not going potty outside

[Lisa]

Hi guys

I have a problem.  When we first brought Zoe home, she was tiny and it was very cold, so we didn't take her outside to go potty.  She learned to go potty inside, on a training pad.  She has done great, almost no out-of-bounds peeing, and 100% on poopers.

Now that she's bigger, and it has been warm, we've been taking her for walks outside (for a couple of weeks).  I really thought she would go potty outside once she had the chance!  She sees our labrador Sandy go every time they're outside, but she waits until we're back in the house, and then uses her pad.  She's even seen Sandy get rewarded with treats (Sandy is in heaven...she hasn't gotten treats for going potty in 3 1/2 years!).  Zoe just ignores the whole process.

It's like she doesn't connect what the other dog is doing with going potty herself.  Or, she has been really well trained to go inside.  How can I get her to make the connection?  I put a training pad outside, but she is so excited about being out there that she just ignores the pad.

Any ideas?  Just be patient and keep providing the opportunity?  They go out first thing in the morning, at lunch, and right when I get home, but no luck yet. 

[Murphys Mom]

We are having problems with Murphy too. Although he was  never pad trained. I have just been trying to get him outside every time. He can hold it through the night and while we are at work 7 - 8 hours but when we are home and he is loose he goes every hour!! Aghh frustrating! He has about 1 - 2 accidents a day.

[Mai Tai]

Lisa,
 I think you should keep bringing the pad outside and eventually the excitement of being outside may wear off and she will see the pad and use it.  The idea is to try to catch her in the act of going outside and reward it immensely.  I do have a question though. Do you really want to train her to go outside.  I am afraid it may confuse her and she won't go inside when you need her to in the winter again.  I have the opposite problem.  My dog won't go on a pad inside and is very tiny, so I would love him to be trained indoors.  It took me until he was about 7 months old to train him outdơors, but I would much rather he go inside as it is too cold for him in winter.  Also, he cannot hold it for more than three hours, so I always have to rush home to take him out.  If he were pad trained, my life would be so much easier.  Is it possible to have the best of both worlds or do they get confused?  Does anyone out there have a dog who will do both?  Mine rips up pads no matter what holder I put them in, so I just gave up.  I was going to get the potty patch, but don't want to waste money if it does not work.  I think you just have to be patient Lisa if you really want to train her to go outside.  I think with persistence, she will get the idea.  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[DaisysMom]

We have the same issue with Daisy. I take her outside at least twice in the morning before I leave for work and she'll wait until she is back inside to go. She usually tells us when she has to go, but sometimes she just wanders to the basement and goes there!

I am at a loss what to do.

[Kim]

We first trained Max to go inside with the pad. And of course just like all of you it took awhile for him to start doing his business outside. Now he is able to do both inside and out. What I've learned is that you take a used pee pad outside and let them only walk around the pee pad area. Don't actually take them out for a walk. You should also do this in the morning when they wake up and after their dinner, that way they won't be able to just hold it till you go inside. Of course that means you will probably have to be outside for awhile. Also as Karen has said, reward them immediately once they have peed and/or pooped.

I've also learned that they love to pee where other dogs have peed. So yes, it will take them awhile to get used to potty outside. If you know your dog's potty schedules then you can take them out during those times and just let them circle around an area till they potty. Remember to not "walk" them because only then will they learn that they are only outside to potty and not to play around. Eventually they will learn that they can potty outside and that it is a good thing.

Good luck you guys.

[brenlynn]

When we got Roxy, we trained her on pads. We got her in January and it was still very cold outside and she was tiny. Once the warmer weather rolled around last year (and I got sick of the cost of pads) we started training her outside as well. She did really well with picking up on peeing outside, but getting her to poop outside was MUCH harder. She is finally to the point where she is really consistent and hardly ever has accidents. I don't even know how we got her to get the idea of starting to pee outside, she just started doing it. I do live in an apartment complex, though so she could smell lots of other dogs... so maybe that's where she got the idea from? For getting her to poop outside we started taking the poop she would do inside on the pad and bringing it outside so she would smell it and see it outside and make the connection. They do sell a spray at petsmart and/or petco that is supposed to help attract dogs to pee in a certain spot, I did use that once outside and I think it worked?? That's always an option.

But, thankfully now she does both. So I am glad we pad trained her in the beginning, it's nice having that optopn.

[Lisa]

Thanks, those are some good ideas to try!  Sometimes it just feels like you're at a wall, and any suggestion makes the problem seem solvable.  I have read about going outside to potty, not just for walkies, so I'm glad that was brought up; I'll try it.  I definately don't want to get rid of the inside pee pad totally, I want Zoe to have a place to go inside, hopefully down in the basement, not outside our guest room.

I appreciate the concern that people show on this forum, I know how much you want to help.

[Lisa]

Success!  After lots and lots of tries, Zoe went potty on Saturday morning's walk.  She also saw her first bunny, hiding in the landscaping.  Now it's her mission in life to get outside to see/catch a bunny.  I guess that qualifies as positive reinforcement. ha ha

[Kim]

Glad she finally got the hang of it. It was only a matter of time!\.

[TravisKR]

When i finally thought meika was 100% potty trained, boy wasnt i kidding.  The past 2 weeks all she have been doing is peeing and pooping in the house.. She gives no signals to when she wants to go.  I'm not sure if its because of the low temperatures we have been experiencing.  Has anyone experienced this?

[Lisa]

I don't think Zoe had any issue with the cold or the snow, because when I let her out she runs around in the snow like a lunatic.  It's actually pretty funny, her preferred place to pee is on top of one of the piles of shoveled snow at the edge of the driveway.  Not sure what that's about, they are like four feet high.  Maybe she feels mighty, standing on snow mountain.

[Mai Tai]

Mine do that too.  I think it is very funny.