# 14-week puppy won't pee outside



## Bolkar (Mar 9, 2014)

I got my Yorkie puppy when he was about 9 weeks old and wee-pad trained him within about a week. We had accidents, but those were eventually reduced by taking him to the pad (located in the bathroom) at regular intervals. I know it's not recommended, but I did scold him when he peed outside the bathroom and rewarded him when he ran to the bathroom on his own. 

He is now 14 weeks old and fully house-trained. Note that this was not by choice. We live in a big city, and I could under no circumstances take him outside before his last shots were done. There is dog poo everywhere, and many people don't clean up after their dogs. 

A week ago we finally started walking. He likes the leash (we practiced inside the apartment for a week), and everything is great, except that he will not go to the bathroom outside. His wee pad training is so darned solid that he refuses to do anything outdoors. 

I tried taking a soiled wee pad with us and laying it outside like a fool--he wouldn't care. I tried walking with him for extended periods and let him sniff whatever he wants, but his bladder control seems to be better than mine! Even after 4 hours outside, he still waits until we get home and then runs like hell to the bathroom.

I realized that every time I let him "win" and come home before peeing, I only reinforce his wee pad training habits, so today I decided to tough it out and just stay outside forever (I did let him nap in my lap while sitting on a bench outside so his legs could get some rest). I myself was dizzy from hunger but we stayed outside for over 4 hours after 7 hours in the crate during the night, and he didn't pee for 2 hours before bed--that's 13 hours in total! Eventually he lost control of his bladder and emptied it on a sidewalk. He was really ashamed and was ready to crawl under a tree. I rewarded him with special treats and praised him, and he was pleasantly surprised. Well, what do you think? For the rest of the day, he started peeing all over the apartment, probably once every 1.5 hours or so. 

I have two theories about this. 1) His bladder muscles got somehow messed up from waiting so long (13 hours is no joke for a 3.5 month old puppy). 2) He thinks I rewarded him for losing control and now believes I encourage sloppiness. I am really frustrated. We haven't had a peeing accident in the apartment in a long time, and today we had 5 of them. I tried quietly wiping the mess, and other times I told him that he was a bad dog. None of this seems to make a difference. We went for a walk tonight before bed for 2 hours, and he did not pee again. 

Again, I realize that his great wee pad training is interfering with the transition outside, but I had no choice. Is there a way out of this cycle?


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

Might sound silly but since he is willing to hold it so long amd you don't want him hurting himself doing so this might help get you started. How about taking the pee pads outside until he gets the idea?

You should assume he isn't house trained fully at that age . Remove any pads from inside and watch him like a hawk. Use a crate when you can't watch him and tether him to you inside so he can't have an accident. Take him out at least once an hour for now while you work on getting him used to going outside.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I would do what Gally suggested, pick up the pee pads, and just take him outside often as if he was not pee pad trained. I think he is just confused now and you will have to start all over again as he is still too young to be solidly housetrained yet. As he was used to just going on the pee pads when he had to go and you probably quit treating him for going on them, when he went outside and you made a big fuss (which is what you should do) he is not sure what he is supposed to do.


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## Bolkar (Mar 9, 2014)

Gally said:


> How about taking the pee pads outside until he gets the idea?


I've done that (described in the original post, but probably got lost in the details). I've taken both clean and soiled pads outside, and he does not give a rat's ear about either.




> You should assume he isn't house trained fully at that age.


But the problem stems from the fact that he is in fact fully house-trained. This dog is extremely smart for his age. I taught him a ton of commands within 3 days of getting him at 2 months of age. He pees and poops on command, as long as it's in the bathroom, and he holds it longer than most humans probably can. He refuses to go anywhere outside the bathroom because he thinks it's extremely improper. This morning he woke me up squealing in the crate at 10am, as usual. We walked from 10am to 2pm and got nothing, and I came home completely exhausted. I haven't shaved or showered in 4 days, have lost weight, and I'm 2 weeks behind on my work. It just isn't humanly possible or sane to walk with a dog for 10 hours a day.




> Remove any pads from inside and watch him like a hawk.


If I remove the pads from the bathroom, he will just go on the bathroom floor. He's done it before.




> tether him to you inside so he can't have an accident.


Tethering never stopped accidents during our previous training. Once he starts urinating, he will empty his bladder completely, even if I yell "stop" or say his name or pick him up. So the whole interrupting and taking him to the proper potty place might work with other puppies, but it has never worked with this one.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

You have to remove the pee pads from the house completely. They aren't an option anymore so don't make them available. 
After your puppy eats, take him straight outside and walk around for a bit. 20 minutes after you get inside, bring him back outside and walk around for a bit. Walk him to spots where other dogs frequently urinate or poop - the smells will encourage him to use the great outdoors as his personal bathroom. Some dogs like a little privacy, take him around to area's that aren't busy to potty. 

I have to wonder what method you used to train him to behave this way because if what you're saying is the truth, it's highly unusual for a dog to think that using the bathroom outside is "extremely improper" - why does he think this?? 

Some dogs just take a little extra effort to get them to go.
Puppies that young don't usually have full control of their bladders, they are still learning and need to be taken out more often than every 1.5 hours.


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## Bolkar (Mar 9, 2014)

BostonBullMama said:


> You have to remove the pee pads from the house completely. They aren't an option anymore so don't make them available.


I don't want to sidetrack the discussion, but there are many happy dogs who go outside most of the time but are also OK with going on a pad.



> After your puppy eats, take him straight outside and walk around for a bit. 20 minutes after you get inside, bring him back outside and walk around for a bit.


I did take him outside after he ate, drank, slept, and ate again. And I did it many times throughout the past week.



> Walk him to spots where other dogs frequently urinate or poop - the smells will encourage him to use the great outdoors as his personal bathroom.


Did it, as already described above. There is not a single tree, fire hydrant, or wall in New York City that hasn't been peed or pooped on by many generations of dogs. 



> it's highly unusual for a dog to think that using the bathroom outside is "extremely improper" - why does he think this??


Because he's been peeing in the bathroom for as long as he can remember himself, and he knows that peeing in other rooms is not allowed. He has a well-developed habit of peeing in the bathroom and only in the bathroom. For people who want their dogs always going inside the house (and there are plenty of those), this dog is an owner's dream.




> Puppies that young don't usually have full control of their bladders, they are still learning and need to be taken out more often than every 1.5 hours.


So you basically ignored the actual description of the situation and decided to provide some generic advice to a very specific issue .



> I have to wonder what method you used to train him to behave this way because if what you're saying is the truth...


I have to wonder what methods you use to train your own dogs, and also who taught you manners. If you don't have something useful to say, don't say it all.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Bolkar said:


> I don't want to sidetrack the discussion, but there are many happy dogs who go outside most of the time but are also OK with going on a pad.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm really not sure what you're expecting to find here if you're just going to pick apart every piece of advice you are given.
Good luck.


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