Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
About 5 weeks ago we got the most adorable bichon-x-maltese rescue named Toby. he is about 2 years old, weighs 6 lbs. We got him mostly to keep Lucy, the 10 year old Bichon company and give her some exercise.
They both get walked on the leash about 3 times a day to do their business and very quickly Toby picked up on the drill but that is the only time he will pee outside. Usually at bedtime I let Lucy out the front door, stand on the front porch and say "Pee Pee", she will and then comes in. But Toby will not pee unless he is on the leash. Several times we have had him playing outside after a walk and then he pees inside. Once he stuck his nose in his dinner dish and literally wet himself with the first bite. he had just peed on a long walk but I guess the exercise made him have to pee again.
So how do we get him to pee in the grass outside when not on the leash. He won't run away I feel confident so it would really be nice to train him to take that last bedtime pee without having to hook him up and walk him.
You haven't had him for too long and probably haven't reinforced peeing off the leash yet. If you take him outside and play with him until he pees (which he will at some point), praise him for it. Give him treats and make sure he knows he's a good boy for going outside.
You can leash him late at night and take him out (yeah, this sucks...). Do it for a while so he is used to the routine of you being outside in close proximity with him while he is leashed. As long as you are sure he doesn't run off, try it without the leash. Play it by ear, either leash him and take it off, or don't leash him and see if he will go. Then take the step of letting him out on his own and see what happens.
Another option if he does not take to peeing off leash is to get a flexi leash. He will have up to 16' that he can walk away to pee on a string if need be.
I think in time, he'll get the hang of peeing off leash (by watching his little friend) and getting the hang of it.
Another option is tether the two together. She'll squat and he'll lift or squat to cover her scent, that is a natural behavior. You'll only need a few feet of tether line to complete the trick.
Congratulations on your new little boy. I guess he's been trained to pee ON the leash, perhaps he came from a home where he had no yard.
Or no fence.
We have ours trained only to pee/poop on the leash for this reason. Our yard is fenced, but he learned early on how to climb the fence, and as a scent hound, he absolutely will run after any and everything he smells, so he can't just be let out to do his thing - he's not trustworthy offleash. It's totally likely that somewhere early on, somebody trained your dog to go during leashed walks, so that's what he does. If you want something different, you'll have to retrain.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
