First time pug owner needs advice....

[rayad123]

Hi everybody, this is my first post on here. My wife and I just recently brought home a 7 week old pup. This is the first time trying to train a pug let alone a puppy for us. We have already started crate training her by having her sleep in her locked crate at night. My first question is when she cries at night am I suppose to ignore it or should I let her out to go potty? Should I just wait until she cries to take her out for potty or should I set an alarm maybe every 3 hours? What has worked best for you guys?

My second concern is so far we only let her go potty on pee pads/newspaper. Should would be taking her outside instead or are pee pads ok? Has anyone ever potty trained their pug for indoors without ever taking them outdoors?

Thanks in advance everybody!

[Daisy's Daddy]

Welcome to the Village! I'm sure someone else will be along soon with plenty of advice for you. I can't speak to your crate training/potty question as we always had our pugs in bed with us and they would wake us when they needed to go out, but I'm sure there are plenty of pug owners on here who have done what you are doing.

As for pee pads vs. outdoors, we trained both of our pugs initially to use pee pads when they could not get outside. We took them outside whenever we were home and let them use the pee pads when we were not. Additionally when we got Huck at about the same age as your baby, it was freezing cold with snow on the ground and we let him use the pee pads when it was just too cold for him to be outside.


We treated and praised for both pee pad and outside pottying equally. Eventually as they became able to hold their bladders longer we phased out the pee pads.

[Tinker's mom]

Hello & to the village! We trained to go outside but Tinker was 12 weeks when we got her. We never had to wake up to take her out at night but I think as young as yours is you may need to take her out. She can probably go 4-5 hrs at night and more often during the day. Always treat and praise lavishly and she'll catch on. Welcome, good luck, and

[rayad123]

Thanks for the advice so far. She is doing very good in her crate, better than I thought she would. She hardly cries when inside and so far no potty accidents in it. We want to start transitioning her from pee pads to go potty outside so I think we are going to make some sort of sod patch to keep indoors for now. Has anyone ever tried this?
We don't want to fully take her outside yet because she has not received all her shots. Also, yes we have been giving her treats everytime she goes potty and also when she goes inside her crate to sleep, that works very well. We just need to stop her from biting so much now. Thanks and Happy Holidays everyone!

[Oregon Pug Mom]

Welcome!! The biting is normal for little guys. They don't know that toys are OK but hands aren't. When she bites/nips your hands just have a toy handy & divert her from hands to the toy. They get the idea......eventually! Enjoy this baby time--my Marley is 5 mo & I already see some of the cute baby behaviors giving way to more independent decisions on her part....

[KismetPuggies]

When I am training puppies before they go to their new homes, I use a litter box and wood pellets. By 7 weeks she should have already started going outside if you are going to be training for outside, however, with her being too young for her shots, I understand your hesitation. You can get a litter box, or a potty grass area... Potty Patch- As Seen on TV - House Training - Dog - PetSmart both Petco and PetSmart have these, as well as smaller pet stores....

When my puppies bite (which is natural for them) do not jerk your hand away or pop their nose.. this makes your hand a toy. You can press your finger inside and across their mouths so that you are pressing against the spot where upper jaw and lower jaw come together... this is uncomfortable for the puppy, but not painful, and teaches them that hands in their mouths are not fun.

Best of luck to you! And Welcome to the Village! :o)