Is there a way to teach my dog to wee in the garden?

[thunderpussy]

We moved a few months ago and although our dog used to happily wee and poo in the garden in our old house, he will not do it in the new house which sort of opens onto a patio. He clearly sees it as part of the house.

I'm taking him on 3 or 4 walks a day and always worry he really needs a wee but has to wait. He could actually push the front door open and let himself out as the garden is completely secure, which would massively take the pressure off me needing to walk him every few hours.

I'm not an experienced dog owner btw, so would really welcome advice

It does sound like he doesn't think he is allowed to wee in your new garden.
My dog is trained to wee/poo on command but when he was a puppy and we stayed in a holiday cottage with only gravel he would not poo on it.

So I suggest you choose a word (which you can use happily in public) and train him to understand this means he can eliminate.

I use the word 'busy'.
Every time he wees, even out and about, say 'good busy' and reward him. Make sure you time the word with him actually doing the wee/poo.
After a couple of weeks of doing this you can then try using the command in the garden (on the grassy bit) and hopefully he will go. If he does then big treats are required.

Eric doesn't use our garden at all through choice because he used it when house training as a pup. He's absolutely fine to go only on his walks which, now it's winter, means three times a day.