Puppies can be very discouraging!

Below are snippets taken from a previous thread that has since been deleted. For several reasons, the original thread has been removed but I didn't want to completely lose some of the valuable information that was shared. Anyone who is at their wits end dealing with their new pug puppy, may find some of this information useful.

-13 hours is entirely too long to expect most adult pugs - much less a 4 month old puppy - to hold its waste. So you should expect accidents. Can you get someone to come by and walk it at lunch? Or hire someone to do this?

-House training is a long process, constant positive reinforcement is needed when she's outside. And you just have to wait her out until she does her business outside. When she does go in an appropriate place, throw a freakin party. Reward the heck out of her with really yummy treats.

-3 of my 4 pugs won't tell me when they have to go potty. The "tell" just isn't something they've ever done. So mine go out every couple of hours. After they eat, when they wake up from a nap, after a wild play time - out they go. It's my responsibility to get them outside. Just like it's your responsibility to get her outside, and wait.

-Put the litter box and anything else you don't want your puppy playing with out of its reach. Most people put a dog or baby gate up in a doorway and the litter box on the other side so the dog can't get to it. For some reason, kitty poop is irresistible to a lot of dogs and they like to not only play with it, but eat it.

-This puppy didn't ask to be with you, you're the one who made that decision, she's counting on you for everything. Get both of you educated and your relationship can be long and rewarding but with no effort, you'll continue to be very frustrated.

-I have found that most of my pugs are potty trainned around 12-18 month of age. I have also had upwards of 15 pugs at one time and I have NEVER had one that signaled when they had to use the bathroom. For pugs it is all about routine. You need to create a routine for your little girl so she KNOWS when it is time to go potty.

-Pugs are very sensitive to their owner's emotions and unlike some other breeds if they sense upset or frustration they will just "shut down" figuring it is better to do nothing than to risk further upset. I have been brought to my knees in tears of frustration by my older pug when he was a puppy, in the housetraining department, so believe me I know just how maddening it can be. You really do just have to try to dig deep to find yet more patience. It takes a long time, and be prepared to make progress and then have sudden setbacks. I have developed the view that a bit of pee or poop on the floor is really not the end of the world, though it is a nuisance to have to clean up.

-Training classes are a super idea because they strengthen the bond between you and the dog. If you can have some enjoyable times training her you will get to love her more as you see her efforts to please you and to learn, and it will be easier to forgive the mistakes in the potty department.
-I've been there. I used to work 12-16 hours days, often 7 days a week. And I had a puppy. The only workable solution for us was doggy daycare. We sent him 5-6 days a week, all day, and my husband helped out in the evenings and weekends. Puppies, like children, need consistency. Without consistency, they don't train well. The less consistency, the longer it takes to train, if they train at all. Pugs especially, since they are so notoriously hard to train.

-If you are only available to train your pug on and off, or only on weekends, it's going to take much, much longer for your pug to get with the program. There isn't any way around it. Our first pug didn't fully potty train until he was over a year old, and even then he still had accidents from time to time, because he was used to being in doggy daycare all day where he could go where ever and whenever he wanted. It was the trade-off we accepted because we knowingly brought him into our lives with the lifestyle and the work committments that we already had.

-I have three pugs now, and I can tell you that none of my pugs settled down and became "couch potatoes" until they were at least two years old. My youngest is over 5 and he's still ridiculously hyper.

-If you plan to keep your pug, then my best suggestion is to rethink, and lengthen your expectations for her. Think of potty training as a long-term goal where there will be accidents for a long time to come. Think of her disposition as a work in progress as she matures. Even in dog years, you still have yet to get past her terrible 2's, her rebellious 4's, or her adolescence. Only after that will she truly settle down.

I didn't reply to the original thread but I did want to add for anyone searching-it's ok to give yourself a time out. There times when I was so frustrated with Hooligan, but learned it was ok to put him in the x pen with a fun toy and give myself a break to calm down when I knew my patience was wearing thin.

You should make this a sticky Amanda.

