Hi Everyone, I have had my French Bulldog puppy for almost 6 weeks now and she is 4.5 months old. We currently live in an apartment so she has been pad trained and she uses them very well. When we got her she was a little poorly so she couldn't have her last vaccine which meant she had to start the vaccine process again. She has now been going out for about 2 weeks and over the last few days she has started refusing to walk! If I carry her so far and turn around to head home she will happily walk back towards home. Any advice? Many Thanks Lauren
We are also having an issue with sleeping through the night. I am wondering if I am expecting too much too soon? Rae is still waking around 3 times a night, she doesn't cry or whine to be let out but I hear her moving around her crate which is in our bedroom so I get up to let her out, she normally has 2 pees and 1 poop. If I don't hear her then she seems happy enough to pee and poop in her crate, she also tends to eat her poop if we aren't quick enough at getting it away from her! Any tips or suggestions to get her sleeping through and to stop her eating her poop? Thanks Lauren
Hello Lauren and Rae, welcome to Breedia from Tikva and me I am not sure if or how I can give you the magic information, but I will try to give you my opinion. I am not going to disagree with pad training as I had to do that with Tikki as she was only three-weeks-old [far too young] when she came to me. And at just gone four-years-old I still keep a pad in the corner of my salon for emergencies. Rae has missed out on earlier things due to being poorly and not having had full inoculations to be out and learn about the outside world. Give her time to learn that the outside world can be fun and not scary. Sleeping though the night? Tikki slept and still sleeps in a crate in my bedroom. She used to eep when she wanted a bottle and although she did, then, at times, pee in her crate [lined with a puppy pad] if I could not get up in time, but she never poo'd in it. Coprophagia, eating poo, usually pups grow out of it although there are numerous "stop your dog from eating poo "suggestions/advice/pills to stop it" I have no idea whether they work or not. Some pups do eat poo, some pups do not. Any photos of little Rae yet? We all love to see new Breedia pups!
Hello Tikva and Juli, Thank you for the welcome. I worry all the time, this is my first ever puppy and I love her so much, I want to make sure I am doing everything right to raise a well balanced happy pup. I will add some more pictures later when I am home from work.
Just take it easy Lauren - Rae is a baby and as such you have to treat her as a baby. You say you live in an apartment so it is probably not so easy for you to take Rae out during the night when she moves around her crate. Believe me, getting up to give a bottle whenever Tikva eeped was even worse then when one of my offspring were babies! Well, at least they wore diapers! Give her time. Do not let her know that if she pees or poos in her crate is not nice. Just shrug it off, because if she is like Tikva, her crate is hers, although as I said, as a puppy she might pee in it but not poo in it. And she is only in her crate [closed] at night. That is her territory and once it is bed time and the crate is closed, that is it. Even though her crate is at the end of my bed, that is her territory, and once in it [her choice as to what time] that is that. Even though I usually do not go to bed until later. As for going out - if Rae does not want to go out for the moment, carry her out to somewhere you can sit and watch the world go by, then let her walk home if she will. Just do not force anything on her that distresses her. Give her time. Slowly, slowly and gently gently. And stop worrying! Juli xx
My dog would do this too. After a while, he will kinda stop walking but same as you... He will gladly walk if we turn back towards home. He's nearly 7 and he's never had good hips and he's a large breed dog. I figure he just is tired or his feet are beginning to get sore or something and I take him back home. I can't be pressed to try and force him to keep walking and he's 100 lbs so there is no carrying him. This day and age I barely walk him on leash anymore, I just let him out in the yard to play and when he gets tired... He comes to the door and we go in.
@mjfromga I hardly think you can compare your nearly seven-year-old dog with the OP's puppy. Perhaps it might be a good idea if you gave advice on the subject in question?
As if you can compare a 3 week old puppy that still belongs with its mother to a 4-5 month old puppy. Are you trying to make any sort of legitimate point? If so, please try again because you missed the mark. I did not truly give any advice nor did I make any comparisons between our dogs besides the behavior. But I still think my point is valid. If my puppy didn't want to keep going, I wouldn't force him... Perhaps it might be a good idea if you let me say my bit and I let you say yours?
Make walks fun, I would keep treating and praising whenever she does walk, If you have a car I would drive to somewhere quiet and let her explore. Some puppies need to go out once or twice a night for a few weeks or more, others are sleeping through the night at a young age. I set the alarm for every 2/3 hours for first week, working time up till they would whimper if they wanted to go. When they whined to go to the toilet it was a swift, out of the bed, outside for a wee/poo, No playing or fussing or anything else. Always took them in the garden after every feed, drink, playtime, sleep and used a command go toilet .
Thank you all for your comments. We went for a walk this evening, Rae refused to walk until another dog came along and she happily followed him until he was out of sight, she then just stood still staring at me and listening to the sounds of the great outdoors. I picked her up and carried on walking for a bit then sat on a bench to let her sniff around but she was just trying to get on my lap. Anyway I got up and headed back the way we came and she walked all the way home even stopping to play with a family of 4 Frenchies X Boston terriers!
Oh what a "kiss me" puppy belly! Slowly slowly Lauren. Listen to Rae [I mean watch her body language] and accept if and when she wants to walk. And if she wants to be picked up? So what. She will soon learn that down and walkies is fun, in her time. Trying to force her to walk when she feels uncomfortable will not help her. She wants to walk? Fine. She wants a pick up so pick her up. And cuddle her and love her, and please kiss her tummy for me [and give her an ear twiddle]. She is a baby, she is beautiful, and slowly slowly she will get more confident. Just please do not push it. Give her time and let her learn how much fun outings can be. But again I say, slowly slowly! Juli xx
Do you have any friends with dogs who you could tag along with? It may get her moving a bit further. Don't overdo the walking and take her needs into account. When mine was a youngster she would let me know when she was tired and, at that stage, I'd pick her up. Now, of course, she can outwalk me by miles and never asks to be carried.
