Chewing and other stuff...

[abbeycrombie]

I've posted here a few times about Blake and I having a hard time "bonding."  I think the bonding is not an issue anymore and it was just a matter of time kind of thing.  He's now 5 months old and just when we thought we had him trained, Blake took us for a loop. 

1.  We thought we had him 100% housetrained.  Lately though, he has started to mess in the house again.  Not all the time, just every once in awhile.  I don't understand it and I sure would like to because I don't like messing in the house.   Also, he never, ever, ever tells us when he has to go.  He's never actually done that at all.  We always just took him out at the same times every day (upon waking, just after breakfast, before leaving for work, after arriving from work, after supper, just before bedtime).  Even in doing this, he is still messing up and I just wish he could at least bark or do SOMETHING to say he needs to go out.  I guess #1 is two things.  Why is he messing up again and how do we teach him to let us know he needs to go outside?

2.  He can never have nice things.  Blake is currently crated when nobody is home.  I don't think he's ready for being "loose" in the house yet when nobody is around.  When we got his crate, it came with a nice pad so he can be comfortable when sleeping.  He did great for months!  Then one day we came home to a completely destroyed pad.  He went without a pad for about 2-3 weeks and then I started to feel bad that he may not be as comfy in his crate anymore so I dropped $30 on another pad.  He did great for 2 weeks and then we came home to another destroyed pad lol.  I know, the simple solution is to not let him use a pad but I just want him to be comfy on a soft bed.  Has anyone had this problem?  Is he going to grow out of it?  Should we just forget about giving him a pad?  What about his comfort? lol

I think that's it for now.  Other than these two things, he's pretty much perfect.  He's my baby and I love him lots.

[LynnKing]

I think your expectations for a 5 month old pup are a little too high.

Management of his freedom is your responsibility. If he has soiled in the house, you have to go back to 100% supervision and consistency in taking him outside. Remember to praise like crazy when he does go outdoors.

Don't spend so much money on bedding, my dogs get old blankets in their crates. One is folded for padding and the 2nd for bedding/nesting. I buy blankets at yard sales etc. Much better to spend $2.00 then $30.00.

Good luck, be patient. You have a long way to go .

[abbeycrombie]

I think your expectations for a 5 month old pup are a little too high.

I think I've heard this so many times when I've talked about Blake LOL.  I've owned many dogs in the past but the time between the last one I had and finally getting Blake was about 6 years so I guess I'm kinda "new" all over again.  Blake definitely is better trained than my past dogs at 5 months, that's for sure.  I think I'll invest in some used blankets from now on too.  Thanks for the advice! 

[ksdstny]

how flippin cute is that picture!!!!!!! what a doll face!

i concur with lynn. he's still a baby.

i have bells hung on the door and when my babies need to go out they ring the bell. fyi, harlow was completely trained by 5 months.....it took steeler almost 10, we just kept on, praise praise praise, he got it eventually.

[DaBabaDoo]

Not to mention, he's 5 months old now...for a bullie that's the beginnings of the terrible two's.  He may be doing bad things even though he knows better, he's testing his boundaries.  Just be consistent with him, never waiver in your training.


That pic is adorabull!!!

[emmabull]

Love the pic! He is so stinkin' cute ! Simon and Magoo both spent most of their time outside at their other homes. At 7 and 5 they both pee and poop in the house. I can't blame them for it, they are now learning what it's like to be inside. Magoo mostly does well unless he is in his crate. He pees on his blankets, which might be marking more than relieving himself. I am like you, he balls his little blanket up and makes a nest, the thought of taking that away from him breaks my heart. So, I continue to wash them and put a clean one in daily. Simon is another issue, he will just refuse to even move outside. He is so big I can't carry him out. The puppy nanny said he has actually walked under the table (where he thinks he is invisible) and pees under the table while she is begging him to go outside. Good news, now that Magoo is here Simon is doing better with going outside.

I think you are on the right track, if he is mostly going outside and just having a few accidents at 5 months that is pretty good. Emma would eat her bed until she was about a year old. She would go weeks and than one day I would come home to a bed in shreds.  It sounds like you are making a real effort to address the problems, and that's the most important thing. I think in a few months we will be reading happy posts from you about how wonderful Blake is!   

[Susan & the bullies]

I echo what everyone else says-- please be patient with your baby and just reinforce over and over. I was reluctant to tell you this-- but Violet is 4 and she still has accidents in the house (pee only).  Since she is now sleeping in her big girl bed rather than a crate, we are full force back into training mode. She is/was fearful of going outside for unknown reasons. But she is very food motivated so I keep a small bag of treats by the back door, tiny treats. I bring 3 out to the pee patch. She gets two for just coming out there and only gets the 3rd one after she pees. She's doing great. If I happen to  see her use the doggy door to go out for an unscheduled potty break I make a huge happy fuss over her and lots of treats come her way. So far so good.

Just keep at it and focus on how much you love him rather than any frustration. It will get better.

And please post more pics, he's SOOO cute!!!

[markc]

and. . . . ditto - Blake is a pretty young pup.  Oliver is about 9 months now, and we still don't trust him for long.  So he is either in his crate, or 100% supervised, and tons of praise and a cookie when he pees outside. 
We put a small blanket in Oliver's crate and he just pushes them into the corner, so I guess he likes to sleep on the cooler plastic floor.  Every now and then we put another blanket in there and take out the old one. Same thing, he always pushes it into a corner and sleeps on the floor. 

[kris]

I think your expectations for a 5 month old pup are a little too high.
Good luck, be patient. You have a long way to go .

DITTO -

[DaBabaDoo]

BTW, does anyone else find it as humorous as it is frustrating that bulldogs seem to take sooooo much longer to come out of puppy phase than ANY other breed?  Maddy did not fully get housebreaking until maybe 10 months old...whereas my sister-in-laws chow/lab puppy was basically trained by the time he was 12 weeks old