Potty Training--City Environment

[cruise2cabo]

Hi all,

I just brought my French Bulldog puppy home to my apartment in Los Angeles one week ago. Olive is sixteen weeks old and is so perfect. When I got her, she had no potty training whatsoever. Since she still needed a booster shot, I kept her inside for the first few days before her vet visit. She will go potty on a pad in my bathroom when prompted. She has yet to have an accident in her crate overnight or when I leave her to run errands for 2 hours.

However, now that she is fine to be outside, I would like to transition from the pads to going on grass. There are a few elements that make this more complicated:

1) I live on the 5th floor of my apartment building. We are very close to an elevator and multiple stairways. If we do not see anyone on our way down, she is fine and will not potty on the floor. But, if we do encounter people and they acknowledge how cute she is, she will almost always pee a bit out of excitement whether I am holding her or not. I know this is a common thing for puppies to do, but it makes it hard to get her to go outside. I'm anticipating this will probably improve as she gets used to meeting more people, but right now it is problematic.

2) We live on a major, loud street in Los Angeles. I have been taking her on walks and praising her verbally and with treats when a loud truck or motorcycle goes by and she does not react, but everything is still a little scary. There is traffic at all hours of the day, but one side of the building is a bit quieter and I take her there to go on the grass. Still, she has yet to pee outside.

She seems to have no problem holding it for a long time. She will drink plenty of water and still not go outside. If we try outside and she doesn't go (and I know she has to based on the volume of water she has consumed), I crate her for 20 minutes then try again. Still, it is so tempting to just put her on the pad so she can play and have fun again--I do not want her perpetually stuck in a crate.

While it has only been a couple of days, I am still a little surprised she has not gone outside once. Does anyone have any tips for transitioning from a pad in an urban setting?

Thanks in advance!

 

[2bullymama]

:bump:

Trying ti think of some city members


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[Joeturbo26]

I am a city dweller (NYC) and I have in my opinion overcome these obstacles, 6 months later I'd say he is 94% housebroken lol... I don't have time right now to go into an in depth tale of my potty training regiment, but I totally will outline it for you ASAP!

I also am in a high rise... so I know those challenges of running into people so well! LOL.

Stay tuned. I'll write more by the end of the day!

 

[Joeturbo26]

Ok! So I apologize for the delay in my promises response but here goes...

When I brought Rico home, I knew that my primary goal and what was most important to me, was that he was house trained ASAP! After researching the breed for years, I also knew that this could potentially be a very difficult thing to do in that, the breed is sometimes identified as one of the more difficult to house train, coupled with the fact that I also live in an urban high rise without easy access to a "dedicated potty area" that didn't require a walk where I'd encounter many people. Also, in my head it just made more sense to housebreak him before I ever attempted to use a pad—because I felt as though if I gave him a pad option it would then be more difficult to move him outdoors in the long run.

Ok, first I was so lucky that Rico took to a crate immediately. That was never a struggle, but that's step one.

Next, you need to be prepared to be absolutely 100% consistent in your method. This means really paying attention to the dogs behavior and fine tuning his schedule, as if his schedule was the law! I kinda thought about it like a checking account.... the dog is paid food and water, and in return he cuts you a check with lovely poop and pee Hahahaha.

After you've determined the schedule that will work best for you... you MUST adhere to it each and every day. You need to accept that there will be accidents and that they are always going to be your fault... for the dog, nature runs his/her system, for us, we need to trust that it works.

Ok... so, Olive is 16 weeks old / 4 months, with that she should be able to hold her potty breaks to every 4 hours. For every month older she becomes she can hold it an additional hour. Here is what a typical day would look like for Rico when he was 4 months old.

7am—wake up, take her out of the crate and immediately walk (avoid letting the dog even touch the ground until you're outside, when you're outside put her down where you want her to go) this is so that when you do come in contact with people, her attention won't be diverted)

7:30am—breakfast, and then immediately return to the crate.

