# Our dog will not go potty outside!



## Daijeri (Sep 7, 2009)

I have tried taking him out every hour and we have stayed out as long as 45 minutes waiting for him to go, and he won't. He waits until he comes in and he goes on the floor. We feed him on a regular schedule 8:30 in the morning until 9 and then 4 until 4:30. We go for a walk in the morning, and a walk around 5. I know that Maltese are notorious for being hard to housebreak, but I just don't understand what I am doing wrong. He just does not want to go outside. Is indoor training a good idea, such as a litter box or training pads? I should mention that we adopted him, and we have had for 3 weeks, and we have been trying from the beginning. He just isn't making any progress at all. We use treats, we don't spank him, we have a key phrase, and we always supervise him. I just don't know what else to do!


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## meandean (Aug 31, 2009)

well if you don't want him peeing inside you need to reprimand him in some way, verbally or physically. im by no means advocating hitting or striking the animal. we went with the traditional rub his nose in the pee after we caught him doing it. He only peed in the house twice ever. The second time was more our fault because we woke up late on a weekend, so no nose rubbing on that one. As far as peeing outside, there is some sort of spray that my fiancee picked up from petsmart that trains them to pee in certain areas that you spray.


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## Daijeri (Sep 7, 2009)

We do reprimand him. we yell NO at him when we see him doing it to startle him, and then we take him outside, but he won't finish outside. He sniffs and sniffs and we wait and sit back quietly while he is doing this, but that's all he ever does. Then we go back in the house and sometimes as little as a few minutes later, he is trying to go in the house again.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Try a 2 hour walk and be ready to treat and praise. You might find that he needs some bushes for cover as outside pottying puts them in a vulnerable (scary) position.


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## LadyD (May 10, 2009)

How old is this dog and how long have you been trying to housebreak him? Bostons can be hard to housebreak, too. It took us 2 1/2 months. Startling him by saying "NO', clapping your hands or shaking a pill bottle with pennies in it are the right things to do. Shoving a dog's nose in his excrement is not. Remember, you have to catch him in the act. If you yell at him AFTER he has made a mess and walked away, he won't know what he's done wrong. Give him a small treat when he "goes" in the right place. Sometimes it takes weeks or even months! Hang in there! Unless he has some kind of physical or medical problem he'll finally get it. I sure it doesn't seem like it now, though


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## KMM (Sep 7, 2009)

Well, from what I have read. Heres what you wanna do. Everytime you catch your doing going to the bathroom in the house. Don't yell don't hit or anything. While the dog is peeing pooping say good pee or good poop yes when it is in the house. Don't stop the dog. Then reward the dog with a treat after the dog is done. Keep doing this. Then when you take her for walks say go pee or go poop. Etc if she goes outside reward her with extra treats. I know this idea sounds bad but if you have tried everything else try this.


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## Reina (Aug 26, 2009)

meandean said:


> well if you don't want him peeing inside you need to reprimand him in some way, verbally or physically. im by no means advocating hitting or striking the animal. we went with the traditional rub his nose in the pee after we caught him doing it.


NEVER DO THAT. If you do this, you are being cruel. Dogs do not connect the peeing/pooping in the house with getting their nose rubbed in their mess. Your dog will only think you are a cruel owner, who does mean things for no reason, and will hide from you. Your relationship will suffer from it.



> Everytime you catch your doing going to the bathroom in the house. Don't yell don't hit or anything. While the dog is peeing pooping say good pee or good poop yes when it is in the house. Don't stop the dog. Then reward the dog with a treat after the dog is done. Keep doing this. Then when you take her for walks say go pee or go poop. Etc


I think this will confuse the dog inside. This would just encourage them to go to the bathroom inside. The dog would continue to go inside, especially when they get a treat or praise. 


What you are trying to do is correct though. Catch them in the act, not after, not half a minute later, but right when they are peeing or squatting to poo. No nose rubbing in mess, no treats, just yell or scare them with odd sounds or a horn, then immediately take them outside. 

