House Training

* Pugs should not be expected to be house trained before the age of four to six months. This does not mean that every Pug will not be housetrained by 12 weeks, however, it is unlikely.

They are a toy breed and can not hold their bladder for longer than one and a half hours (as puppies) and should not be expected to even in a crate. Many owners have come home after three hours to a soiled crate with Elvis Pugsley laying in his own urine because they thought he would not soil his little area, however, Elvis Pugsley could not help it. If you are going to be gone for longer than 2 hours, invest in a toddler gate and pull it across your kitchen and place some newspaper down or puppy pads. Please do not put Elvis Pugsley in a bathroom unless you can put a toddler gate across the doorway for him to see out. Closing him in a small area where he can not see out may cause the little guy unnecessary stress.

If you are gone all day, then you will not be able to take Elvis outside you will need to paper train him.

Paper training is wonderful for severe cold weather when it is difficult to get outside.

If Elvis has an accident on the carpet, make a mixture of white vinegar and dilute it with water and absorb the urine. You can also buy an odor neutralizer at pet stores. This irradicates any odors left.

If your pug is piddling often and is housebroken and has tons of outside opportunities, please take her/him to the vet to rule out a bladder infection.

Remember to have a pooper scooper on hand to clean up all messes, especially while walking. Some Cities have very large fines if an owner does not clean up their pets messes.

Check the stools regularly to make sure they are firm and parasite free. You can see tapeworms and roundworms in the stools.

If Puggies stool is hard and crumbly, you may want to add extra oil to the diet such as a tad of real butter or corn oil. If the stool is loose, make sure you are not giving a milky diet. You can administer about a teaspoon of Kaopectate according to Puggies size (call your vet for verification) or you can ask your vet for a bottle of K-sol. Either one is effective.

Pugs are very sensitive and should not be sharply scolded. Never hit them with any object or magazine or newspaper nor your hands.

Housebreaking will require patience and consistency on your part. It will do no good for you to hit Precious or rub her flat little nose in her mess and if she doesn’t mess in front of you then you certainly can not expect her to understand your anger if you come home to a mess of "chocolates" or piddle.

If Precious squats directly in front of you, pick her up and firmly say "NO, NO, Outside" and take her outside.

Precious has the runs? It’s common for stress of a new home to bring on diarrhea. I personally favor the vets anti-diarrhea antidotes because the exact measurements (according to weight) will be administered.(Never let diarrhea in a puppy go untreated. Diarrhea can quickly lead to dehydration & death in a small puppy).

I will often add a thumb sized cube of cheddar cheese to their meal. This helps to ward off diarrhea and to firm stools. You can also add boiled white rice to Precious’s food.

On the potty training, I've attached my handout I give my clients (I do training). Hope it helps. Everyone is welcome to the information. If you don't get individual posts and would like a copy, let me know.

They key is to keep him confined at this point - he's too young to have the run of the house (like a baby). He is four months old.... you can expect him to be able to hold it for an average of 5 hours (his age plus 1).

Don't just let him out in the yard... he doesn't know why he's out there and is probably just having fun. Take him out ON LEASH to a designated "potty" spot. Use a word for him to begin to associate with releaving himself (Velvet's word is "potty"). Take him to the same place every time and use the same door. When he goes outside, praise him lavishly and treat him if you like. If he doesn't go, bring him back in the house and confine him... either in a crate, gated area or tethered to you. Try again in 15 minutes or so.

Puppies should be taken to potty after eating, sleeping, and playing. If he does have an accident in the house, and you don't catch him in the act, do not scold. Just clean it up and make sure you use an ordor neutralizer. If you catch him in the act, distract him (ie, clap your hands - don't yell) and get him outside. Praise when he relieves himself outside.

As far as the feeding, use the feeding instructions on the food as a guide, and ask your vet. I would discourage free feeding at this point, until the potty issues are under control.

Hope this helps!! Let us know how it goes.

Agni

The goal is to teach your puppy the proper place to eliminate. First, you must choose the spot where you want your puppy to go. When you take him outside to do “potty”, always take him to the same spot and always use the same door.

Always bring your puppy out on a leash while training. Watch your puppy very closely when at the potty spot. Plan to wait for him. Let him sniff around. When he begins to go potty, use your cue – a word that will tell him this is the place and time to go. Click and treat just as your puppy is finishing. You want to click while the behavior is happening, but not too soon that he stops eliminating to get his treat. Wait another ten minutes or so just to be sure he is finished. Often, puppies do not empty themselves completely the first time. Never “assume” that he has eliminated. Make sure you see him go. If he goes again, click and reward.

If you take him to the potty spot and he does not go, bring him into the house and confine him. Try again in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Pretty soon, your puppy will understand that going potty in the potty spot brings rewards.

It is a good idea to have your puppy crated whenever you can’t supervise him and at night. Dogs will not eliminate where they sleep. Make sure the crate is the appropriate size for your puppy. Proper size is 1 ½ times the length of the dog’s body minus the tail and tall enough for him to stand up comfortably. Crates with dividers are wonderful for growing puppies as you can increase the space as the puppy grows.

Make the crate a wonderful place for your puppy. Put a nice comfy bed in there. Keep his toys in there and toss in some treats every now and then as a surprise for him to find. In the beginning, you can feed your puppy his meals in his crate. Start with the door open and feed. After about a week’s time, close the door when he’s eating. Slowly begin leaving him in the crate and increasing the amount of time he’s crated. DO NOT let him out of the crate when he is crying or making a fuss. Wait for a quiet moment, a lull in the crying, and then open the door. You do not want to reward the loud behavior by letting him out. This does not mean ignore his cries completely, just wait for him to stop even for a moment before you open the door. Click to mark that you’re rewarding the quiet moment, then open the door.

As a guideline, puppies can hold their urine the number of months old he is plus one. For example, a two month old puppy could be expected to hold his urine for approximately three hours.

Setting a schedule is very important. Feed at the same times each day, everyday. Do not have separate schedules for the weekdays and another for weekends. Potty breaks should be scheduled as well. You want to get him to eliminate in his potty spot before he has the chance to have an accident.

Whether training a puppy or adult dog, it is important to take the dog out immediately after waking up, getting up from resting, drinking water, eating, playing, training, active sniffing, being in his crate, any excitement (with other dogs, people, or toys). Also take him out before going to bed. You can increase the amount of time a puppy can hold his bladder at night by not giving any food or water a minimum of two to three hours before bedtime. Also, exercise the puppy enough before bedtime so that he’ll likely eliminate and will be tired for bed.

Do not punish a dog for accidents. It is counterproductive and can lead to other unwanted behaviors. If a dog has an accident and you rub his nose in it, yell, swat at him he will just learn to avoid eliminating near you. Thus when you take him to the potty spot, he won’t go. Clean the accident with an odor neutralizer.

If you catch him the act of having an accident, you can interrupt the behavior. For example, use your no reward marker. Immediately and calmly take him outside to the potty spot and reward lavishly when he completes his elimination in the proper spot.

Finally, be patient. Some dogs will housetrain easier than others. Be sure to be consistent.