# Housebreaking a 1 year old



## Winston6079 (Jun 8, 2011)

I recently took over ownership of a beautiful 1 year old American Bulldog. A male purebred, with papers. The former owner ended up divorced and moving in with her mom and two kids and this boisterous, very large dog did not fit in to her moms plans. He's spent the last few months living in a garage. I was asked so offered to take him. 

He is now living with my wife and I and two 10 year old female pits. They all seem to get along fairly well. I've been training him on the leash and basic commands like sit/down/stay/come. He's a smart dog and is learning quickly.

The major problem is he is not completely housebroken. Sometimes he will go for a few days without an accident then he will be on the floor twice in a day. If he is spooked he will pee as well. I reward him for going outside and scold him voice only if I catch him peeing inside.

I've resigned myself to the fact I may have to crate train him to housebreak him. I have an extra large crate but he is not very happy about getting in it. I have crate trained and housebroken many a pup but never a yearling. Am I looking at this the right way or is there a better approach.

Thanks


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## Puddin's Training Tips (Apr 9, 2011)

No need to scold at all. Just praise when he does potty outside.
Watch him like a Hawk when he is inside and calmly take him outside if you catch him in the act.
Scolding can create reverse housetraining (more info in the link below).

Treat him like he is a brand new puppy and start from the beginning.

You are going to need to acclimate him to the crate so he feels better about being in it.
Toss in some treats and close the door until he begs to go in. Let him in.
Put in the crate for a second, let him out. Put him in for 2 seconds, let him out, etc..

Make sure you use extra special treats to help him feel better about staying in the crate. 

More details on potty training here: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/latrenda/potty-training-101/

I forgot to mention - take him outside every hour when you are home and awake.


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## Winston6079 (Jun 8, 2011)

I have been taking him outside every hour while I am at home, two hours at the most. Every time after any kind of play or excitement and always after meals as well. I have left him as long as six hours with no accidents to greet me when I come home. He is also good for the 7-8 hours I am asleep. There has only been an accident in that case once or twice and not for a while. As soon as hear him up I go take him out. I am often gone for 3 to 4 hours at a time with no accidents. I watch him like a hawk when I am home. Most times when he pees, he does it when I am home and often within 30 minutes or so of just being outside. He will pee almost every single time I take him out, which is great. I always take him out to pee whenever I am leaving the house and whenever I return. Part of me thinks the peeing is a behavioural problem of some type, not a housebreaking problem.


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## Puddin's Training Tips (Apr 9, 2011)

Winston6079 said:


> Part of me thinks the peeing is a behavioural problem of some type, not a housebreaking problem.


Could be. All the more reason to never ever scold. That will just make him more anxious.
Could just be the new environment and taking some time to acclimate Keep doing what you are doing then. And clean up with Nature's miracle.
You can also try turning around and going back out right after you come it - if he tends to potty after being.
You could also try to think hard about what might have preceded the peeing - a noise he doesn't like - something another dog did, etc..

Good luck.


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## Winston6079 (Jun 8, 2011)

Do you think I should hold off with the crate training and just proceed as I have been... minus scolding him? I've only ever caught him twice in the act, most times its seconds after so too late anyways. Keeping an eye towards his surroundings and seeing if something is scaring or startling him?


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## Puddin's Training Tips (Apr 9, 2011)

Winston6079 said:


> Do you think I should hold off with the crate training and just proceed as I have been... minus scolding him? I've only ever caught him twice in the act, most times its seconds after so too late anyways. Keeping an eye towards his surroundings and seeing if something is scaring or startling him?


Good question. I believe a professional would say that you almost have to use a crate for potty training. 
But I have had 5 dogs and none of them were crate trained. I didn't even know about Nature's Miracle when I had my first 3 dogs.

If the dog doesn't like the crate, I wouldn't use it - or at least work on acclimation until he liked it, then use it.

If you have carpet you might want to consider a safe non carpeted room for easy clean up. And with carpet, sometimes the pee will soak all the way through to the pad and even Nature's Miracle won't help.

But if locking him away in a room causes anxiety, then you might have to acclimate him to that, or look at other options.


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## Irishman (May 13, 2011)

About breaking in the crate...

One of my dogs is more nervous than the other two, and hated his crate when I first bought it. I couldn't even get him into it without force (don't EVER force your dog into their crate). So, I started by putting on clothes I didn't mind getting hair/dust all over, and laid on the ground with my torso in the crate. I also had treats. I gave my dog treats just for coming near me and heaped praise and love on him as well. Then I started calling him to come to me in the crate, but only once at a time. If he didn't come or looked nervous, I didn't press. Once he did come in, I gave him extra treats for stepping into the crate. I took a shirt I didn't mind losing, wore it all day and then placed that in his crate. I repeated the previous process by laying in the crate and treating him for coming in. After the second session like this, I was able to entice him to enter by tossing treats inside, but I didn't close the door. I kept tossing treats in to keep him interested in staying in there. Very quickly he realized that treats awaited him inside his crate, and would go inside. 

Then I closed the door, and he was upset (just looked a little nervous, but don't wait until your dog freaks out to back off), so I passed him a treat through the bars and let him out. Then I gave him a break to calm down. A bit later I repeated the process but gave him a treat while I closed the gate and, after it was closed, I passed him several more, one at a time. Then I let him out. This progressed until I felt comfortable leaving him in unattended. I left a chew bone, a toy and my shirt in the crate, and left him for about 20-30 minutes. Then I came in with lots of praise, let him out and played a bit. These days, when I open the gate that closes off the hallway to my bedroom, he jumps up and runs for his crate.

About the potty training...

I agree with the other posts. Never, ever, ever punish or criticize your dog for pottying in the house. Your dog is not able to distinguish immediately what you're upset at. They are VERY literal. It could be that peeing right here isn't good, or that peeing in front of a human isn't good, or that squatting down isn't good, or a million other things. When a dog isn't house-trained, my stance is that any messes that end up on my floor are my fault, not theirs. You have to keep the dog with you or in a crate or outside at all times. The more accidents that end up in your house, the harder it is to house-train the dog. If you're not able to immediately crate your dog, work towards that, but keep your dog with you at all times. Take him outside at the obvious times (after eating, playing, sleeping, etc.) and praise heavily for going outside. Give treats. Training your dog what TO do is about 10,000 times easier than training them what NOT to do.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I don't think you have to use the crate. I am a big fan of having your dog out and about with you CLOSELY supervising. I know the crate is a great tool for lots of people, I even used it myself. I think it's great for keeping dogs safe and out of trouble, and cutting down on accidents when you're not home. I know lots of people have had success with using it as a potty training tool, too. But, I think you can do this without a crate, too.

This dog has been through a big adjustment. He's lost his owner and her kids, and that is a big deal. Now, he's getting used to new owners and new dogs, and a new house with new smells and things. That can cause housetraining setbacks, if he was ever really housetrained to begin with.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, taking him out often, and watching him like a hawk. If you do this, and are extra vigilant about not giving him any real freedom to wander in the house, he should not have the chance to even have an accident!  

And, I happen to agree that it might just be a behavioral issue, but, at this point, he's gone through lots of changes, so keep up what you're doing, and see if he improves as he becomes more comfortable in his new home.

A final thought, has he been to your vet? Just to rule out an infection, a UTI?


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## Winston6079 (Jun 8, 2011)

Today I was away from the house for work for over 8 hours and no mess. I came home, immediately took him out, praised him and fed him, than took him out again. He was not crated today.

Definitely more convinced this is a behavioural/adjustment issue. I will still work him on the crate because you never know when a crate will be needed. Illness, travel whatever.

Thanks so far for the help and advise.


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