# Teaching dog to pee on command



## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

I'm beginning to wonder if it's a lost cause trying to teach my dog to pee on command. Since around mid February I have been trying to put peeing on command by doing the following - 

- say "pee" the moment he lifts his leg up
- click mid pee and treating right after he is done
- sometimes i miss the verbal cue, but i never miss the click & treat, as i want him to offer that behavior

So far, he has not offered peeing anymore than before. I wonder if I can actually teach him to pee on command, as he usually doesn't just go and pee. He sniffs and circles around a few times before he settles on a spot to go. It's like he's unable to straight up go somewhere and pee. Also, when I say "pee" when he lifts his leg, it doesn't seem like he's really paying attention to me. 

It's not like I can shape a pee, lure one, or hope that he offers it when I hold out a treat. Does anyone have any ideas?


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

When he starts to go, say GO PEE PEE over and over the entire time. SMILE and be very pleased! Stuff his face with treats and praise every time he finishes.

If you want this on a verbal command, you have to say it while he's doing it.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

I do say it, I say it the moment he lifts his leg. Sometimes I even click him the moment he lifts his leg, instead of clicking after he done. The behavior I want to catch is him lifting his leg. I don't typically repeat "pee" as I don't like repeating commands, but maybe I should?


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

I'm just saying what has worked for me 100% over the years.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

Talking and using words was never my strong suit. Most people have a far greater talent for talking to their dogs than I do.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

From the moment I got DJ as a 10 week old pup, every time he went outdoors was on a leash. I would take him out & repeatedly say "go potty ... go potty ... go potty ..." continuously until he squatted to pee, as soon as I knew he was squatting to pee, I would totally praise him verbally. Tho I know most people use treats as a reward, I used praise & then some supervised off leash time to run the yard as reward.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

DJsMom said:


> From the moment I got DJ as a 10 week old pup, every time he went outdoors was on a leash. I would take him out & repeatedly say "go potty ... go potty ... go potty ..." continuously until he squatted to pee, as soon as I knew he was squatting to pee, I would totally praise him verbally. Tho I know most people use treats as a reward, I used praise & then some supervised off leash time to run the yard as reward.


Did that teach the dog to pee on command? I never repeat commands over and over if the dog is not doing it. I don't want the dog learning to zone my voice out.


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

I DO wait until the dog is performing the action. Then I SAY what the action is the entire time its happening.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

Maybe I will try repeating it more like you, cause he definitely isn't paying attention to me the one time I say it.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

qingcong said:


> Did that teach the dog to pee on command?


Yeah, he & Coco are both excellent at peeing on command. It worked real well, tho I realize there are many ways of training.
I don't even know WHO told me to repeat the command over & over, I certainly wouldn't do that for other commands either, but it worked in our case for "go potty".


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## Coffeecup (Mar 22, 2010)

I had my mine peeing on command fairly easily with a similar method. There are many ways to do it certainly. =) I waited till I knew that he definitely/urgently had to go, took him to a designated spot and said "Go potty" (just once firmly) before he began to relieve himself. While he was doing his business (not after) I praised him vocally "Good boy, go potty" and pat him on his head. Don't wait too long to praise or they don't link the two. My pup caught on very quickly.


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## Nessa (Mar 26, 2010)

RedyreRottweilers said:


> When he starts to go, say GO PEE PEE over and over the entire time. SMILE and be very pleased! Stuff his face with treats and praise every time he finishes.
> 
> If you want this on a verbal command, you have to say it while he's doing it.


This is pretty much what i did, except i used "go potty." I also tried to make sure she was looking at me while i was saying it, not sure if that helped as i am not that experienced with dogs, but it worked pretty fast.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

What I mean by peeing on command is pretty strict. It needs to meet the same criteria as other commands I give my dog - 

- dog performs behavior after one verbal cue
- dog performs behavior successfully 80% of the time
- dog does it no matter what, even if he doesn't have to pee

Do your dogs meet that criteria? Obviously, anyone can throw their dogs in the backyard after being away for 8 hours, tell them "go potty!" and they'll pee, but that's because the dog has to pee, not because they obeyed the verbal command.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

yeah, I think we understand what a verbal command is. I would say DJ very much meets your criteria. I no longer keep repeating the verbal command.
Dj often goes as soon as he goes outside, he certainly does not wait for my command if he has to go, but if he's out in the yard playing or relaxing & I tell him to go potty he will stop what he's doing, run to the grass & pee - he does not stop what he's doing & go on the sidewalk, but that's never been a problem for us.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

DJsMom said:


> yeah, I think we understand what a verbal command is. I would say DJ very much meets your criteria. I no longer keep repeating the verbal command.
> Dj often goes as soon as he goes outside, he certainly does not wait for my command if he has to go, but if he's out in the yard playing or relaxing & I tell him to go potty he will stop what he's doing, run to the grass & pee - he does not stop what he's doing & go on the sidewalk, but that's never been a problem for us.


Ah, okay. I wasn't trying to make an example out of anybody, I just wanted to make sure we meant the same thing. 

