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How long to fully housetrain bulldog?

5346 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  sophiesmom
My little guy is a little over 3 months. I've been crate training him since I've had him and for the most part, it's going pretty well. He's had a few mishaps in his crate overnight, but I'm just attributing that to his young age. I think he understands that he's only allowed to eliminate outside, but there have been a few occasions where he would just go in the house without any warning. I'm not that worried as he's only 3 months. It's just that, I hate having to crate him. I want him to be able to roam the condo freely without me having to worry about any mess. For all you EB owners out there, how long did it take to fully housetrain your dog? And once you thought your dog was fully trained, how did you go about testing it?
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I don't have an EB I have an AB but here is my story or should I say Busters.........lol
Buster had tons of accidents and I couldn't figure out why we kept missing the signs
He would sit at the door in another room but wouldn't bark so if we didn't see him we didn't know he had to go out so I trained him to ring bells when he has to go out to potty.I hung them by the front and back door and in a day he got it.I would take him up to the bells grab his paw and paw at the bells and say outside which is his word for potty and gave tons of praise and treats to him and since he rings the bells to let us know he has to go potty.I would say he wasn't fully housebroken till 4 months of age.He also has a few accidents in his crate but I made sure it didn't last long as i didn't want him to think it was alright to potty in there so I took him out more often to end that.Pretty much the only way to tell is no more accidents and him telling you he has to go out to potty.I would say 4-5 months he should be fully housebroken just keep on top of him and let him out often and use a word so he knows he is going outside like I use outside and when he hears it he runs to the backdoor.Hope this helps if not I am sure there are others that can help you out.Good luck!!!
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It's generally a rule that most dogs won't be reliably housetrained until at least 6 months of age. They are growing and are still have a hard time controlling thier bodies until they are a bit more mature. If you would like to have your dog out of his crate more, keep him on his leash attached to your waist..this way, you can go about your daily chores, etc. and still keep an eye on your pup without having to worry. Not only will this aid in potty training, but it helps with leash training and building a stronger bond with your dog.

As far as knowing when a dog is reliably trained, it just happens..I don't test it or push them to thier limits. I always stick with a routine and a potty schedule. I do have a 2 dogs that scratch on the door when they have to go, but my others will just go whenever I let them out.. I just conditioned them to go whenever I tell them to and let them out.
I did not get Sammy until he was three months. I acted really disappointed every time he had an accident in the house and told him "you potty OUTSIDE" when he had an accident. I would growl/moan lightly when picking it up. He understood the concept very quickly. When he went outside I would praise him (during the act), until my neighbors thought I was crazy.
(That's okay, their dog cannot even sit on command)
When he seemed lax about where he went, I would leave him in his crate until I was sure he needed to go. (usually he would whine). He has only had 2 accidents in his crate since then. They catch on pretty quick if you are able to be with them all day. Some people are not able to do that and it makes it harder. After he knew the drill, I started ignoring him when I was sure he needed to go. He would go to the door and bark, then sit down. (he gets nothing in life until he sits down). Then I take him out. He was completely house trained in a couple of weeks since I was with him 24-7.
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Always take the pup outside after he/she has a nap. Keep in mind they won't be able to be fully house trained until their bladders are grown enough. I would take advantage of crating while they are young too.

Also, they say that if the dog has not had an accident inside in 2 weeks, if you can prevent this for 2 solid weeks, then it is house-trained. If it does have an accident in this time, they say you have to start over with them again and go another 2 before you can safely say they are house-broken.
I have to say, I have had a lot of dogs. However, I did find that the ABs are the easiest to houstrain. I think the ace in the hole is that they HATE their own poo and piss. It is great.

It is a matter of being rigorously regimented. KEEP A SCHEDULE AND NEVER DEVIATE. If you do, no problems. Crate your pup, until it knows the freaking rules.

My fiance's parents have this toy dog and it secretly pisses in their vacant room. They have a larger home, but still, this is disgusting. Funny thing is, they accept this behaviour. the dog is spoiled rotten.

Three days with me, all that stopped. It became very unpleasant for him to pee in the house. LOL.

Nothing more disgusting than a dog that pisses and poos in the house after the age of 16 weeks.
Just my opinion...but you can't ever completely house train an EB! Their just too stubborn, lazy and BULL headed. All ours have grasped the concept pretty quickly, usually within a few weeks. The're not stupid. But, they are the most lazy animal I have ever seen and will wet their beds without even waking up and then sleep the rest of the night in it. Ours are walked so frequently we rarely have a problem but they won't even go to the door when they have to go. They just go in the house. I've had bullie type dogs all my life but never experienced anything like an EB before. Still love em though.
Gus is just over 3 months this week and we're getting there. But like you he will be eating food and i will have just taken him outside, and he will have peed, and then out of nowhere, he'll pee again, then go back to his food (typical :? ). It's always better when i'm home and can take him out more frequently, but the days i do work (12 1/2 hour days) i have our neighbor let him out 2-3 times and feed him. This help sooo much otherwise he will do in his crate, but when i'm home he'll whine to be let out if he has to go. Stick with it and buy a bissel spot cleaner (got mine on ebay for $19.00!) helps so much!
Two Bullies said:
Just my opinion...but you can't ever completely house train an EB! Their just too stubborn, lazy and BULL headed. All ours have grasped the concept pretty quickly, usually within a few weeks. The're not stupid. But, they are the most lazy animal I have ever seen and will wet their beds without even waking up and then sleep the rest of the night in it. Ours are walked so frequently we rarely have a problem but they won't even go to the door when they have to go. They just go in the house. I've had bullie type dogs all my life but never experienced anything like an EB before. Still love em though.
While I agree with you that EBs can be considerably lazy, I truly believe that is more the exception than the rule. You can't completely housetrain an EB? I categorically disagree with that statement as it is completely false. Maybe your EBs are too lazy and/or stubborn to not sleep in its own urine, but from my experience, EBs can be completely housetrained just like any dog. It may take longer than many other dogs, but it's most definitley viable. My little guy is only 15 weeks old and it's been about a month since he last soiled/urinated in his crate (he's been in his crate for 7-8 hours at a time).

And I don't know about all you EB owners out there, but I got an EB because of its carefree attitude and laziness, not despite it. And EBs are definitely not stupid. Contrary to popular believe, while EBs may not show interest, they are aware of everything that's going around them. And what may come off as stupidity, is just an incredible sense of prioritizing.
my last ab was about 5 months before all was said and done, but i got him at 4 months, its just gotta be physical develpment.

andrew
it took about 2-3 weeks for Angel to be trained to go to the door and ask to be let out
thanks for the encouragement "Driver" I completley agree with the reason why we love this breed. I don't like to exercise, so why would i get a dog that loves it (not to say there aren't exceptions) and let him get fat. Although Gus has a ton of energy now, i'm excited for a time when he won't be so damn "puppy hyper" I'm also excited cause Gus hasn't had an accident in 3 days!! (longest streak ever)
Training an EB

Our English Bulldog is completely housetrained. She sits at the door and whines (or barks if we miss her hint lol). She was very, very easy to potty train. We just took her out often and praised her like crazy when she went outside. She knows "go outside?". WE are sure to take her out when she gets up, when she takes a nap, after she drinks a lot of water or eats and before bed. I think the times she goes in the house (rare) are when we forget to take her because of something going on in the house.

We got our EB because of her laziness and temperment. She is the best dog EVER! I don't think she's too stubborn, but we do have to be firm with her.
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