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The doghouse

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Original poster

Is it confusing for a puppy to take them on a walk for a toilet break?

18 replies

Saolas · 09/08/2023 19:42

Have a 7 month old puppy that I'm getting exhausted toilet training. Standing in the garden waiting for him to go is just painfully annoying, especially as I'm out there every hour and he holds some to lift his leg multiple times, but doesn't want to do that in the garden. He only pees in the garden when he is desperate after waking up from a night of sleep. It's honestly just easier for me to go around the block and he can lift his leg multiple times. However, is this likely to confuse him? Is he understanding to pee outside at all? If to him it seems like we are just on a walk? As I say, it do it every hour and just go around the block, takes about 7 minutes max, very different to his proper walks at nature reserves or fields, so I'm hoping he is registering I want him to pee outside? This is something I've only started doing these last few days (after going mad just standing in the garden, for him to not have even emptied his bladder once he finally lifts his leg once) does this sound okay? I'm so worried he will never get it but I genuinely feel I'm doing all I can at this point.

OP posts:

FoodFann · 09/08/2023 19:45

It’s not confusing for your dog at all. My dog has always waited until her morning walk for her toileting. You’d surely be taking your dog on a morning walk anyway. They possibly don’t want to mess in their own garden - my dog point blank refuses to pee or poo in her own garden.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 09/08/2023 20:00

Maybe he doesn’t need to do? Our dog has only gone while on walks unless he’s desperate!

Dartmoorcheffy · 09/08/2023 20:04

Is your garden not enclosed? You shouldn't need to be standing there.

Original poster

Saolas · 09/08/2023 20:13

It is enclosed but if I go inside he wants to come back in with me and if I close him out, he will sit at the door waiting for me to come back + I need to praise and treat him if he does go!

We are having issues with accidents inside, which is why I've resulted in this, so he definitely does need to go as well

OP posts:

Paq · 09/08/2023 20:16

A 7 month old dog shouldn't need to go every hour surely? Does he have an infection?

tennissquare · 09/08/2023 20:16

What breed is the puppy? My miniature schnauzer won't go in her own garden, it's typical of the breed.

Original poster

Saolas · 09/08/2023 20:20

I figured the same... I feel like I'm back having a 12 week old. He has no infection, we just can't master the toilet training, so trying to do everything I can. This is more of a recent system, so maybe as the weeks go by, I see every hour isn't needed. Will start tracking it all... I'm desperate to get this sorted

He's a little terrier mix, think yorkie/jack russell/patterdale/dachshund type

OP posts:

JussathoB · 09/08/2023 20:24

What on earth are you on about OP? Of course a puppy on a walk is ‘outside’.
why has this puppy not been toilet trained before now? It usually happens between 8 and 16 weeks

Hellocatshome · 09/08/2023 20:27

Our Ddog is a mongrel rescue and he absolutely refuses to wee or poo in our garden. He goes on 3 walks a day and gets all his toileting out the way on those walks.

Original poster

Saolas · 09/08/2023 20:27

Huh? I am aware a dog on a walk is outside?

Wow, thanks for making me feel better. As I've said, I've been trying insanely hard since I got him at 12 weeks. He was a rescue and when he came to me, would literally just pee on your lab, on his bed, wherever, so I feel we have got somewhere. I can assure you I did everything by the book, garden every 20 mins, after eating, sleeping, playing, watched like there was no tomorrow, took him out mid wee when doing it inside, etc. he is still just not fully there yet... not sure what else to say. As I said, I'm really trying and this is now where I'm at and it's definitely emptying his bladder every hour and meaning I don't get accidents in between, but it's early days, but hopefully this cracks it when I start increasing the times in between the walks!

OP posts:

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 09/08/2023 20:31

Small dogs are often harder to train than larger ones, simply because they can't physically hold it as long!

Please don't worry, he'll get there. If a quick walk around the block is what it takes to get him to "go", then do it. It will get easier!

EmilyBrontesGhost · 09/08/2023 22:28

To answer your specific questions:-

However, is this likely to confuse him?

No it won't.

Is he understanding to pee outside at all?

Yes he is. He knows he's outside.

If to him it seems like we are just on a walk?

Don't worry, he understands he is outside of the house.