This is excellent information. My coworker is thinking about getting a puppy soon and i will definitely have to fwd this to her. Thanks for posting this!

Amanda:
I emailed you two articles that I routinely send to puppy people. They aren't specifically about pugs, but are good articles about puppies, training and surviving the whole experience.

Amanda, if you want I can give you a rundown of what I tell everyone in my puppy class.

pugasaurus wrote:Amanda, if you want I can give you a rundown of what I tell everyone in my puppy class.

Karen:
I'd love to see your rundown. I get a lot of calls from frustrated pug puppy owners.

Karen, that would be great!

Blanche, I got your email. I'll take a look at it tonight and get it stickied. (is that a word?)

Another thing I've learned over the years with puppies is that they make you crazy, frustrated, annoyed, they make you wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea to get a puppy......and then, one day you look at your dog and realize he/she's all grown up and you find that you really miss the puppy nuttsiness and wish you'd been calmer and just let more things ride at the time.

So, I'd like to put out there that the puppy years pass; it's not worth making yourself frantic about - just enjoy your puppy/dog every day and remember that our days together are (sadly) limited - and try to fill them with enjoyment and not frustration.

(Of course, Nature's Miracle helps a lot, too)

puppies are difficult. people should know that before they get a puppy. i think the main thing is that you have to have patience and understand that it takes time to train a puppy. i actually love puppies. they are tons of work, but i have loved each and every one of my puppies and enjoyed the whole process of training them and watching them learn and grow up. these are such important things to know - it definitely should be a sticky.

Congratulations on your puppy! There will be days where your puppy will steal your heart with how cute they are. There will also be days when you question your sanity for ever deciding a puppy is what you needed and you'll think you made a grave mistake. Both feelings are part and parcel of owning a puppy.

A puppy and a human infant have lots in common. The first thing is that neither understand what you expect from them. Both are also bundles of energy that will wear on your nerves with the non-stop activity. And like human babies, a puppy's body is not fully developed as well as their brain. And both are learning. It's up to you decide what they learn and while they are both young is the best time to start developing manners.

A puppy, just like a human baby, needs lots of attention and how much enjoyment you get from your puppy is in direct proportion to the amount of time you spend with him or her. And they both depend on you to meet their needs.

These needs are important so lets go through the big ones.

Your puppy will need to poop and pee. A lot. And in the beginning they WILL poop and pee in the house, so lets start with interesting housetraining tips that might make it easier to understand why your puppy pees and poops in the house.

Puppies have to go more often than adult dogs. The general rule of thumb is if your puppy is 3 months old they can be expected to hold their bladder comfortably for 4 hours, if your puppy is 4 months old they can hold it for 5 months, when they're 5 months they can hold it for 6 to 7 hours and usually a puppy can hold it for 8 hours by the time they're 6 months old. Notice I didn't say your puppy will be housebroken, just that they can hold their bladder.

Which means that if you are going to be gone a normal 9 hour work day your puppy will need to be pee while you are gone. If you can't get someone to let your puppy out while you are gone, your puppy will have to gone in a puppy-safe room while you are gone. Baby-gating the puppy in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, X-pen or some other easy-to-clean area. You can put down newspaper or piddle pads for the dog to pee and poop on while you are gone, but there is nothing magic about piddle pads, they only make it easier to clean the mess up since they have a plastic backing that stops any liquids from touching your floor. Some puppies will eat the piddle pads and other puppies will ignore them. You can try covering the whole floor with piddle pads so they won't miss and then gradually leave fewer and fewer pads down, but this is expensive and time consuming, because most people want their dogs to poop and pee outside eventually. Piddle pads are only down while you gone, they disappear when you are home.

I'm not going to go into potty training details since Alice's post is already up there and does an excellent job. The link is here:

http://www.pugauthority.com/training-and-behavior-f20/the-only-housetraining-article-you-ll-ever-need-t506.htm

Puppies need to play, it's how they discover about the outside world. Puppy-proof your house, remember, your puppy doesn't understand that your new Pradas aren't their toy. Get things off the floor, deal with those electric cords, remind your kids that if they want their toys, they need to pick them up or the dog will destroy them. Make sure your puppy has lots of age-appropriate toys to chew on, because chew they will, on anything they can get in their mouths. Bitter Apple spray works well on wood surfaces, rugs or other things that you can't get out of the puppy's reach.

