Refuses to pee outside

[Tricia Campbell]

Well All, I am at wits end. Riley has now been with us for 2 weeks & he basically refuses to pee outside. I bring him out and he'll watch Duffy do his business but nothing from Riley. It doesn't matter the amount of time I spend outside with him, as soon as he walks in the house he pees. We won't mention the fact that I been living in Sh*t hell. Riley arrived with parasites that he shared with Duffy.
The vet gave us meds but they didn't work & gave us new meds yesterday. I understand that they both don't feel well & will poop in the house but as far as pee what can I do to show him outside is the place to go. I do catch him - I shout No Pee - Pee Outside & bring him out but he won't finish til he comes in. Also Duffy now thinks its okay for him to do the same,he stopped ringing the bell & just feels free to pee wherever he wants. I been washing my floors with natures miracle. Any suggestionsI am really losing it & need to get this under control beacause Hubby is really losing his patience with the three of us. Riley is 13 weeks, he should be able to get the message.

[Adina P]

If he's that resistant to peeing outside, I would NOT give him a moment to play in the house. Crate--> outside. If pees outside...then gets to play inside for 10 minutes. Then back into his crate. If NO pee outside then RIGHT back into the crate. Crate--> outside. Repeat as necessary. ONLY giving him freedom in the house IF he pees outside FIRST. IF not, back in the crate.

Carry him there if you have to to avoid accidents. Give him the tastiest, yummiest treat in the world and warm praise when he does pee outside. Seriously...hard core crate and bathroom breaks and ONLY play outside until he pees. Is it cold where you are now? How old is he? If he's had his shots I'd start taking him on 15-20 minute walks and he's bound to want to pee if you give him opportunities.

My guess is if you do hardcore crating and frequent breaks (with NO playing indoors until he's gone pee) he'll catch on soon. But if you drag it on for fear of too much crating he'll take longer. If it's not too freezing outside, just plan to spend extra time there playing with the dogs and letting them hang out with you outdoors. Do you have a fenced yard?

[2fbh0gfp1tgnd]

Wonderful advice Adina, exactly what I would do!

[Tricia Campbell]

Thanks for the advice Adina, I am in New Jersey this is the first week it will be cold in the 40's. The only reason I don't crate him when I am home is that I can't stand the barking. He never gets tired he just keeps barking & crying, Peeing on the floor is almost the less of two evils. The few times he has gone outside, I have rewarded him with treats. I do have a fenced yard but they both come to the door to be let in, Duffy is quiet while he waits but Riley scratches at the door & cries.

[Adina P]

I know what you mean...I hate barking too. Drives me batty...but in the long run the benefit of crating will be far less evil than the frequent accidents soiling your floor and getting your older dog to follow in the accident training ;-) Cover the crate with a blanket so he can't see out and turn on the radio and plop in some ear plugs (into YOUR ears). A bit of focused effort for a SHORT time will help for a LONG time.

[sbis0oszc95r]

could taking him for lots of walks help? maybe the smells of other dogs will get him to pee outside? take lots of treats with you and give lots of praise......

[Dawn]

Adina, I just tried this myself. Molly normally has a blanket over most of her crate. But today she didn't want to be in there, and I needed her to be. She barked and barked until I finally pulled the blanket down over the front of the cage and she shut right up!! It was great! I never realized people actually cover the front of the crate. I kinda fell bad doing this but it worked!

[Teri]

First off I would recommend no using the word "pee" when you tell him no. Dogs can't tell the difference between "no pee" and "pee outside". We did however teach our dog to pee on command by say "go pee" whenever we saw him go.

We live on the 11th floor of an apartment building and it was hard for him to learn how to tell us he needed to go out. We just took him outside on an hourly then 2 hourly schedule and gradually built it up until he could hold it for hours. Luckily for us my boyfriend was unemployed at the time and so our pup was never alone. Another thing that might help are puppy pads at the pet store, they are infused with then scent of dog pee/poo (only the dog can smell it). Put the pad on a place where the dog has had an accident in the house and they will be more likely to use it. Gradually move the pad closer to the door to outside and then they learn to go to the door.

I hope this helps.

Teri

[Jessica]

When we first got Finny (8 months) he was toilet trained. But he regressed temporarily. I sat outside with him forever, sipping cups of tea but he wouldn't go. Then, when we came in - hey pesto! My trainer told me that he might not be going near the house because he could smell predators (coyote) and was afraid he'd lead them back to his patch by peeing nearby. She suggested walking him around the block. Guess what - it worked first time! (As confidence increases, you can reduce distance from house...) Maybe worth a try?

[Tricia Campbell]

Thanks All, I did forget to mention I had tried wee wee pads but he used them as a bed & then would just rip them to shreds. He would go near it but never on it, I will just keep at it using many of your suggestions. I did get him to go outside last night & this morning but he will only go on my new sod. We had our back yard done over the summer &
out my side door we did about 40L X 20W feet of concrete & along the edge we did 40L X 5W of river rock. We also gated this area from the rest of the backyard. Duffy has been great he would do his business in the rocks which worked
to my advantage, it would just flow down to the soil - He was my weed control. But Riley wants to pee only on the grass.
I'm not thrilled that I will have burn marks in the new soil.

[ClarkP]

I know this is overly simplistic... but we get to control where the dogs pee. It's up to us to teach the dogs and condition them to be comfortable doing what we want them to do. They might resist, but we have the bigger brains... and thumbs!

Many dogs don't like peeing on hard surfaces/rocks at first. But they also learn to do it and become completely comfortable with it.

So let's start with what we know as facts:
1) Dogs HATE eliminating in their den where they sleep (their crate, right?) They will not eliminate there unless they are bursting and have not been given another suitable option (bad human!).
2) No dog will burst just because he prefers going someplace else and that spot is not available. They will not hold it forever and die just because the only place to pee is river rock. They will pee. They might not be comfortable at first but soon won't mind one bit. Each time they do it becomes more and more comfortable.

Knowing those two things, it's not difficult at all to shape their behavior. Follow Adina's "crate-->outside" advice exactly and ONLY give Riley the option of the river rock area. If you want to keep your new sod nice, don't let Riley pee on it. Simply don't give him access to it when it's potty time. Give him LOTS of praise / treats when he does it correctly. Also teach him to pee on command by saying the command as soon as he starts and then praising him lavishly when he's done. We use "Be Quick!" as our command. Others use "Go Pee!" or whatever they like. :-)

You WILL win this power struggle! As soon as Riley realizes that, it will get much easier. Who cares if Riley wants to pee on the grass? You don't want him to and you are the big powerful dog owner!

[Tricia Campbell]

Clark, thanks for the strong hand. I know I am a pushover so thanks for the power boost :)

[ClarkP]

You can definitely do it! It IS time consuming at first. But the payoff is a trained dog. Riley will thank you for it. :-)