I guess I need to try a few different methods to see what works. Based on the dog training education I've received, two of my maxims are 1) don't repeat commands and 2) don't use a command if the dog is not doing it. Perhaps I need to lax on those rules with this.


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## Coffeecup (Mar 22, 2010)

qingcong said:


> What I mean by peeing on command is pretty strict. It needs to meet the same criteria as other commands I give my dog -
> 
> - dog performs behavior after one verbal cue
> - dog performs behavior successfully 80% of the time
> ...


It's not really peeing on command if it doesn't meet that criteria obviously. At the start of teaching my dog I waited for him to really have to relieve himself because waiting and repeating over and over just isn't fun to me. Mine will go just about anywhere/any time (concrete included) when I give him the command (holding it for a long time or not) If you want that kind of accuracy you have to really work (it doesn't happen over night) on your dogs focus and obedience in general (sometimes they get distracted and don't pay attention to it) It took me a couple of weeks to get him to go with about an 80% accuracy but a year to get him to go 100% of the time anywhere (I started when he was a pup. He is 1 year and 3 months old) It needs patience and persistence. Not impossible but it's difficult. Depends.


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## Nekkiu (Apr 7, 2010)

This trainer claims that you must say the command that you wish while he's sniffing the ground (when you know he's about to pee or poo) then remain silent while he's doing it, then praise after he's done. I guess there are many methods, perhaps you should try a different one? or perhaps inconsistency is bad...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CskvOzDOmbw&feature=player_embedded


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

How I did it:

Wait until I'm sure Wally is about to pee.

Say "go potty" right before he does it.

Say "good boy" (or click) and reward him once he's done.


Just kept doing it for both...ahem...actions and he'll do which ever he needs to.

Not sure why it's not working for you - I don't repeat it while he's doing it (thought that would confuse him).


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## T Bumpkins & Co. (Feb 11, 2010)

You are making a mistake clicking when he lifts his leg or mid-click. The proper time to click is right at the moment he finishes click and praise.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

T Bumpkins & Co. said:


> You are making a mistake clicking when he lifts his leg or mid-click. The proper time to click is right at the moment he finishes click and praise.



This is interesting and something I admit to being a little confused about. I started out clicking him during the last drops. I felt that didn't work because the behavior I wanted to target was him lifting his leg, not putting his leg down. To teach him that it's lifting to pee that earns him the treat, I timed my click earlier. Is this not right?


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## T Bumpkins & Co. (Feb 11, 2010)

qingcong said:


> This is interesting and something I admit to being a little confused about. I started out clicking him during the last drops. I felt that didn't work because the behavior I wanted to target was him lifting his leg, not putting his leg down. To teach him that it's lifting to pee that earns him the treat, I timed my click earlier. Is this not right?


Do you want to train him to lift his leg? Or train him to pee?

If you want to train him to lift his leg AND NOTHING ELSE click the moment his leg is in the position you desire. He will make the connection that its the leg raise that got the click, not the following action of peeing.

If you want to train him to pee (my assumption is that he will lift his leg to pee anyway so i don't even know why this is an issue) you click the moment he finishes his pee so he connects the finishing of peeing with the click. he knows after a few times that it was the pee that got him the click.

when a dog lifts his leg to pee, pees, and drops his leg, he is doing all that as part of the primary funtion of peeing. the raising and dropping the leg are a natural sub-part of peeing. in his mind he is peeing, not raising or dropping his leg. it wouldn't be right to say his primary function is moving his legs and a sub-part of that is the peeing. the bottom line is he associates that entire activity as peeing and if you reward him just as he finishes the pee and is about to put his leg down, you've got it. timing is important, get a feel for when he's about to finish and click just as he does and praise him and he'll correctly associate the click with peeing.

You are confusing him if you're clicking at the beginning or during his pee while trying to train him to pee.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

T Bumpkins & Co. said:


> If you want to train him to pee (my assumption is that he will lift his leg to pee anyway so i don't even know why this is an issue) you click the moment he finishes his pee so he connects the finishing of peeing with the click. he knows after a few times that it was the pee that got him the click.


Nah, he never seems to make the connection. All he has learned so far is that he gets a treat after peeing. He doesn't realize he can actually earn a reward by offering up a pee. That's why I try to target earlier instead of the act of finishing. Ideally, I want to put leg lifting on cue. In my dog's case, he usually start dripping before his leg lifts, so I'm not concerned about him ONLY lifting his leg.


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## Nekkiu (Apr 7, 2010)

Hm, I guess that is logical, though it could be interpreted both ways, either you want to reinforce the action of going to pee or reinforce completely relieving himself. Either way your male dog is going to want to conserve his urine so that he can leave his mark in many locations, man what a hassle


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Nekkiu said:


> Hm, I guess that is logical, though it could be interpreted both ways, either you want to reinforce the action of going to pee or reinforce completely relieving himself. Either way your male dog is going to want to conserve his urine so that he can leave his mark in many locations, man what a hassle


Hassle?

I look at it as many built-in-by-nature chances to make a connection and reinforce it 

Easier to get fluency when I'm basically getting 10-15 reps a day in instead of 3 or 4. 

Was twice as good when I put looking at me before going to mark something into the mix.


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