Which bring us to nipping and biting. Puppies are non-stop biting machines. Now is the time to teach your dog that puppy teeth hurt human flesh by letting your dog know that it hurts. Depending on your particular dog's temperament, a loud "ouch!" might help, but sometimes that gets the dog more aroused, our lab puppies that we raised for guide dogs needed a loud bellowing timber-rattling "stop!" to get the point. Your loud sound interrupts the behavior which buys you time to redirect. Give your dog an appropriate toy and if you sound serious, your dog will usually get it. For dogs who really get aroused, get a squirt bottle and teach that nipping and biting results in an unpleasant consequence.

The more consistent you are, the faster your dog will learn. If you yelp every single time, your dog is getting useful feedback. If you yelp sometimes, giggle at other times or play with the dog, he's getting confusing messages which will lengthen the amount of time it takes for a dog to understand what you expect from them. And try to be as consistent as you can about everything, not just nipping and biting. Make sure the whole family is reacting the same way.

Your puppy needs a safe place to go when you aren't there to supervise. I can't praise crate-training enough. No one would dream of letting their year-old toddler roam the house unsupervised, the same precautions apply to a puppy. But remember, your puppy will not be able to hold it in a crate all day while you are at work, put them in that puppy-safe room while you are at work. Crate training makes potty-training go much faster, but when you'll really be glad that your puppy is crate trained is when they hit 6 to 7 months old and that's when most of the chewing disasters occur. Start with putting your puppy in their crate for short periods of time, give them lots of treats for going in, gradually add time and most dogs grow to like their crate and view it as their 'den' and their personal space to get away from everything. And it's also a good idea to get your dog used to a crate because they will be crated when boarded, groomed or if they have to spend some time at the vet.

Your puppy will need to be socialized if they are to become and confident and happy member of your family. Your puppy is in the socialization window up until about 6 months of age. As a dog trainer, I think this is the most important need that doesn't get met in lots of puppies, and in the worse cases, these dogs end up fear-biters and every trip outside their home is a miserable experience for both dog and owner.

Get that puppy out and let them meet as many people as you can. Once the puppy is current on their shots, they can start meeting other dogs and that's why I'd rather get a dog in a puppy class instead of waiting for the dog to get older. I earn my keep in the classes for older dogs because many of the dogs are afraid of other dogs, kids, men, open spaces, blah, blah, blah. Pay special attention to letting your puppy meet lots of kids (well-behaved ones, of course) and lots of men. Kids are loud, full of random, jerky movements and they also grab, stare and do other things that are frightening to many dogs. Men have low rumble-y voices and their tall stature is also off-putting for lots of dogs.

I can't recommend obedience classes enough. As mentioned earlier, your puppy is learning whether you want them to or not. It's much easier to teach good habits from the beginning instead of having to go back and retrain bad behaviors later. And puppy classes are a built-in socialization experience that both you and your puppy will start to look forward to.

In addition to the above, educate yourself about dogs, and your breed of dog in particular, hopefully before you get the puppy so you'll have some idea what to expect.

Ask yourself will this behavior be cute when my dog grows up. It might be cute when your little tiny lab puppy jumps up on you when you come home, but not cute at all when the puppy weighs 80 pounds. Another one that can cause problems later down the line are growling and nipping and biting, again, it might be cute and funny when that little puppy growls when you try to take a toy away or pet them, but not so cute as an adult.

Your puppy's future happiness lies in your hands. Your puppy can become a beloved member of the family, or a tragic number that ends up at the animal shelter, depending on how well you meet the needs of this helpless, dependent, adorable, frustrating new addition.

And like Linda said above, there will come a time when you'll miss all the puppy zaniness. My guys are all older now and I wish I could turn back the hands of time to when they would chase and pounce and make me laugh with all their silliness.