As I say, it do it every hour and just go around the block, takes about 7 minutes max, very different to his proper walks at nature reserves or fields, so I'm hoping he is registering I want him to pee outside?

Praise him/give treat every time he pees while you're going round the block, he'll get it don't worry.

If he's having accidents inside I can understand why you're taking him out every hour. You will gradually be able to increase that to two hours, three hours etc as he learns.

Don't worry, you'll get there.

Hmmmbetterchangethis · 09/08/2023 22:31

If you’ve told him off for weeing in the house, he’ll think he’s getting told off for weeing, so may be reluctant to go when you’re watching him (which happens to be in he garden).
I imagine your attention is less focused on him if you’re walking, so he feels it’s safer to cock his leg.

allthedecentnamesweregone · 09/08/2023 22:36

Op I have a thread on this currently! I'm going through exactly the same thing except mine is 8 months and doesn't cock his leg yet. He will barely ever go in the garden and is still having weeing accidents inside - it's beyond exhausting. I've taken the view not to walk him for a toilet break because I need him to learn to wee in the garden as a walk isn't always convenient for me. He will only wee in the garden first thing like yours when he's bursting. I'm thinking of putting some grass down to see if he likes that??

Original poster

Saolas · 09/08/2023 22:57

@allthedecentnamesweregone yes! That's why I was also unsure on doing a walk for it, as I would like him to be happy to use the garden too, but at this point I'm tired of him not wanting to and being completely busy just wandering around doing nothing, it's far easier on me to just do the walk around the block now as he probably smells so many other things/dogs and he always wants to pee on that, so he gets his bladder empty, even if he does finally do it in the garden, it's just one leg lift, vs the 6 or so he will do around the block, so just seems to make sense. My hope is he will then be trained to go outside and when we have no more indoor accidents, I'll worry about seeing if he will use the garden if he isn't getting a walk for a bit and needs to go. For now, I just don't want him to think going indoors is okay so going to just keep doing the walks. Mine would only wee on grass when he was younger and didn't lift his leg, but since he does that now, he actually much prefers anything vertical or random weeds or something lol.

@Hmmmbetterchangethis haven't really ever told him off, no. I've always ignored accidents as I've always seen to do so when seeking info on it.

@EmilyBrontesGhost thank you so much I feel very reassured and positive this will work! I will definitely track things and if we go a week or so with no accidents with the hourly walks, I will try 90 mins, etc etc. I actually get so excited to take him, as I finally feel like it's going to work

OP posts:

Moanycowbag · 09/08/2023 23:57

Is he actually still peeing in the house? or is he marking in the house? my puppy is 6 months has pretty much been house trained for the last 2 months, he pees and poops at around 7am when I get him up, he will then pee around 10.30am, walk around 1.30pm wee and poop, 4pm pee dinner around 6.30pm wee and poop afterwards, 9pm wee, 11.30 wee then bed, but he has for the last week started to mark around the house so has done little wees up the sofa, the cat tree, the ironing board and the bedroom door.

I would say hourly trips are too often and he won't want or need to wee on. the hour every hour if he is 7 months.

bingohandjob · 10/08/2023 13:57

My dog much prefers to poo and wee on a walk - he will go if an emergency in the garden (we'll sometimes be playing in the house and he gets excited then suddenly it'll be HOLD UP, he'll run out, wee, then run back in to keep playing) . Our dog trainer told us early on the be grateful really, he sees the house and garden as his den area and doesn't want to soil it. He is much more likely to indicate he needs a wee going to our front door than the back doors. Handily, we have a lamppost right outside our front yard that's a preferred spot for a wee. Sometimes we go for a walk, sometimes he literally cocks his leg then happy to go back inside. Don't think it's ever confused him.

FastFood · 10/08/2023 16:24

My 11month old male pup doesn't like peeing in the garden, like a lot of you, he'll go if its urgent, but he's happy to hold it until the walk.
Even the way he cocks his leg on a walk is different from when he happens to do it in the garden. On a walk it's high, it's a performance, it's a celebration of life. In the garden it's just "well yeah whatever let's pee here and go back inside".

Despite him being house trained for months, I keep saying good boy when he pees / poops outside, I think it definitely helped with reinforcing and solidifying the habit and somehow prevented him from getting into an annoying marking behaviour.

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