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Did you have him castrated? My male Pug didn’t stop having accidents until I had him castrated at age two. I decided I would rather not breed him and it was the best thing I could have done for him. Cheryl – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >I have a very playful, happy black pug, 1 1/2 years >old, that my wife and I got about 6 months ago.  We >got him from a great breeder that paper trained him >before we got him.  But we’ve been having some work >done to our apartment leaving things in disarray >where he was used to going to the bathroom. >As a result we have been taking him out for walks >more often so he doesn’t have to go inside.  The >problem is he seems to have forgotten to use his >papers alltogether now and when he needs to go, he >chooses to go to the bathroom in our daughters >room.  She is four months old… >What can we do, if anything, to keep him >consistent?  We bring him outside on a regular >schedule.  But sometimes he holds it until he goes >outside and sometimes he doesn’t.  And when he >can’t hold it, he doesn’t go anywhere near where >the papers are. >We punish him, but he continues… >I’ve been told pugs cannot be trained in normal >ways because of their personality. >Anyone have advice? >Before you buy.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have a very playful, happy black pug, 1 1/2 years > old, that my wife and I got about 6 months ago.  We > got him from a great breeder that paper trained him > before we got him.  But we’ve been having some work > done to our apartment leaving things in disarray > where he was used to going to the bathroom. > As a result we have been taking him out for walks > more often so he doesn’t have to go inside.  The > problem is he seems to have forgotten to use his > papers alltogether now and when he needs to go, he > chooses to go to the bathroom in our daughters > room.  She is four months old… > What can we do, if anything, to keep him > consistent?  We bring him outside on a regular > schedule.  But sometimes he holds it until he goes > outside and sometimes he doesn’t.  And when he > can’t hold it, he doesn’t go anywhere near where > the papers are. > We punish him, but he continues… > I’ve been told pugs cannot be trained in normal > ways because of their personality. > Anyone have advice? > Before you buy.

Hello Natale, The first thing you have to do is stop trying to "teach" her not to do that. The more you try to "housebreak" her, the more she will do it, and you will never get it done. Here are directions that will quickly get you in good shape with her, but you must follow the directions exactly. Part of the solution is to teach the dog to relieve himself on command, so that the dog knows the purpose of his trip outside, and that he’s got two minutes to relieve himself. That can be done in a couple of days, with a determined effort to supervise and walk the dog as needed when appropriate breaks are necessary, or when the dog shows signs that he needs to go out. Two minutes of standing in one appropriate break area, without walking or talking (which would will only distract the dog.) The request to take a break, should be asked, and if the dog sniffs the ground he should be praised. If he looks around at the birds or other distractions, a second request to take a break should be given. If he sniffs the ground he should be told he’s a good boy, if not, he should elapse the two minutes without walking around and return inside. If he did not relieve himself, constant supervision will be necessary until the dog again shows signs of needing to go. When that happens, it may only be five minutes after having just been out, he should be offered another break, and the same procedure should follow. Two minutes, and that’s it. No more than two requests to relieve himself, and no unnecessary walking. He should be handled on a six foot lead, to prevent hem from wandering around, and getting distracted from his task. You may not have just a housebreaking problem, but also a behavior problem. Every time you react to your dog’s housebreaking mistake, you are reinforcing it as a negative attention getting device. Here’s what you need to do to end your dog’s ability to pull your chain: The behavior is being reinforced when you confront the dog about the behavior. This becomes a vicious cycle, the punishment or scolding only create more stress and anxiety, which may cause other behavior problems as a replacement, even though confronting the dog did seem to "work." Obviously, confronting the dog hasn’t worked, and that should not have been the recommended method to deal with this, or any behavior or housebreaking problem. Keeping the lead on you dog while you go about the house is often recommended, and might occasionally work. You can’t just tie a dog on your belt, and expect him to act like a key chain. The only time the dog should be on lead with you, is when the dog is properly on command. Otherwise, the restriction will cause stress and further promote other behavior problems. How can you deal with the dog tied to you, if you haven’t learned proper lead handling techniques? The pup isn’t a sack of sand, that can be dragged around and dropped anywhere you put it. Any pulling on the dog’s collar will cause out of control behavior. It’s called the opposition reflex. Now, how do you deal with this? It’s real simple, but you have to not let the dog see your reaction, or he’ll still be "rewarded" for the crime. Ignore the incident. Walk right past the "mistake." It wasn’t a mistake, and you can’t call your physical or verbal attention into the problem without creating more difficulty for yourself. Prearrange a soda can with six pennies in it, in a convenient central location. The can must be picked up silently and unobtrusively, and as you casually, in the presence of the dog, walk by the "dirty deed," you should just ask, "what’s that?" as you subtly drop the can next to the spot, without saying ANYTHING further. Continue doing something else for a moment, and ask the pup if he’d like to do something, like go outside, or anything to get him out of the way, so that you may clean the spot and retrieve the can without him observing and hearing you cuss under your breath about the mess and extra work. When the dog returns to that room with you, he’s going to look at the spot, and look back up at you. You must tell him he is a good boy, and sound like you really mean it. This will blow the dog’s mind, and will render his negative attention getting device that he’s using against you, useless. With a couple of examples of this, the dog will begin to search for other ways to command your attention. Hopefully, he will pick a positive attention getting device. All dogs need attention. What you need to do, is give him that attention prior to the dog getting into trouble. Any time the dog makes even brief eye contact, or glances out of the corner of his eye at you, that moment requires praise, non physical, unless the dog is right by your side.

