Potty training a puppy...

mistyloveslife

I have a 3 month old American Bulldog. She's super smart but extremely hyper. My husband has taught her to sit, stay, fetch and shake. She's even diciplined enough to sit while he prepares her food and not touch it until he says eat. She's wild and crazy and we love her. However, she has been impossible when it comes to potty training. She will poop 2 or 3 times in her crate sometimes within an hour. She stomps in it and sleeps in it. She will even lay her head on it like it's a pillow! And on her worst days, she will eat it. Anyone have these issues and still potty train their puppy? I know we need to shrink her crate down. One would think she would use the back of her crate and not lay in it if she could at all help it. Any tips would be helpful. We are crate shrinking tonight. I'm not sure how much longer we can bath her twice and day and pick poop out of the toe nails. It's overwhelming!

CoolDad67

Do you take her out to poop after she eats?

When we were training our puppies, we would feed them and then wait about 10-15 minutes and then take them outside for a poop.

AusAshMommy

The bigger question is Are you allowing her enough time after she's eaten to both use the potty and finish? This way she doesn't mess her crate.

With a 3-Mos old dog they have to be taken out to potty about once an hour sometimes every 30-Mins until they "get it"

After every meal (which should in a perfect world be 3-times a day), Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner she needs to be taken out within 20-Mins to go Pee and Poop - Don't go back inside until she's gone

After every play session, within 5 mins, she needs to go out to potty

After she wakes up from a nap, within 5 mins, she needs to go potty

At that age you should be waking up in the middle of the night still to take her out, ideally she should be sleeping in 3-4 hour blocks, and if she wakes up at night you and/or your hubby HAS to get up with her and take her out.

Taking her to go potty with be the center of your world until she is good and potty trained.

We adopted a 7-Mos old Pit Mix earlier this year who was somewhat potty trained and it's taken us until about a month ago to get her 100% potty trained so that now she'll "tell" us in her own way she needs to go potty - meaning she taps us with her nose and darts off towards to back door. This repeats until we've taken her to go potty.

Because she's so young it's entirely on you and your hubby to get her out, she's not old enough to ask to be taken out, while she's smart, and American Bulldogs are, she's just not mature enough to know the signals.

When she does potty outside you HAVE to praise her and make a huge to do about it, the trainer @ PetsMart once suggested taking treats out with you so that as soon as she goes outside she gets both praise and a treat. You can slowly back those off as she's starting to get it.

Good Luck!

**My hubby works @ PetsMart, we've fostered dozens of pups ranging from 8 Weeks to 2yrs old, some who were potty trained, some not so much, this is all based on our experiences with them**

GothyFaery

In addition to praising and treating when she does go, you can also give her a vocal command while she is doing it then praise and treat when she is done. We have done this with our most recent puppy and she pees on command 80% of the time. We're still working with her.

ETA: The pee on command can be nice when you are in a hurry and don't have time to stand around for 15 or 20 minutes waiting. Or when it's really cold out and you don't want to!

Chieflrg

I concur with the wait 15-20 after puppy eats and then take outside and have patience. Lots of praise as soon as puppy does the business. You have to be watching for signs when they are going to go and bring puppy immediately outside if they made a mistake.

I usually don't greet my puppy when I get home or wake up until I take her out and she goes. Then she gets mucho lovin' and even treats when she was younger(3month).

Voice command will work too, mine is 6 months now and she travels a lot with me in the car. She know when we are walking towards car to go before she gets in now without me saying.

One piece of advice that many people make a mistake on is taking puppy out too often. You have to let their bladder/rectum get use to holding the waste for longer periods of time. If puppy is only use to an hour and you have to crate them for more or they need to sleep all night, its very tough on them to hold it when they are younger until things stretch out and get bigger.

bf43005

Everyone already gave pretty good advice on getting her to pee/poop outside. Just wanted to put out there if she continues to eat her poop I have heard putting some pineapple in their diet makes the poop smell bad to them so they stop the urge to eat it.