Learning how to potty your American bully will save you time and the frustration of trying to train your dog in a way that gets no results.
Potty training your American Bully is the first thing you want to do when you get them back to their new home.
It will be one of the most important things you teach them, so it would be good to learn how to potty train your American Bully first.
Potty training teaches them to use the bathroom in a safe, designated location when you can’t take them out.
The trick is to help build good habits by not allowing them to form bad ones.
Easier said than done, I know, but with the tips, you’ll get there. Along with patience and persistence, you’ll have a potty-trained pup in no time.
The Right Tools For The Job
Before I teach you how to train your American Bully, I should mention some tools that will make housetraining easier.
Having the right things on hand can make your training more manageable, or at least the cleanup.
Items like treats and a collar you probably already have or were getting anyway.
I would also get some pet stain and odor eliminators to clean up those unfortunate indoor accidents.
- A dog crate
- Poop bags
- Pet Stain and Odor Eliminator
- Potty Pads
- Collar
- Hands-free leash/ Tether
- Treats
Things to Remember When Potty Training Your Bully
When inside, the puppy should either be:
- Under constant supervision
- On a leash
- In their crate
- In a small, gated area with a place to potty
Supervision
Your American Bully should be under constant supervision if your dog isn’t in a crate, in a gated area, or on a leash.
This means whoever is supervising has their full attention on the dog at all times.
If your eyes are not on your puppy, they are not supervised.
If you do anything other than watch him, even briefly, you will be cleaning up an accident later on.
Hands-Free Potty Training
A hands-free leash wraps around your waist on one end and attaches to your dog’s collar on the other.
It lets you keep your bully with you so they cannot wander off and find a nice cozy place to use the potty.
You want a short leash.
Between 3 to 5 feet should be long enough. Remember to watch them because they might need to go while tethered.
Use A Crate
The crate should be taller than your dog, large enough for them to stand, stretch, and turn around, and that’s it.
You want it large enough, so they have a spot to relax, with no room to potty.
If your crate is too large, put a box or something large enough to take up the extra space.
If you’ve never introduced your dog to the crate before, you will want to do this before using it for any potty training.
The amount of time should be limited. Irith Bloomfield from BeChewy.com recommends only a couple of hours, except for overnight [1].
They are suitable when you cannot tether or constantly watch your dog.
Dogs naturally want to pee and poo away from where their living area, but some will still soil their crate.
They can lose the desire for cleanliness if kept in a small, confined space for long periods.
Suppose your American Bully does soil their crate.
Dog Training 101 by Jean Donaldson recommends curing this by only crating them when they are empty and keeping the crate clean.
Learn When Your American Bully Needs to Potty
Learning your dog’s signs when they have to go will help you eliminate those nasty pet cleanups.
Some signs include:
- Sniffing around with his nose directly on the floor
- Circling and sniffing in an area
- Wandering off (wait, you’re not using a leash)
- Sniffing a place where they have used it before
- Sniffing and licking their groin area
After your bully has potty trained for a bit, some additional signs you might see are:
- Standing or pacing by the door
- Pawing, clawing, scratching the door.
- Whimpering or whining by the door
- crouching as if they are going to use it (take them out now!)
Schedule Potty Times
Having scheduled restroom breaks will also help eliminate accidents.
Take your bully to its designated potty area after waking up, playing, eating, and drinking.
Also, taking them outside every 1 to 2 hours will give them plenty of opportunities to go to the right places.
Also, when you take them outside to play and explore, keep them from getting out of your sight because you want to reward them when they go on their own (assuming it wasn’t by your doorstep).
Schedule Feeding Times
Having scheduled feeding times helps you time their next bathroom break.
Feed your dog at the same time and take them to their designated spot shortly after.
Have A Dedicated Potty Area
Find a good spot you want them to use each time they potty, especially indoors.
You don’t want guests to have to see your dog’s business as soon as they come in, so pick an area with little to no foot traffic.
You can use either the potty pads or newspaper for their spot indoors.
Remember, this will be their spot, and they should associate it with going to the bathroom.
There are a few things to consider when outdoors.
Taking your dog out to the same spot each time may cause him to look for that spot each time he needs to go outside.
Also, having them defecate on the same surface may become problematic if you take them to another area different from where they usually go.
A friend of mine has a large American Bully XL that he takes everywhere.
He has always taken his dog out on the grass to relieve himself, but he found his dog had trouble finding an area at the beach to use.
His dog kept leading him to the only grassy area he could see, the dunes, which are illegal to walk in Texas and many other states.
Avoid this by allowing your puppy to go on different surfaces.
Mikkel Becker from VetStreet.com recommends preventing your dog from becoming selective later by allowing him to go on grass, concrete, sand, and gravel [2].
If this is not a concern, take them to their designated area and wait for them to do their business.
Remember to reward them for doing it.
Reward Their Success
Your dog will not know why going in undesignated areas is wrong and will not have a reason to change his behavior.
So remember to give them a reason by rewarding them each time they get it right.
Timing when you give the reward, whether it is treats or affection and praise, is essential.
Your dog needs to know it is their going to the bathroom they are being rewarded for, so do it immediately after they finish, before they do anything else.
Timing the reward is important.
Bonus:
Don’t let your furry friend back inside immediately after they pee.
If they are smart, they will associate their potty time with the end of fun and will hold it to avoid going back inside [3].
Play and exploration also work as positive reinforcement.
Cleanup
Hopefully, you’ve been using the potty pads, but there might be a few accidents from time to time.
Don’t make an event out of it. Make sure your dog is clean and move them to another room.
Use the poop bags that you use for outdoor cleanup if it’s any feces.
You will see when the stain is gone, but you must eliminate the smell.
Otherwise, they will associate that spot with a place to use the bathroom.
Make sure you use a specially formulated pet stain and odor remover.
Conclusion
Potty training your dog can seem like hard work, and that’s because it is, at least at first.
Then once you and your pup get into the routine, you will not have to watch him as much.
In 3 to 4 weeks and your dog should be potty trained.
Sources
- [^] Bloomfield, Irith. (10 Nov. 2022). https://be.chewy.com/how-to-potty-train-your-dog-in-7-days/
- [^] Bekker, Mikkel. (13 Jan. 2013). Can I Teach My Dog to Pee on Concrete. Retrieved from http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/can-i-teach-my-dog-to-pee-on-concrete#:~:text=Teaching%20your%20dog%20proper%20potty,surfaces%20he%20will%20potty%20
- [^] My Smart Puppy Kilcommons, Brian; Wilson, Sarah; Ch. 7 pg. 214 1st Ebook Ed, 2006
