about her though. I'll get to that later...But potty training has been going great! She doesn't go outside yet, BUT! She goes on the potty pads on demand. She understand there is a treat after every time she "does the right thing." I say "Lilly go pee," and boom she goes. After she pees I praise the heck out of her and give her half of a treat. I go back in the bathroom put another pad down, and I say the same thing. She poops. I praise, and reward her with the other half. She couldn't be happier with these arrangements lol!

So, I figure if I can keep her on this excited energy after going to the bathroom, and knowing the command for going potty we're in! She is more comfortable being outside at my parents house, so I'm going to keep bringing her there from time to time to try and get her to go outside. I figured bring a pad with me won't hurt either. We basically gave up taking her out every hour on the hour, and making her hold it. I felt like we just needed to go back the the basics, and it's been going super well. She goes outside, but in small amounts for now. I exercise her by playing fetch in my apartment lol. I have faith in her that she'll understand what I want eventually. And now that I can at least control when, and where in the apartment my mind is at ease with potty training. Just need time now and she'll be going out in no time.

We've noticed something weird though. She is seriously afraid of everything, not just outside. I have a really good feeling she was beat. Because her fears can be the most random things, and it's nothing in specific really. Example: Lilly was sitting in my living room, and I walked by with a notebook in my hand and she flipped out!! She ran as fast she could right under my futon and was petrified after looking up at me as if I was gonna hit her. I noticed a trend that with anything that's lifted over her head, she think's she's going to be hit with. It happened with a brush once, potato chip bag, pillows, and other random objects. She'll get super low to the ground, and run her *** off to hide. And you could look right into her eyes and know shes scared. Real scared. I don't like this because I feel like she doesn't really trust us if she thinks we're going to hit her every time we walk by with something. This I'm kind of dumbfounded as to how to fix this...I try and bring her back out and expose her to whatever it was, and tell her its ok and try demonstrating it's nothing to be afraid of. I wait until she calms down usually and pet her while she sits next to it. But as soon as I let her go, she runs to get away lol. I feel so bad for her...She seriously must have been hit bad for her to be this scared.

Her stools have been looking normal, so that's good. But, her gas is still horrible. She's not really bloated anymore, but her farts can literally stink up my entire apartment, they're disgusting lol. So, I'm wondering if maybe she has some kind of food allergy. Her ears sometimes get a little stinky and need to be cleaned often. And, sometimes her face will get itchy. She's eating Merricks Chicken Pot Pie, and I wonder if maybe it's a chicken allergy.

New thing she's been doing from time to time if I leave a pad out in the bathroom is poop on her own, and eat it....Dis..Gus...ting...I need to fix this asap. If anyone has any info on this I'd appreciate some help.

Otherwise, she's been doing well. I just wish she would calm down a bit, and not be afraid of me all the time. And I would love to figure out what's causing her to fart so much lol. I know they're gassy dogs, but my Chester was nothing compared to her. I would take 10 Chester farts over 1 of hers...LOL! I think going outside will take sometime, but she'll come around when she knows she's getting food after going outside every time instead of my bathroom.

 

[Fontanafox]

I'm impressed with her pooing and peeing on command on a pad no less! My mixed dog has the stinkiest farts and he's even on probiotics and psyllium corn husk capsules to try to get his poo to firm up and so far so good but the stinky farts are still killers. I've got a scaredy cat bulldog too but I've had him since a puppy and other than a tv tray tipping over on him I can't seem to reassure him that anything over his head is not going to get him. So I don't know if you have to be beaten to be afraid of stuff. It's just something I accept but I don't over fuss about it otherwise he'll think it's ok to run and hide all the time if he gets "poor baby' at every incident. Sounds like you've been an excellent and patient parent so keep up the good work and give yourself lots of pats on the back for those "baby steps" cuz they count as much as the big steps.

 

[LiLlilly]

Yeah that was the big thing I realized. I need to really celebrate the small victories rather then try and accomplish so much. Ever since I calmed my energy down, and praised her for the small things, it's been clicking into place. That's interesting to know that your dog has the same problem. I've been contemplating going to an animal communicator. I've seen some amazing things done by them, and I want to see if maybe they could help me determine how to fix it.

 

[2BullyMama]

UPDATE:
4/11/12

Lilly has been doing pretty well, and is finally starting to come around. Slowly, but surely we have been seeing small steps at helping her figure it out. I have calmed down A LOT, and really do think it's helped a lot. I was expecting too much from her I think, and the pace we're going now seems to be a lot more comfortable for her. We have uncovered some new interesting details about her though. I'll get to that later...But potty training has been going great! She doesn't go outside yet, BUT! She goes on the potty pads on demand. She understand there is a treat after every time she "does the right thing." I say "Lilly go pee," and boom she goes. After she pees I praise the heck out of her and give her half of a treat. I go back in the bathroom put another pad down, and I say the same thing. She poops. I praise, and reward her with the other half. She couldn't be happier with these arrangements lol!

So, I figure if I can keep her on this excited energy after going to the bathroom, and knowing the command for going potty we're in! She is more comfortable being outside at my parents house, so I'm going to keep bringing her there from time to time to try and get her to go outside. I figured bring a pad with me won't hurt either. We basically gave up taking her out every hour on the hour, and making her hold it. I felt like we just needed to go back the the basics, and it's been going super well. She goes outside, but in small amounts for now. I exercise her by playing fetch in my apartment lol. I have faith in her that she'll understand what I want eventually. And now that I can at least control when, and where in the apartment my mind is at ease with potty training. Just need time now and she'll be going out in no time.

We've noticed something weird though. She is seriously afraid of everything, not just outside. I have a really good feeling she was beat. Because her fears can be the most random things, and it's nothing in specific really. Example: Lilly was sitting in my living room, and I walked by with a notebook in my hand and she flipped out!! She ran as fast she could right under my futon and was petrified after looking up at me as if I was gonna hit her. I noticed a trend that with anything that's lifted over her head, she think's she's going to be hit with. It happened with a brush once, potato chip bag, pillows, and other random objects. She'll get super low to the ground, and run her *** off to hide. And you could look right into her eyes and know shes scared. Real scared. I don't like this because I feel like she doesn't really trust us if she thinks we're going to hit her every time we walk by with something. This I'm kind of dumbfounded as to how to fix this...I try and bring her back out and expose her to whatever it was, and tell her its ok and try demonstrating it's nothing to be afraid of. I wait until she calms down usually and pet her while she sits next to it. But as soon as I let her go, she runs to get away lol. I feel so bad for her...She seriously must have been hit bad for her to be this scared.

Her stools have been looking normal, so that's good. But, her gas is still horrible. She's not really bloated anymore, but her farts can literally stink up my entire apartment, they're disgusting lol. So, I'm wondering if maybe she has some kind of food allergy. Her ears sometimes get a little stinky and need to be cleaned often. And, sometimes her face will get itchy. She's eating Merricks Chicken Pot Pie, and I wonder if maybe it's a chicken allergy.

New thing she's been doing from time to time if I leave a pad out in the bathroom is poop on her own, and eat it....Dis..Gus...ting...I need to fix this asap. If anyone has any info on this I'd appreciate some help.

Otherwise, she's been doing well. I just wish she would calm down a bit, and not be afraid of me all the time. And I would love to figure out what's causing her to fart so much lol. I know they're gassy dogs, but my Chester was nothing compared to her. I would take 10 Chester farts over 1 of hers...LOL! I think going outside will take sometime, but she'll come around when she knows she's getting food after going outside every time instead of my bathroom.

WOW... what great strides! Love the potty on command!