Today in Pitbull Puppy Training Tips, we’ll be discussing the topic of your Pitbull puppy “forgetting” its potty training.
Some people think that if their puppy dribbles or makes a mess in the house that it’s forgetting its potty training.
Today in Pitbull Puppy Training Tips, we’ll discuss what’s really going on and how to prevent it.
What is Potty Training Regression
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips pro tip: Potty training regression is not a thing. The “regression” people see when it comes to potty training can be a couple of things.
Excitement
Certain dogs release varying amounts of urine when they are excited. This is a purely involuntary thing and can range from dribbling to a full release of the bladder. It’s mostly found in young dogs, It doesn’t mean your puppy forgot where it was supposed to do its business. It just means that it doesn’t have enough control over its bladder yet to keep whatever’s inside it INSIDE it when it gets excited.
A Weak Bladder
Much like young children, some puppies don’t have the bladder control to hold it until its time to go potty. If you’re having a potty issue like this, most likely its happening overnight or while you’re away. Two things are happening. In the case of overnight accidents, your pitbull puppy simply doesn’t have the bladder control to hold it. It will hold it for as long as possible, but if the control isn’t there, you will see an accident.
In the case of you being gone, you have a combination of a weak bladder and a stressed pooch. This is a combination that practically guarantees you’re going to come home to a pee mess.
Related: Pitbull Puppy Training Tips: Going Potty Outside
Stress or Anxiety
Something else of note in this edition of Pitbully Puppy Training Tips is that stress or anxiety can be a cause of potty accidents. One of a dog’s natural reactions to stress, anxiety, or fear is urination. It goes back to their ancestors. As a show of submission, wolves will urinate. This is why if your Pitbull puppy is having anxiety of any kind, you may find potty accidents. Again, this is especially true in puppies. Most dogs grow out of it.
Related: Tips To Prevent Separation Anxiety In Your Puppy
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips on Stopping Accidents
There are some things you can do to stop or reduce the frequency of indoor accidents. These Pitbull puppy training tips will help you and your pup feel better about life.
Crate Train
You want to crate train your puppy. Crate training gives your puppy a safe, secure place to be when its stressed. It also gives you a place to have your Pitbull puppy sleep at night. In most cases, a crate trained puppy will have no accidents. They find it distasteful to urinate in their crate, and when you’re gone, the crate makes them feel safe and comforted.
Limit Stress
Stress plays a role in almost all cases of potty trained puppies having accidents in the house. There are steps you can take to help alleviate stress for your puppy, crate training chief among them. If you didn’t crate train, or if it isn’t enough, you can use DAP (dog appeasing pheromones) products to help alleviate stress. These products come in diffuser, collar, and spray forms, and they can help lessen your puppy’s stress level.
Take Them Out at Night
And by that, I mean actually set an alarm and get up about halfway through your sleep time to take them out. It’s a pain, but it’s the nuclear option for keeping pee off of your hardwood and out of your carpet. This should be your last-ditch effort, though, as it can lead to training your pooch to always go in the middle of the night.
Wait it Out
I know that’s not the answer anyone wants to hear, but in a lot of cases, it’s a waiting game. You can follow all of my Pitbull puppy training tips on housebreaking, and your puppy may be perfectly trained. However, if the bladder control isn’t there, no amount of training is going to help. Your puppy is sometimes simply incapable of holding it, no matter how well trained it is.
This Too Shall Pass
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips pro tip: Patience is key. Train your puppy well. Crate train for sure. If you do this, and your dog is having accidents, try dog pheromones to take stress out of the equation. After that, you’ll be sitting pretty. Of course, your puppy still may have accidents, but at that point, it’s a physical limitation which will disappear as it grows. So, yes. This too shall pass. =D
Have you ever dealt with potty training regression in your pitbull puppy? Share your experiences in the comments.