# City puppy refuses to eliminate in city! HELP!



## lindsayk (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi!

My boyfriend and I got our four-month old Puerto Rican shelter rescue puppy, *Bagel*, about two weeks ago. She is fully crate-trained and about 90% house-broken. (She has had two accidents over the last week because we didn't take her out in time.) Bagel is smart and learns quickly. We adore her!

*Our huge problem with Bagel is our home — New York City! She absolutely HATES going outside. She refuses to budge from our stoop to eliminate or walk down the street, and I either have to half-drag her down the block or pick her up. She will NOT poop or pee anywhere on my (or any) street. She doesn't like the noise, the cars or the distractions of people walking by. We got her a warm down coat to ensure she wasn't cold. 

When I finally carry her to the dog park two blocks away, she immediately pees and poops. Then, she's all happy (she gets lots of praise!), and happily walks — practically skips! — on her leash aaalll the way back to my building. 

HELP! How do I get Bagel to eliminate on the street? I cannot keep picking her up (it spoils her and kills my back!), and dragging her down two blocks every time she needs to go is not a long-term solution! *

PLEASE HELP!




_Pictures of Bagel, love of my life! _

​http://instagr.am/p/U5GOC/

​http://instagr.am/p/Uz9hm/

​http://instagr.am/p/UxGDz/


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## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

it could help to really focus on city-socialization - try to sit with her on the porch watching cars drive by more often, and treat her, until she's comfortable with it, and then advance her to walk down the street, etc. the more she's exposed to the city, the more it'll be 'less of a big deal' particularly if she's experiencing pleasant things while she's there - 

Also, it might help if you crate her until she'll really have to pee (the best time is first thing in the morning cuz they usually can't wait long before they need to really go) , so when you take her to the curbside, she'll just automatically pee there, and then once the scent is marked there, she'll hopefully start to associate that curbside with eliminating.

HOpe this helps :s it's just advice from my past experience, please take it with a grain of salt


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## DustyCrockett (Sep 24, 2011)

Don't worry, just give it time. At this age, you don't want to force her into a situation she finds frightening. Since she's happy on the way home from the park, try carrying her half a block or so down the street. Or around the corner -- sometimes just being out of sight of home will do the trick.

What kind of dog is it? Maybe she's embarassed about having to wear clothes. Most dogs have a warm winter coat already.


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## Red Fraggle (Nov 23, 2011)

If you carry her within a short distance of the park, will she walk the rest of the way? I'd try that and see if you can gradually reduce the distance you have to carry her.

As far as eliminating on the street goes, I'd like to know exactly what you mean by that. Do you have any sort of yard at all? Are there boulevards with grass between the sidewalk and the street, or are we in absolute concrete jungle territory where you really do have to walk all the way to the park to find the nearest patch of grass?

Dogs prefer to pee on grass or any other reasonably absorbent surface so it won't run along the concrete and get all over their feet. Also, IMHO it's rude to encourage your dog to pee on the sidewalk or street because it doesn't absorb quickly and it's just not as self-cleaning as grass. So, if the nearest patch of grass really is two blocks away, I'd personally advise you to help the dog get over her anxiety and learn to walk the two blocks, and get used to walking two blocks for potty breaks rather than encouraging her to pee on the concrete. If she ends up doing it of her own accord, it's not something you can do a lot about, but if she's training herself to pee only on grass, I see that as a positive.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

I don't think a dog that is only willing to pee on grass is an asset at all - speaking as a totally yardless concrete jungle resident, that would be a huge pain in the neck!

Red Fraggle, I never quite get the argument that it's rude to let dogs pee on the curb. Rude to whom? It's filthy anyway in the type of city environment were' talking about. I think it's worse to have it go on someone's lawn or nicely tended hedge. This argument seems sometimes to be particularly leveled at female dogs, which doesn't seem fair. Male dogs pee all over everything and no one seems to have a problem with that...

@OP, I feel your pain, having gotten a rescue dog from a rural shelter who didn't think much of leashes and concrete herself. It's fine now. For her it was actually sort of a privacy thing, I think. I recommend finding some designated spot closer to your apartment that's a little sheltered or somewhat private (for us it was in between rows of parked cars - not as a permanent solution, just as a stopgap) and taking her there, and only there, consisently, on the leash, for potty breaks. Give treats and praise along the way, especially when she does her business (which she will eventually do). After she goes, then take her for a walk (if she likes being outside.) Carry her to the spot if you have to, but make it a positive experience consistently. Stay there for five or ten minutes, and then if she's just staring off into space or meandering about bring her inside, crate her, for fifteen minutes, and then try again. Having her on a really set potty schedule will help, too.

ETA: Don't underestimate how big a life change poor Bagel has undergone! She will get used to the city, it will just take time. Try not to pressure her - the advice Chubby gave is good. PS, she is adorable!


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## lindsayk (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! 

Unfortunately, I do live in a grassless concrete jungle and dogs are encouraged to be "curbed" away from the little patches of trees planted on the sidewalk. I know it will take her time to get used to. 

I love taking Bagel to the dog run and I'm happy we have one (and two parks!) nearby, but seeing that it's the *only* place where she will eliminate, I don't understand why I have to drag or carry her there! 

We just hired a wonderful dog walker to spend an hour with her daily, so I hope that she will help get her acquainted with the city and perhaps change up whatever dragging/carrying routine we landed ourself in. 

My greatest fear is getting her used to something like that. When it's pouring, windy and 1am, she will need to learn to eliminate outside our apartment building on the sidewalk like normal city dogs!


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## lindsayk (Nov 30, 2011)

Well, the dog walker (who she has met twice now) just spent an hour with my puppy. Although it had been over 5 hours, she still refuses to pee or poop outside because she wasn't taken to the dog run.  I'm so afraid she is going to make herself sick!


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

What I would try is carry her until the dog park is in sight AND she's excited for it- more excited for the dog park than scared of the noise and such. At first you may need to be at the gate to the park before she's relaxed and that's ok. Work from the point she is comfortable with. Once she is excited and not worrying about the noise, put her down and have her walk to the park. As you keep doing this she should get excited earlier and earlier on your walk, and you can put her down sooner. She'll get focused on walking to the park instead of being scared of things. I think this would be a good way to desensitize her to the scary city noises. Going out is fun and you go to good places! Not scary.

You can also try starting from the dog park. Since she prances all the way home, go to the park then start heading home. Then turn around and head back toward the park. If she loses her excitement and gets scared, I would turn back around and head excitedly toward home and then try the first way I suggested.


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