Response:

: I have a very playful, happy black pug, 1 1/2 years : old, that my wife and I got about 6 months ago.  We : got him from a great breeder that paper trained him : before we got him.  But we’ve been having some work : done to our apartment leaving things in disarray : where he was used to going to the bathroom. : As a result we have been taking him out for walks : more often so he doesn’t have to go inside.  The : problem is he seems to have forgotten to use his : papers alltogether now and when he needs to go, he : chooses to go to the bathroom in our daughters : room.  She is four months old… : What can we do, if anything, to keep him : consistent?  We bring him outside on a regular : schedule.  But sometimes he holds it until he goes : outside and sometimes he doesn’t.  And when he : can’t hold it, he doesn’t go anywhere near where : the papers are. : We punish him, but he continues… : I’ve been told pugs cannot be trained in normal : ways because of their personality. : Anyone have advice? Start from the beginning.  Housetrain just like he had never been housetrained.  Leave off the punishment.  It clearly isn’t working. Decide whether you want to continue to have him paper trained or if you prefer to have him only relieve himself outside. Come up with a schedule where you will take him out regularly and praise when he relieves himself outside.  Try to avoid accidentally punishing your dog for relieving himself.  Such accidental punishment occurs when a person immediately brings the dog back inside.  If the dog is enjoying the outing he will quickly learn that urinating or defecating means the end of the fun and will hold it. Also make sure to praise. You want the dog to feel comfortable relieving himself in your presence. As much as you possibly can when you are at home have him with you, but so he cannot wander off unseen.  You can tie his leash to you or attach him to some furniture in the room you are in.  The idea is to make sure he doesn’t miss out on social interaction, but that he can’t sneak off and relieve himself improperly. When you cannot watch him then use a crate (cage) or "x-pen" (folding exercise pen) to restrict him to a small area. If you catch him "in the act" then scoop him up, take him to the appropriate place and praise. The book "How to Housebreak Your Dog in Seven Days" by Shirlee Kalstone will help give you the step by step.  You may prefer "The Evan’s Guide to Housetraining Your Dog" by Job Michael Evans which goes in depth into problem solving. Diane Blackman –     –     –     –     –     –     –     – "The best trainers break a whole exercise down into manageable chunks for the dog to master, clearly communicate what movements the dog must make in performing each chunk, and motivate the dog to joyfully offer that behavior when asked."  "Smart Trainers — Brilliant Dogs" by Janet Lewis

Response:

I have a very playful, happy black pug, 1 1/2 years old, that my wife and I got about 6 months ago.  We got him from a great breeder that paper trained him before we got him.  But we’ve been having some work done to our apartment leaving things in disarray where he was used to going to the bathroom. As a result we have been taking him out for walks more often so he doesn’t have to go inside.  The problem is he seems to have forgotten to use his papers alltogether now and when he needs to go, he chooses to go to the bathroom in our daughters room.  She is four months old… What can we do, if anything, to keep him consistent?  We bring him outside on a regular schedule.  But sometimes he holds it until he goes outside and sometimes he doesn’t.  And when he can’t hold it, he doesn’t go anywhere near where the papers are. We punish him, but he continues… I’ve been told pugs cannot be trained in normal ways because of their personality. Anyone have advice? Before you buy.

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