I just rehomed a french buldog and would love any advice I can get! He is almost 2 years old. He was trained to potty in his crate so im having a hard time potty training for the inside. For now when I go to bed until he is potty trained I would like him to sleep in his crate. I'm just having high anxiety because I feel bad leaving him there. I know they are codependent dogs. Any advice would be great! Please and thank you
Welcome!
Dogs normally don’t like to potty in the crate as it’s meant to be a safe space and bed.
How is potty training going outside??
Since he is trained to potty in his crate, can you get a fake grass potty tray(it’s a tray you put a pee pad underneath and on top where they can see and potty on is fake grass so it looks like a indoor version of the grass outside which I find is better than a pee pad in the house cause when you take the pee pad away they will be confused.
I would recommend for you to have a work/command to use when you tell him to potty then praise him when he goes on command. For Rusty I say “Go Pee” and within 30 seconds he will pee.
If he is going in his crate to potty try getting a grass potty tray for right outside the crate in a X Pen area so the crate door stays open and he cant escape.
You shouldn’t feel bad for wanting him to sleep in his crate overnight until potty trained. I did that with all 3 of the dogs as puppies. Rusty loves his crate so much I actually have it right beside my bed at night and the door open, and he actually prefers to sleep in there all night.
I actually highly recommend them sleeping in crate overnight as puppies/until house trained. And also when you go out and he is home alone, he can sleep in crate as he can’t get into any trouble In there.
Some people think crate training is cruel, No it’s not cruel, but when people over use it and the dog is in it 24/7 yes that’s cruel, but if your issuing it for when your not home and overnight and have it open all day if they want to go in or not, that’s good.
How is he adjusting otherwise? Eating and drinking ok?
Is he food motivated? If so it’s easier to train him to potty outside cause you can reward with healthy treats that he may really like. Beef liver is really good and most dogs love it. If they like the treats they will be easier to train.
Also if he knows your anxious/frustrated the puppy will pick up on your energy and it will make him anxious and frustrated too.
Calm confident for training is best.
How long have you had him?
What are you feeding him?
Food can cause health issues too if it’s not good quality then that can mean vet bills too and low quality foods can make some dogs less trainable.
Especially as a young dog that’s when it’s best to switch them to high quality food if he isn’t on a high quality food yet.
