# Peeing for Treats



## ultimateceej (Aug 2, 2011)

I did a little digging and didn't find any similar problems so here it goes:

My wife and I recently bought a 3 month old Yorkie. We feed him on a regular schedule and take him out every 1.5 to 2 hours, plus after naps and eating. 

When he successfully eliminates outside, he gets praise and treats. When he starts inside, we rush him outside and wait for him to finish before praising him and giving treats.

But now it seems like he is peeing inside just to go outside and pee more so that he can get a treat. At these times, the pee is just a few drops.

Also, he doesn't like hanging out outside. He would rather be inside. So when we take him out and he doesn't have to pee, he will sometimes squat like he is and not let anything out that way he gets a treat AND gets to go back inside.

Does anyone have any suggestions to curb this behavior? Thanks in advance!!


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

ultimateceej said:


> Also, he doesn't like hanging out outside. He would rather be inside. So when we take him out and he doesn't have to pee, he will sometimes squat like he is and not let anything out that way he gets a treat AND gets to go back inside.


I don't see this as a bad thing. Clearly he's demonstrating that he understands the concept of why you took him outside. You're rewarding that understanding. If you want, you can pair the action with a command ("go potty") so that he's actually obeying a command when he squats, whether or not he actually pees. I like having the behavior on cue so that if we're in a rush or it's raining, the whole processes can be done in 10 seconds or less.

For the other problem (going inside so that he can be taken out and get treats), I guess my advice is to only reward when you're the one initiating it. No treats if he starts inside and you take him out.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

Stop feeding him treats for going potty. I've never actually had to use treats to house train.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

HerdersForMe said:


> Stop feeding him treats for going potty. I've never actually had to use treats to house train.


Some pups are harder than others to housetrain. For example, I have a mini dachshund, and they are notoriously hard to potty train. I also have a chihuahua dachshund mix that was abandoned, and had to fend for herself for quite a bit, so she got used to peeing and pooping wherever and whenever she wanted.

So, for us, treats were a big help! 

But, for the OP: your puppy is a baby! I agree with GottaLuvMutts. This shows he's starting to make some connections, which is what you want. Our first puppy, well, to make a long story short, we used puppy pads in the beginning, with him, though I regret that. (We were in an apartment, quite far from the nearest outside potty area). Anyway, he would go pee all the time!  Just a dribble here and there, of course, just to get a treat! 

As he grew and developed he stopped doing that. My guess is, as pups grow and develop, they start having interests of their own, and their own routines. Harper wakes up, goes out to potty, has breakfast, cuddles a bit, then takes his morning nap. You get the idea. He doesn't "have time" to interrupt his routine to pee little dribbles just for treats. 

Anyway, I think it's the treats are serving their purpose right now, and he'll grow out of the extra pees for treats. As for him starting inside, I'd keep a better eye on him so he doesn't have the opportunity to start inside. Watch him carefully, so you get to know even his most subtle "signs" that he has to go. That way, you can get him out first....


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## nikblanas (Aug 2, 2011)

I have a yorkie that is almost 4 years old now. We got him fixed about a year ago because he was marking his territory on EVERYTHING in our new house! LOL. But as a puppy, my yorkie was the same way and still sort of is now... He would purposly lift his leg or squat and when he got outside he will "pretend" to pee or just dribble, run back in the house so that he can get a treat. My yorkie knows that if he goes potty (and I mean actally go potty in the grass OUTSIDE), he will get a treat! My husband and I have tried many times to break the potty/treat habit, but it always led to him peeing in the house and having accidents, as long as he knows he has to potty outside though, he knows he will get a treat! I do not personally see anything wrong with that! It has made it very nice actually! If my yorkie wants a treat, he will bark at the door, go potty outside, and then come in for a treat! If you can teach your yorkie to do the same, I don't think there is anything wrong with it and it makes much easier on you as an owner! =)


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

my pap/poodle did this for a long while. rather than pee all at once and get one treat, she figured out if she peed just a little bit a few times she got more treats! I think it just indicates superior intelligence lol

when she broke her leg and had to stay inside and not go for any walks, she would fake like she had to pee, Id take her out, and then she'd be all "guess I dont have to go....hey!! how bout we go for a walk since we're already out here?" 

with my younger puppy, I started right out just petting and praising for going potty.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

Oh yes treats can help when you begin teaching house training. But like any other training they should be phased out so the dog performs the behavior without needing the food motivation. A recall command doesn't serve much of a purpose if the dog won't pay attention to you unless you have food in your hand. 

I believe at the very least the treats should stop being dispensed when the pup starts going inside and finishes outside. Only reward correct behavior at this point, not corrected behavior.


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## ultimateceej (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks for all of the advice!!

He is doing better now. The only issue we are having is that sometimes he is afraid to go outside. I think that he just has a negative association with going outside because we take him out on a regular basis trying to prevent any accidents and sometimes that interferes with his play time.

We've started teaching him to sit with the clicker and after 2 days he's got it, although sometimes we have to repeat ourselves. 

Thanks again!


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

We got Zoey in December and she tried to pull this same gag on us. It didn't work out so well for her though because she'd squat and if there was no little yellow spot in the snow she didn't get a treat  Put an end to that.


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## ultimateceej (Aug 2, 2011)

Well he's still afraid of going outside. We try to get him to walk to the door but he always stops about 5 feet away and then tries to run away so we always have to carry him to the door. 

However, as soon as we open the door, he knows to go outside and pee or poop and he gets praised for it. 

Why won't he follow us to the door and go out by himself? This is making it difficult for use to house train because we need him to let us know when he needs to go.

Any advice?


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## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

Just saw this and it reminded me of my parents' dog Cricket. She did the fake squat thing too. Actually, she still does it--not for treats, but because she wants to go back inside. When my mom would take her and their other dog out in the morning, Cricket would decide that she really didn't want to go potty outside (she's paper trained and my parents never weened her from that). My mom generally waits her out and she goes, but sometimes she'll fake squat so my mom will let her back in.

On the treat issue -- my puppy won't take treats outside. She's far too distracted by anything and everything. The butterflies, the smelly grass, the trash my mouth-breathing neighbors threw on the ground. She'll go potty, but once she's done she just wants to romp around and investigate. Put a treat in front of her and she brushes it off. She loves these treats inside, though.


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