[OmegaTwiddle]

Hello!

First time dog owner here, French bulldog puppy, male ~7 months.

We've been working on potty training, and overall he is pretty good. He will always pee and poo outside when I take him for a walk and he needs to go. However he seems to also want to pee inside on the carpet. I don't think it's an issue of "holding it", since if I keep him in his harness, he'll chill for at least a few hours without peeing. Yet if he is unharnessed and running around, he'll pee on the carpet whenever he feels like it (sometimes it's 15 minutes after we just finished a walk!)

Any help or advice here? What to train or troubleshoot? I'm trying to potty bells right now, and we're still learning. It seems it might be helping a bit, but he's still having "accidents" (or should I say, "intentionals"?)

Thank you!

 

[Lillith]

Was the puppy ever trained using a potty pad? Sometimes dogs mistake carpets, rugs, and other soft things as potty pads and think it is a good place to potty. Breaking the habit requires a bit more supervision.

At this point if you're still having accidents, the pup needs to be supervised 100% of the time when allowed to roam so you can see if the pup is looking like he wants to potty. If you can't supervise, crate the pup. Make potty breaks more frequent. A couple of hours might be too long.

Right after the walk, I would crate for 15 minutes, then immediately take the pup outside on leash for a post-walk potty break. Young dogs sometimes get so excited by the walk they forget to completely empty the tank.

Potty bells are useful for a dog that fully understands that potty always and only happens outside. It sounds like your dog hasn't grasped that quite yet, so perhaps hold off until potty training is solid. One step at a time!

 

[OmegaTwiddle]

Thanks so much for the advice, very helpful. I had trained him with a litterbox since I'm away at work during the day.

I'll hold off on the potty bells til we're further along. It's interesting, for us the harness is similar to a crate (he is somewhat subdued and does not feel the urge to eliminate when in the harness). We'll see how the supervision + frequent breaks does!

I guess my main question is "how do i know i'm ready to leave him unsupervised, and what can I do to get there". That sounds like a good strategy for "how to get there", but is there any way to know other than just letting him roam unsupervised (and potentially seeing accidents?).

 

[Knute]

During your walks you should be out long enough for the dog to empty his tank.

A 10-15 minute walk with a quick piddle is not enough. Generally, male dogs will piddle "mark" multiple times with just a few dribbles. This is the dog version of Facebook or Twitter.

Example: My dog typically will have 3 extended piddles at the beginning of the walk. Then the numerous Twitter posts will happen on nearly every tree, fire hydrant, sign post........ I watch him and keep walking until he is just waving his leg in the air with shooting dust. Then we can go back in the house.

Perhaps his walks should be a bit longer.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Every time your dog pees on the carpet he is self rewarded. Something to think about. Like a dog that counter surfs.... if you leave food on the counter and the dog gets it he has just been rewarded for counter surfing.

Peeing is pretty much the same.. if feels good to go and the more he pees on the carpet the more likely he will be to keep peeing on the carpet.

For what it is worth I know 4 people who own French Bulldogs. Of the 4, three of them are pretty savvy dog owners. Of the 4 all have had a very hard time house breaking their dog (these dogs are still not house broken and it has been years). One of the dogs also soils his crate and dances in it.... and does not give a single care.

The only advice is 100% vigilance, frequently get the dog out and fence off the carpeted areas so the dog cannot go on that surface and elect to pee. Good Luck.

 

[KylieHodges]

How I understand you! We went through a lot while training our Spaniel to use the toilet. To maintain cleanliness, cleaning should be done regularly and more thoroughly.

 

[RonE]

7-month old thread.

OmegaTwiddle
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