Archive for the tag 'house breaking'

Ask the French Bulldog Trainer - When to start training?

gollygear July 5th, 2008

Hi, my question is: How early should you start training your french bulldog puppy? We’re getting our french bulldog soon (next week!) and were thinking about doing some private sessions at home as well as a puppy class as well. However, we weren’t sure if 8-9 weeks was too young.

Thanks!

Hope writes -

A new puppy! Congratulations!
Puppies are sponges. Like all other babies, they start learning from the moment they’re born. When the pup becomes yours, you automatically become its teacher. Your objective is to make sure it learns what you want it to know.
When you call your pup by its name - reward it for coming. Never, ever punish your dog for coming to you. The converse is also an absolute: never call your dog to punish or correct it.
Praise your dog for appropriate behavior - when he potties outside, when he chews on a toy instead of your fingers, when he sits. Name the good behavior while you do this “good go potty,” “good sit,” etc.
A puppy class is good for socialization and fundamentals. It’s also good to have a trainer right there who will answer all your questions and give immediate feedback, knowing you and your puppy. Please do your research on the class - observe before you bring your dog and make sure that the environment is safe your your little one.
Unless this is your first dog and you’re looking for help with basics: housebreaking, chewing, jumping, socialization, etc., there’s not much point to a private trainer at this age. Puppies are notorious for being brilliant in obedience, until it all falls out of their heads when they hit adolescence.
I would let your puppy be a puppy; teach the basics, including “sit and accept praise,” “come,” “sit,” “down,” walking nicely on lead, and the all-important “leave it.” It’s enough of a lesson plan for now. Babies have a limited attention span and Frenchies aren’t crazy about repetitive drills. There are some dogs who will endlessly “practise” a behavior, Frenchies aren’t among them. Training sessions for a puppy should be a couple of minutes, a few times a day, not counting the continuous training of daily life.
You can always add on and pursue further training - no dog is too old to learn new tricks. As always, when you are researching trainers and classes, don’t be shy about checking them out. You are your puppy’s advocate. Never allow anyone to do anything with your pup that you’re not comfortable with - and don’t let them convince you to, either.
Good luck with the baby!
-Hope

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Ask the Trainer - French Bulldog Puppy Won’t Potty Train

admin June 27th, 2008

I have a french bulldog who will be a year old in August.  We got him at around 5 months old, and he was used to going to the bathroom wherever he wanted.

We are having a very hard time potty training him. He is put in a crate, and does well for the most part, but still has several accidents in the house.

I know he knows he is supposed to go outside. He sometimes goes to the door, but not always.

Any Advice? Thanks!

Hope writes -

Potty training a Frenchie can be a long, tedious, frustrating process. Frenchies truly have to be convinced you’re serious about housebreaking.

You’ve started with a disadvantage - your little guy came with a bad habit and not only has to be trained to eliminate in the proper place - he has to be “untrained” not to go in the wrong place. You say that he “knows” he’s supposed to go out. I would suggest that, at this point, he knows that “out” is one of his options. He’s not convinced it’s the only one.

I’m sorry to say there’s no quick and easy fix. You’re going to have to go back to the beginning. When you’re not able to pay attention to him, he goes in his crate. If you can pay partial attention to him, he’s attached by a leash to your belt loop. If he tries to leave the room - you’re right on his heels, ready to take him out.

Establish a schedule for “potty breaks” and stick to it. If he doesn’t take advantage of a potty break to “do his business” he goes into his crate for 10 minutes to think about it. Then try again.

I know it’s not much fun, but once they get the routine firmly established in their hard little heads, Frenchies are capable of sticking to the house rules.

-Hope

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Ask the French Bulldog Trainer - Sneaky Piddling Frenchie

admin June 20th, 2008

Dear Hope,

My husband surprised my boys and I with a French bulldog puppy we had
all been looking at for about a week back on December 27th. He has
been a wonderful dog for our family. He is sweet, smart, fun and my
boys absolutely adore him! My husband and I do as well except for 1
little thing… he is a piddler (our term for just randomly urinating
all over our house..) I do not believe that it is a medical problem
because he has been going all night without messing his crate since
January/February. He knows to go to the door if he needs to go
outside and does it. We have noticed that his “piddling” increases
whenever he is not being played with or loved on. I think his
“piddling” is his reaction when he is not the center of attention.

What are your thoughts and recommendations on how to get him to stop?
Thanks for your help!

Hope writes -

Dogs aren’t people! Dogs are not spiteful, sneaky, sulky or secretive. If a dog wants attention, he comes up to you and barks, jumps, wiggles, brings a toy, tugs on you, or other direct means of drawing your attention. He doesn’t go off and piddle somewhere just to “show you” he’s neglected.

The reason he piddles when you’re not paying attention is because - you weren’t paying attention and missed his signals he had to go out! He truly isn’t securely housebroken - he doesn’t know the rules yet.

Go back to the beginning. If no one is actively watching him - he’s in his crate. When he earns a bit of trust, put on his harness and leash and attach him to your belt loop while you’re going about your daily life. As soon as he starts sniffing around, indicating a need to go - take him out and praise him when he “does his business.”

Your pup just needs reinforcement of his training. He’s not being headstrong or willful - he’s letting you know he’s not sure of the rules.

-Hope

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Ask the Trainer - Poopy Butt Puppy Problem

gollygear March 7th, 2008

Hi,

We have a three year old female, white, French bulldog. When Tinkerbell (the breeder named her!) poops there is often stool left around the anus, which needs to be wiped off. We have been using baby wipes, but she hates this and must be held by the scruff of the neck to avoid being bitten. Even so, she snarls and growls ferociously when this is being done as if it’s very painful. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with this? Also, she has fairly recently started pooping on the floor/carpet at night. We never see her doing this during the day so it is difficult to train her to stop this practice. We would appreciate your advice on this. Thank you.

Hope writes -

Hello!

My first thought when I read about your dilemma is that Tinkerbell needs to see her veterinarian. For a couple of reasons: her poop should be fairly firm and she should be able to eliminate cleanly. If it’s soft or loose, she may be having problems with the food she’s eating. Secondly, she may be having an issue with her anal glands, which would make the area tender and painful when you attempt to wipe her. She could also be allergic to something in the wipes, another possible cause of irritation.

As for pooping at night - Tinkerbell is a very smart girl. She knows that something unpleasant happens to her when you see her poop. So she’s doing it when you’re not paying attention. The solution, if the problem does not resolve itself after a visit to your vet, is to go back to her puppy days and crate her at night. She’ll probably complain about it at first, so you’ll all be in for a miserable few nights, but it’s the only sure way of solving the problem.

Please let us know how Tinkerbell does.

-Hope

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