Housebreak a pug without cratetraining!

[hnijhar]

kk, so i have a 11 month old pug and i need to house break him because he keeps doing his business inside, currently what i do is: i have a closed off deck in my backyard and i open the door and let him out. the moment he is outside he begins to scratch at the door: meaning basically let me in. he tends to scratch the door aslong has you dont let him in, and once i do, he will do his business 10-20 mins later inside. when i take him for walks,sometimes he poops/pees but sometimes the moment he comes in: he walks around and does his business in my house! when im not home, i leave him in my garage where he can happily poo/ pee. but when i come home, i let him in the house and he does his business like 20 mins later outside.. i put him in the garage when its cold out and he begins scracthing.. so if you have any ideas about how i can make him business outisde please post! what i would like to do i to teach him to poop on our deck/in the garage and out side, NOT INSIDE. i goto school from 8am- 3pm, so i cant leave him in a crate in my garage. I leave my dog in the garage when im not home when its cold or the deck when its hot outisde with food and water.
he sleeps in the garage and at 7am he wakes up and starts scratching on the door. sometimes he sleeps with me, and when i wake up i put him in the garage!
thanks

currently i am feeding him blue buffalo lamb and oat meal or whatever at 8 am: 3/4 of a cup and around 8pm: 3/4 cup, i mean 3/4 cup as a small coffee cup filled up 3 quators of the way!
do you think its his food?
he is neutered!

[Lola's Mum]

wow so many things...why don't you want to crate train him? And why do you have to put the crate in the garage? Garages can be too stuffy or too cold, depending on where you live...that doesn't sound like a good place to leave your pug? Also leaving him outside when it's hot is not a good idea, as I'm sure you know, pugs are sensitive to heat, because of their breathing...

Sounds like you should make a schedule of when you take him outside...and stick to that. When you know he needs to go, just stay outside with him until he goes. You can predict when he'll need to go...like right when you get up the am, when you get home from school, etc.

As far the food question - I would check the bag and see what the proper portions are for a dog his size and age...and perhaps measure his food using a proper measuring device...

I'm sure lots of others will have advice...hope this helps...

[Tinker's mom]

A schedule is critical.We take Tinker out for a walk first thing in the morning, she poops and pees. Then I let her out about 2pm to pee. We walk again between 5-6pm, sometimes she goes out around 8pm to pee then she goes out when we go to bed, usually around midnight, sometimes a little later.When you set a schedule the dog learns when they can go. Patience, consistency are key. Lavish praise and treat everytime they go outside.At 11 months, your pug has a big enough bladder to hold it several hours. Good luck and let us know how things go. Welcome to the village!!!!

[controlfreak]

I got my pug at 9 months untrained. I tried crate training but it wouldnt work for him due to his past experience with them. The schedule was the only thing ; and walking out with him. Now even my other dog expects praise when he wees outside and he been potty trained for 5 years. It just sort of clicked with him one day and now he gets to sleep in our hallway. No gates or anything. Just knows the routine and i think it best for all dogs; not just pugs. Maybe make him a smaller area in the garage (not quite a crate) but a built in area thats big enough to move but small enough that he wont go.

I am no help with the food. I weigh my dog and then weigh my food to the gram. My pug was over weight when i got him and i had a under weight boxer at another time; so i got used to weighing foods to make sure.

[CountryPug]

You really need to go outside with your pup, otherwise he really isn't going to learn much. When he does potty where you want him to, you need to reward him so he will get the idea. If it's cold in your garage, that's probably not the best place for him either....why not use an X-pen or keep him in the kitchen with a baby gate up. If he's scratching on the door as soon as he wakes up, it's because pugs are companion dogs and love to be with their people. Sounds like he needs more time spent with you and he will relax and be able to learn what is expected.

[Hellas]

He needs to spend more time with you and to be walked more. I don't think that either a garage or a backyard is a suitable place for a pug for more than short periods of time. Much better then to put up baby gates and keep him in the kitchen, after it has been dog proofed.

As others have said, a schedule is vital when potty training any dog. You need to walk him until he poops and pees. That may mean that you need to find a place where he likes to go. Many dogs are choosy when it comes to pooping and will only go under a bush, in tall grass or similar. Both of mine are like that.