8:30am—walk, if they pee/poop, then you can allow 45/60 min of well supervised playtime outside the crate, if they don't go, return to the crate for 15/30 min and then walk again. Then return to the crate after play time.

12pm—walk, return to crate

12:30pm—lunch, and then immediately return to the crate.

1:30pm—walk, if they pee/poop, then you can allow 1.5 / 2 hrs of well supervised playtime outside the crate, if they don't go, return to the crate for 15/30 min and then walk again, keep repeating until they've gone. If they don't go, this just cuts down on play time. After playtime return to the crate. They will actually realize that play time is a reward and if they don't do the behavior you're looking for (potty) then the reward isn't coming.

5:30pm—walk, return to crate.

6:30pm—dinner, return to crate.

7:30pm—walk, if they pee/poop, then you can allow 2 / 3 hrs of well supervised playtime outside the crate, if they don't go, return to the crate for 15/30 min and then walk again, keep repeating until they've gone.

10:30/11:30pm—final walk, and return to the crate overnight for bed time.

*be willing to take the dog out overnight if you hear any crying etc. also, keep a fresh towel and some enzyme cleaner with paper towels near the crate should there be an accident mid-night, or in the morning when you wake up... so you're not left cleaning it when you're half asleep fumbling around for new supplies.
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It's an intense schedule! But I promise you that it works 100%, and you will see progress after a week. The importance of the crate is paramount. Especially because our situation doesn't allow for just opening a back door and letting the dog out. I guarantee that if you follow this schedule 100%, in one month you will be 75% house trained. Within 2 months, you'll be almost completely house trained.

Rico is 6 months old now, so theoretically he can go 6 hours between potty breaks, I never allow for the full 6 hours, as he isn't vocal to the point of letting me know when he needs to go out... he has had three or four accidents in the past 4 months (never poop, only pee accidents), they have been my fault. They have also been within the first month of house training. I also believe that it's good to catch the dog in the middle of an accident here or there, to be able to reprimand him/her with a firm NO! and take them outside, to reinforce the behavior of "outdoors is ok only". In those situations you just have to wait it out outside until they go, so you can really bring that training moment full circle and reward him/her with a serious treat!

I know this has been really wordy... I'm sorry!

In conclusion, again my three most important pieces of advice in order of importance are:

1. Consistently and commitment to the schedule are the most important factors.
2. Don't feel that the excessive crating is cruel, it's only temporary, and allows you to make the time you interact with the dog that much more "rewarding" for the good behavior the dog is exhibiting. This was the hardest one for me, because I wanted to have Rico near me every second of the day including in bed overnight which is a HUGE no no at first! (I trust him enough now to sleep in bed with me, and has never had an accident!)
3. Resist the urge to allow strangers you encounter and neighbors/friends to stop you and pet/play with the dog... there will be plenty of people to interact with you once the dog has gone and you're on your way back!

I really hope this helps! I gave a friend of mine the same crash course for his Frenchie who is now 5 months old, and Gio, his dog, has achieved almost 100% success like this too.... Gio too would refuse to go outside at first, and his owner really doubted that the dog would ever even pee outside... trust me it's biologically impossible for the dog to refuse to go outdoors...you just need to play the game and wait it out! Olive will pee outside... TRUST ME!

Feel free to reach out with any questions you have, I know how this can be frustrating!

Good luck!

 

[cruise2cabo]

Thank you thank you thank you! This is all incredibly helpful. I felt terrible keeping her in her crate for so much of the day, but feel better hearing from you that it is truly essential to training. The good news is that she has suddenly decided that going outside is great! She goes almost every time I take her out. I do carry her from my apartment all the way to the grass, which has also helped. She has also taken it upon herself to go to her pad in my bathroom when she feels the need--I was very surprised that she figured it out so quickly. I'm hoping to eventually eliminate the pad since it is probably confusing for her to go both places, but for now it seems to be working. I will definitely plan on sticking to a schedule similar to what you recommended for the time being. She's already had significantly fewer accidents.

Thank you for all of your help--it's so great and such a relief to hear from someone in a similar situation.