How to Housebreak a Pitbull Puppy – 101 Guide Report

Housebreaking is a training process to domesticated animals, such as dogs, that live with their pet owners to execute within a designated area, whether outside or inside the house. Housebreaking is also known as house-training or potty training. Whatever you call it, housebreaking a pitbull is not totally that difficult.

Pitbulls are a naturally smart animal, so it is easier to train them. On the other hand, housebreaking a pitbull requires lots of patience and commitment. You only have to follow the right process until the end, or else, you and your pooch will start over again.

The Right Time to Start Housebreaking

Some of the pet owners, most likely the newbies in pet parenting, do not have an idea on how to housebreak a pitbull puppy. Here, we will discuss the details about the process of housebreaking a pitbull. But first, let us discover the basic information on when to begin the housebreaking a pitbull.

Based on a study, at the age your pitbull puppy reach the weeks between 12 and 16, you should start training him. He is already able to control his bladder and know to hold his bowel movement. Starting housebreaking a pitbull beyond 12 weeks would take much of your time. You also need to re-shape your dog’s behavior, with lots of encouragement, motivation, and reward.

Housebreaking Principles

Housebreaking a pitbull has the ultimate goal of helping your dog to do the right thing from the start and be able to avoid possible accidents to happen. To be able to accomplish this goal, the following principles should be done correctly.

• Start to subject your pitbull on a housebreaking schedule as soon as you have them home. Another thing to accomplish this is to watch over him most of the time. It is very important to never let him explore the entire house without any supervision by humans. Moreover, if you can’t do this, better to place him in the crates or in the yard outside the house.
• Praise your pitbull for doing the right thing. It is not a good idea to just stand in the doorway and wait for your pooch to come back before praising him with what he did. Your pitbull would totally have no idea what you’re praising him for at that time he’ll be back. The best thing to do is to get him outside the house and take him to the provided area in the yard as his bathroom. The moment he executes, praise him for being a good dog he is.
• Do the clicker training. The best time for the pitbulls to click is right at the tail end of his urine stream. Say something by using any phrase when you see that he almost relieve himself.

Establishing Housebreaking Routine

Pitbulls are smart dogs that are very trainable and thrive on routines. You won’t get upset when you give him one, so better start as soon as you bring that pooch into your house. Below are some points to remember on how to housebreak a pitbull puppy and in setting up your pitbull’s housebreaking schedule.

• Your 8 to 12 weeks old pitbull pup need to be taken out at least once after an hour of waking up and are already active. An exercising and playing 8 to 10 weeks old puppy may need to go out every 20 to 30 minutes.
• Allow your pitbull puppy to get out of his crate the moment he wakes up every hour of the day. Carrying him outside the house to avoid any accident s on the way out is a bright idea for the first two weeks. An adopted adult pitbull should be taken out immediately. However, look after him as he was on his way out.

• Pitbull puppies have the tendency to execute within 15 to 30 minutes after drinking or eating. Feeding your pitbull should be done inside his crate and just wait for 10 to 15 minutes before taking him back outside to execute him. It is not really advisable to let him feed all by himself and to freely leave a water bowl inside his crate.
• At dinner time, their water bowl should be taken up in not less than 3 hours before bedtime of your pitbull pups. Let him go outside for another time, at least once, before going to bed. Good thing if you place his crates inside your bedroom. This may allow you to hear his whining if there is an urge to go out in the middle of the night.
• Establish a feeding schedule for your pitbull puppy. It is recommendable to always feed your pooch by schedule, rather than free feeding. Always remember: eating all day is pooping all day!
• It is a great idea if you let your pitbull to play in the yard after executing. Give him his favorite toy and play with him if possible. Plan and schedule lots of playing activity and fun training with your pooch whether indoor or outdoor.
• Do not place your pitbulls inside the crates for more than 6 to 8 hours, and for your pups, never leave them in crates for more than 3 to 4 hours.

Do’s and Don’ts on How to Housebreak a Pitbull Puppy

Getting to know the hows to housebreak a pitbull puppy needs to be aware of everything about it. While on you and your pitbull puppy is on the process of housebreaking, keep in mind the following do’s and don’ts:

