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The thing is is that this dog is already "potty trained" — she's just been trained to use the pads, and now the OP wants to change that. She's "holding it" because she thinks that's what she's supposed to do except when on a pad.
Putting the puppy pad outside worked well enough for me, but it wasn't an immediate fix and required consistency.
Yeah, I've done that. You still take the pad away and take them out a lot and deal with some accidents in the meantime. They won't let themselves explode from pee
If you keep giving pads, you're just reinforcing the pad use
Yeah, I've done that. You still take the pad away and take them out a lot and deal with some accidents in the meantime. They won't let themselves explode from pee
If you keep giving pads, you're just reinforcing the pad use
It worked fine for me. He knew it was out there, and it was easy to wean him off of it. After a week or so, he didn't even look for the pad outside.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 01-26-2019 at 07:50 PM..
You can take the pad inside away but still use it outside as a signal for what you expect. After the puppy regularly goes on the pad outside if they don't automatically transition to the ground you can cut the pads into smaller and smaller pieces until you no longer need them. Some puppies need that bridge.
The bigger problem for OP is the puppy isn't going to pee outside until it is comfortable letting its guard down outside. This puppy apparently missed the habituation window of the first 16 weeks. Puppies under 16 weeks are little sponges that soak up experiences that shape the way they perceive the world. During those early weeks puppies need to be exposed to different surfaces, sights, sounds, smells. Puppies who experience many different things are more willing to accept new experiences in the future. Older puppies that don't have varied experiences think new things are scary and need to be desensitized. There is no magic switch that flips at 16 weeks and it is not too late to show the outside world is a safe place. It is going to take longer and be more work than with a younger puppy.
Take the dog for a walk if the weather permits, not just standing in the yard. Get her used to being outside and socialize her. When she potties outside, reward her.
Put her in the crate when you're in the house or keep her tethered to you. If she tries to go in front of you, tell her no and get her outside immediately. Then reward when she does go in the appropriate place.
You can take the pad inside away but still use it outside as a signal for what you expect. After the puppy regularly goes on the pad outside if they don't automatically transition to the ground you can cut the pads into smaller and smaller pieces until you no longer need them. Some puppies need that bridge.
The bigger problem for OP is the puppy isn't going to pee outside until it is comfortable letting its guard down outside. This puppy apparently missed the habituation window of the first 16 weeks. Puppies under 16 weeks are little sponges that soak up experiences that shape the way they perceive the world. During those early weeks puppies need to be exposed to different surfaces, sights, sounds, smells. Puppies who experience many different things are more willing to accept new experiences in the future. Older puppies that don't have varied experiences think new things are scary and need to be desensitized. There is no magic switch that flips at 16 weeks and it is not too late to show the outside world is a safe place. It is going to take longer and be more work than with a younger puppy.
Thanks for this. I just thought she was weird and afraid of everything but this makes a lot of sense. We’ll take a few walks or should I say longer walks just to get use to new surroundings.
Take the pads away.
Take her out often.
Be ok with some accidents.
She will get it!
I agree! Puppy pads just confuse them IMO.
I have trained 3 toy breeds to go outside to do their business in both the fall and winter, and even if it's cold outside, they "get it" as long as you are consistent.
One good thing about cold weather (snow, freezing temps), they aren't likely to want to sniff and play around. They do their business and want to get inside asap!
My girl dog pulled this stunt on me of holding it. Mainly it was because the neighbors were not respecting my wish to leave her alone until she went. That was my rule that she was going to learn: When we go outside, the first thing you do is go to the bathroom, then play around.
The reason for that was because of where we lived. I lived in the Everglades. Not only did I have to worry about gators, I had to worry about weather in the summer - the storms are insane out there, and I'm not going to watch a gator snap her and part of the leash right out of my hands, nor am I getting struck by lightning because she wants to dink around instead of just going to the dang bathroom.
So, I decided to start crate training her. I did the same: take her out, she would just sit there and stare at me, (she didn't get an hour to do that - she got 10 minutes and that was standing in one spot, not walking all over the neighborhood), bring her back inside, put her in the crate for 10 minutes, take her back out, wait 10 minutes, bring her back inside...etc.
One day, she decided to test. She tested me for a full 24 hours. That is not even the slightest bit exaggerated. It literally went on for one full day. I was so tired, and very frustrated, and really not liking my dog that day, so I got online during one of her 10 minutes in the crate time. I looked up how to make my dog go. I found a site that talked about dogs who had surgery in the back end, or a disability, and how to massage around her hips to make her go.
I tried it.
It flipping worked. It took a couple of minutes, but it worked. (And yes, I gloated, which she didn't care for.)
That takes care of going to the bathroom if you ever get to the point.
Do you not take her on walks otherwise? Why would you assume that because she doesn't want to go to the bathroom outside that it means she doesn't like being outside? If you take her on walks and she's fine, it has nothing to do with being outside and everything to do with her just not wanting to do what you you want her to do. Fix that.
Not sure what the weather is where you live but if it's nice, you might start feeding her outside. Help her associate outside with good things.
And I agree, no pads.
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