How to Train a Pug to Pee Outside

Hello Chantelle, I would start by teaching the Off command with beds and other furniture she tends to have accidents on, then booby trap the beds during the day when they aren't being used, with something like scat mats or a pet barrier, to enforce she isn't allowed on them at all. You need to remove her ability to have an accident in the areas she is in the habit of having accidents in for a few months to see progress with potty training. If you use a pet barrier device, I would purchase one that has one collar but several barriers that can be used with the same collar, so each barrier can be placed under each bed or piece of furniture pup is jumping on and peeing on. Additionally, make sure that the crate doesn't have anything absorbent in it - including a soft bed or towel. Check out www.primopads.com if you need a non-absorbent bed for her. Make sure the crate is only big enough for her to turn around, lie down and stand up, and not so big that she can potty in one end and stand in the opposite end to avoid it. Dogs have a natural desire to keep a confined space clean so it needs to be the right size to encourage that natural desire. Use a cleaner that contains enzymes to clean any previous or current accidents - only enzymes will remove the small and remaining smells encourage the dog to potty in the same location again later. Check out the Crate Training article linked below for tips on how to get pup to go potty while outside - which makes accidents in the crate less likely. Since she is older, and the article was written for puppies, you can add two hours to the potty times listed there, and she should be able to hold it in the crate for up to 6-7 hours during the day once trained while crated. Crate Training method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside If you are still struggling after applying the above suggestions, then unfortunately pup may have already lost her desire to hold it while in a confined space. This commonly happens when someone accidentally teaches pup to do so by placing something like a puppy pad on one end of a larger crate or confining a puppy in cage where they are forced to pee through wired flooring - like at a pet store and some shelters. There are rare puppies who simply do it anyway, even though nothing happened to teach that. In those cases you can try feeding pup her meals in there to discourage it but most of the time you simply have to switch potty training methods until she is fully potty trained - at which point you might be able to use a crate for travel again later in life. Check out the Tethering method from the article linked below. Whenever you are home use the Tethering method. Also, set up an exercise pen in a room that you can close off access to later on (pup will learn it's okay to potty in this room so choose accordingly). A guest bathroom, laundry room, or enclosed balcony - once weather is a safe temperature are a few options. Don't set the exercise up in a main area of the house like the den or kitchen. Tethering method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Use the Exercise Pen method from the article linked below, and instead of a litter box like the article mentions, use a real grass pad to stay consistent with teaching pup to potty on grass outside - which is far less confusing than pee pads (Don't use pee pads if the end goal is pottying outside!). Since your goal is pottying outside only use the Exercise Pen at night and when you are not home. When pup will hold her bladder while in the rest of the house consistently and can hold it for as long as you are gone for during the day and overnight, then remove the exercise pen and grass pad completely, close off access to the room that the pen was in so she won't go into there looking to pee, and take her potty outside only. Since she may still chew longer even after potty training, when you leave her alone, be sure to leave her in a safe area that's been puppy proofed, like a cordoned off area of the kitchen with chew toys - until she is out of the destructive chewing phases too - which typically happens between 1-2 years for most dogs with the right training. Exercise Pen method: https://wagwalking.com/training/litter-box-train-a-chihuahua-puppy Real grass pad brands - Also found on Amazon www.freshpatch.com www.doggielawn.com You can also make your own out of a piece of grass sod cut up and a large, shallow plastic storage container. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Jan. 24, 2022

Hello Mike, Ammonia can smell like urine to a dog. It's the ammonia in bleach that you probably read about, so you will want a disinfectant that doesn't contain ammonia if you are trying to avoid that. Since it's actually pup's pee pad that's being cleaned, having it smell like ammonia actually isn't a bad thing from a training stand point, since any remaining smell smell in an area tends to encourage a pup to go potty there and you want pup to go potty in that location. When cleaning up accidents, that's when you want to remove the pee smell well - so that pup isn't encouraged to go potty in the wrong location. For locations where you want to remove pee smells, like accidents, I would use a cleaner that is pet safe and contains enzymes. Enzymes will break down the pee at a molecular level to thoroughly remove the smell to the level a dog needs to not still smell it. You could in theory still clean your pee pad with diluted bleach regularly to disinfect, then use something enzymatic for any accidents, or to give the pee pad the occasional smell refresh between the bleach. You could also find a disinfectant that is ammonia free, which wouldn't remove pee smells as well as the enzyme, but would be neutral in the smell department, and not make the pad smell like ammonia, while still killing bacteria. For that, I would look into what cleaners pet stores tend to use. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 28, 2021