1. It is a no-no to punish your puppy for having an accident during his execution time. This way can cause him to discontinue executing in front of you. This might be a problem on your end as this may prolong the housebreaking process. Punishing him is also one way of teaching your puppy to develop fear on you.
2. Clap loudly when you caught your pitbull pups in the act of doing execution. This behavior would let him know that he’s done something unacceptable. After getting his attention, bring him out by getting on the collar in a delicate way. Praise him also when he’s finished doing this.
3. When you find something that proves to be an evidence of his execution, but you didn’t see the actual scenario, it’s not good to react rudely by yelling at him or rubbing his nose in it. Remember, pitbulls are intelligent animals and this pup is able to correlate your anger with their accident.
4. It is recommended to stay outside with your puppy for a long time so that he may help to curb accidents. This act may also give him more time to explore.
5. If having accidents are continuously happening, or if the housebreaking process has been unsuccessful, you need to contact a veterinarian right away. Seeking professional advice may help you to identify if there are any underlying health issues which contribute to prolonged the housebreaking process. Resolving health issues may help to resolve the problem.
6. To minimize odor brought by your pitbull puppy’s accident, it is better to wash accidents using a cleaner with an enzyme instead of cleaners based on ammonia. Compare to an ammonia-based cleaner, enzymatic cleaner break down the “pheromones” – a chemical marker in the urine, which keeps your pitbulls from sniffing out and using the inappropriate potty area.

Cleaning protocol:

• Using lukewarm water, saturate any dried spots.
• Dry the area by pressing the towel in it until there is no more moisture.
• Follow the instructions indicated in the container in using the enzymatic cleaner, but repeat 3 times.

Troubleshooting on How to Housebreak a Pitbull Puppy

It really brings a lot of mishaps when you try and start to housebreak your little bowwow. Even if you strictly follow the rules on how to housebreak a pitbull puppy, you may still encounter problems in unlocking and accomplishing this task. Here are some ways that might help you in dealing with your pooping puppy or with your urinating pooch and to other housetraining woes.

1. Nothing happens when you take the dog out.

Just be patient. Like what we’ve said housebreaking take a lot of patience. If nothing happens when you take out your doggy after 10 minutes or more, come back inside the house. You’ll need to keep the dog on a leash and go back out after 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat this method as needed.

 2. Your pitbull just runs around and plays when you take him out.

When taking your dog out, ensure that there are no play triggers around like toys, pets, or children. Dealing with this kind of potty training attitude of your pitbull puppy is a little bit easy. Just simply ignore your dog.

Don’t play or talk to him. Never yell and never point out any evidence of the accident. Since they easily get distracted, just walk back and forth, and don’t make a big deal.

3. You find accidents even inside the crate.

As a pet owner, do your very best to determine if your pitbull was kept for long periods of time inside his cage where he was urged to execute in a place where he sleeps. Experiencing this potty training behavior would make the housebreaking process quite difficult.

Another thing to consider is the size of his crate. If the crate is too large, you can assign a potty area and a sleeping area at the same time. But, before doing this, ensure that the size of the crate is right. Take note that what is important is to make your pooch feel comfortable when he stand up, turn around, and lie down.

4. Your pitbull cries in the crate in the middle of the night.

This behavior of your pitbull must be an indication that he has to go to the bathroom, or he may be begging for your attention. If you are not sure of the possible reason of his cry, take him out directly, but do not acknowledge him. Acknowledge him if he goes directly to the bathroom quietly and briefly. This is to avoid teaching your pitbull that midnight potties are fun. Put him immediately back to the crate and go back to bed if he doesn’t go to the bathroom.

It is also good to remember that before putting your pooch needs to have adequately exercise before putting him to crate for the night. You don’t have to accompany him to the bathroom if you are very sure that your pitbull is full of energy and that he is healthy. This only means that he may only need to cry it out. It may be another cause of alarm if your pitbull seems to be panicking, digging, destroying beddings, etc. Your doggy might be dealing with separation anxiety, so seek for medical expert’s advice.

5. You just can’t seem to keep an eye on your pitbull.

If keeping an eye on your pooch keeps on troubling you, he should be crated at night or whenever you are gone. Keep your pitbull tethered to you all the times or gate him in an area with you. Gates and closed doors provide restricted access for your pitbulls inside your home. However, do not allow the crate to be an alternative place of training for your dog. Remember, pitbulls are an active breed of dogs that need plenty of exercises and social interaction.

Final Thought

Pitbulls appearance provides a misinterpretation that they are dangerous breed of dog. Take some time to understand this dog’s natural behavior. Ten will realize and might able to say that they are truly a smart and a highly trainable doggy companion. Through this distinctive characteristic of pitbulls, housebreaking them won’t be that difficult for pet owners.

All you’ll have to do is to patiently train them well. Suddenly you will develop an extraordinary bond between you and your pooch. What’s important is to let your pitbull to socialize and mingle at the very beginning of this housebreaking process. Plus, providing them with the right training will result in a positive and temperament kind of companion.

Don’t also forget that love, affection, attention, and care to our loveable pitbulls during this housebreaking process will bring a sweet and obedient doggy. Housebreaking is a dreary method, but always ensure that its result will last for a long time.