Housetraining Adult Pug Dogs Made Easy
Congratulations on bringing an adult Pug dog into your life! Now it’s time to get down to business with housetraining your adult Pug.
Unlike puppies, where everyone expects to spend time getting the Pug potty training, it is important to understand that housebreaking adult dogs involves as much of a commitment from you and your family as it does with Pug puppies. While you may assume that since the Pug is already grown and may have very well been potty trained in another home, this is not the case. The Pug will have to adjust to your home and needs time to learn your home’s elimination schedule.
These types of high expectations for your new Pug are just unrealistic. A Pug needs to be able to make adjustments to its environment and understand that you will not tolerate peeing on the carpet. This is especially true if its previous owner did not seem to mind that sort of behavior.
You can not just automatically assume that your Pug will instinctively know what to do. You have to treat him as if he were a puppy and get him acquainted with your own pet potty schedule.
A good place to start is by crate training or restricting the Pug to going in the bathroom only. Then you can make up a schedule for potty time. Once a Pug is grown it is very picky about where it uses the potty. Typically, they prefer not to use it where they eat, sleep or play.
When walking your Pug, be sure to help him find a spot in your yard and make sure to always go back to the same spot each subsequent time. Take careful watch of your Pug’s elimination patterns for a few weeks to determine what’s best for him.
It is also important to set a schedule for feedings in the morning and in the evening. Your Pug may have never been on such a set schedule before so this will take some time for adjusting. You may have heard the common saying, “you can’t teach an old Pug new tricks”. In truth, age does not matter, it is consistency that counts.
Your Pug may have lived in an abusive home in the past so be careful about the way you treat your Pug when he behaves out of turn. Show your Pug that you care and exercise a little patience. You need to let the Pug know that he can be comfortable around you so that he is not afraid to learn the new rules.
There will be accidents, so be prepared to clean it up and move forward. Don’t assume that an adult Pug will be any easier to train than a puppy. Both Pugs would face the same adjustment issues. You have to train with consistency and affection so that you reinforce the responses that you want repeated.
Finally, older male Pugs have a tendency to mark their territory by peeing on things. It is an instinctive behavior which needs to be tended to by either through consistent housetraining or simply having the Pug neutered.
Grab free Pug videos to help with Pug potty training and produced by the Pug training experts of UltimatePug.com.