Your dog will probably need a strict crating schedule. No freedom unless they go to the bathroom outside first. And no freedom without supervision. Start keeping track of how often your dog needs to go. Say your dog needs to pee every two hours, or close to it. Get a timer, or watch your clock, and take them out then. If he doesn't go, he goes into the crate. Give him 5-15 minutes, then take him outside again. Repeat until he goes, and then he gets freedom for the two hours. Repeat every time. Eventually he should get "oh, if I go bathroom outside, I get to run around and have fun" 

One thing that helped my dog need to go faster (especially for pooing) was running for a few minutes before taking her out. We would get a laser light, and run her for a couple minutes. This would make her have to go, and worked like a charm. Of course, you cannot do this every time, but it might help, especially at night, when you know they have to go, but won't.

Tooneydogs is also spot on. Lots of praise when he goes outside, be it walk or potty time. 

Anyway, three weeks isn't bad. It took 4 months to train my puppy to the point where we trust her to stay home alone loose without making a mess while we are out. Just don't give up. I'm assuming you have a puppy. Puppies need to go potty after everything. After naps, being fed, playing, etc. Watch for the signs.

Here is the link to the housetraining sticky: http://www.dogforums.com/19-first-time-dog-owner/3048-housetraining-how.html

Edit: Also, make sure you use a cleaning product with enzymes, that will get rid of the smell. Also, is your dog neutered? He might also be marking your house if he isn't. Maybe. But anyway, if you get rid of the smell, the dog won't think "I've peed here before, so its okay to go here again" It might help...


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Daijeri said:


> We do reprimand him. we yell NO at him when we see him doing it to startle him, and then we take him outside, but he won't finish outside. He sniffs and sniffs and we wait and sit back quietly while he is doing this, but that's all he ever does. Then we go back in the house and sometimes as little as a few minutes later, he is trying to go in the house again.



All you're going to accomplish by yelling at your dog is to make him sneaky about peeing, because you're teaching him that peeing is dangerous around you. Just get him outside quickly, and praise, praise, praise for finishing. And for God's sake DO NOT push his face in it! That's barbaric and totally rediculous, and only teaches the dog you're out of control and unpredictable. 

You've only had him for 3 weeks. Take a deep breath, relax, and remind yourself that Rome wasn't built in a day! lol Just be consistent and persistent, and above all, patient. You might want to take him out a little more frequently, and, as Tooney said, on a longer walk, with bushes in areas where he has more privacy while going potty. I have a dog who will not pee if someone other than me is looking at him! lol He's a small breed, too - a Shih Tzu. He likes to get real close to the underside of bushes to go potty.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

Our family had two Maltese years ago and both were housetrained so don't give up. It can be done.


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

My 52 pound dog would only pee up close, next to the house, for the first 6 months we had him. Out in the open just left him feeling vulnerable. He was house trained when we got him from the rescue but, on the first day, he peed twice in the house. Each time I yelled NO to get him to stop but, unknowingly, I frightened him to the point that he was too nervous to let go of the rest of the pee when I took him outside. Luckily, he really was house trained because, once he learned where the door was, he knew where to go to be let outside.

So, I agree with taking him places where there are bushes or walls that he feels protected by and see if this helps him feel better about peeing outside. It's a big world out there for a little pup, and scaredy dogs like my big guy


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

When we were housetraining Kuma he frequently had times when he didn't want to pee outside. We found it's very important not to give your puppy freedom in the house until he has pottied outside. If Kuma didn't go outside, we would take him in and put him in his crate for 10 or 15 minutes and then try again. It took patience and perserverance, but it did work.


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

Are you using a crate? If you take him outside and he doesn't go after 15-20 minutes, back in the crate for 5. DIRECTLY back in. No wandering around the house or playing. Then repeat 5 minutes later.


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