Hi Everyone! New member to the forum and first-time puppy owner! This weekend our French Bulldog Milo arrived. He is a little over eight weeks old. We are in the process of potty training/crate training him and would love some help. After sleeping, eating/drinking, and or playing we immediately take him for a walk. We are noticing he will pee, but upon re-entering the house will wait a few minutes and pee again on a puppy pad or in his crate. Last night was the first night we left him in his crate with the door closed. He slept the entire night and did not wake up once wining or crying. This morning I checked his bed and noticed it was wet. I am not sure if he had to much space or if I should have taken him out in between. We left a bed and blanket in his crate should we leave nothing besides the plastic pan? How much room should you leave between the divider panel and door? One of our friends gave us her Contour double door dog crate 36.5Lx2.25Wx24.625H. Thank you for the help.
First of all, welcome to the forum. You seem to be doing everything right, but what i would suggest is not take him for a walk after food or sleep, but straight out to where you want him to wee so he associates that place with where to go. And what I found with my little man is, that leaving the crate door open at night (if possible) gives the puppy reassurance that he can get up and not wee in his bed which he doesn't want to do, plus its easier to clean a floor than his bed constantly, which is what happened with Mr Bronson on his first night here. So from then on i left the door open and apart from a few accidents on the kitchen floor, at night he never moved once he was in bed, only to get comfy. What i always made sure i did as well was, when letting him out for a wee was look at him and ask 'do you want a wee' every single time so that was a trigger to let me know. Now his does his little dance and grunt to let me know before i even have to ask. Everything thing you are trying to teach should be short and repetitive, from telling him off to praise, so then it will take less time each time before he gets what you want from him. Hope this helps?
Would just like to add that it can take several months to house-train a puppy. The best way is to let him in the garden every time he wakes, after each meal or drink, and whenever you see him mooching around doors, or in the corners of the room. Really let him know that he has been clever when he does go in the right place.You may have more success overnight if you move the crate into your bedroom, or set an alarm for wee opportunity during the night. Clean any urine away with a biological product so it doesn't create a habitual place, and never let your puppy see that you are annoyed or disappointed by his mistakes. This can make him anxious, which can make him more likely to make mistakes.
Some very good advice. Could I also add that I'd use old towels or invest in some vet bed for the crate. These are easy to wash and will be comfortable for your youngster until he gets the housetraining cracked
I lined Tikva's crate with a puppy pad and put an old towel on top at the sleeping end. She had to be trained on a puppy pad because she was so young, although I did take her outside for the first couple of days until her then primary vet told me not to because they had a bad case of parvo at the surgery and did not know if there was any on the Moshav [the surgery is in town] - and there are too many loose and/or dumped dogs here. Not being prepared to risk it, Tikva had to be trained on a pad.
