Peeing In Yard (On Leash)

[locket]

We have had Jack since December (full of snow) and since it melted we have been having trouble making him "go" in the yard.

A bit of background : He has always been peeing in the same spot all winter first thing in the morning and then sometimes in the evening. Everyday. For the last five months. However with no snow, at first he looked for the bits of snow to pee on, and then just like that one morning, there was no snow to pee on and we had a dog that wouldn't pee in our yard. We don't have a fenced yard, so he is leashed walked, but he has absolutely no need of any privacy and will go whenever he pleases.

However, I feel like he doesn't want to go anymore because he wants to go walking/marking (my guess). However, sometimes we would rather just go outside the door and back in than go for a walk, even a short one. Also he empties a lot more in the yard than during a short walk, so a pee in the yard would equal maybe 2-3 walking pee/mark.

Anyway I wanted to retrain him to go in the yard in his usual spot and was wondering what would the best approach be:

Take him out to his spot, say " Jack pee pee" and wait him out? (We can stand there 20-30 minutes rain or shine where he will whine - to go for a walk. When he does pee, I give him a cookie WHILE he pees and then we have a play session outside or a walk. Only time he gets a cookie for peeing)

or

Take him out to his spot, then if he doesn't produce in like 5 minutes take him back in without saying anything and try out again later?

or (insert suggestion here)

Maybe the "area" is not properly clean or interesting enough? It is right by the side of our hedge, so plenty of "poles" to mark, plus there is smallish and bigger rocks, grass, sand, plants...and it is quite large, I really don't understand where his stubborness comes from!

Thanks for the input!

[greytpups]

Another GTer lives in a condo and has taught her greyhound that the first walk in the morning is for business only, then they go in for breakfast, then they go for a longer walk once her greyhound eats. Perhaps Jack knows that once he pees he will go back in the house whereas he'd rather stay outside, so he doesn't pee right away.

 

Perhaps Susan will chime in with her training method, but I'd suggest try training Jack to do this. He would need a reason (breakfast/food) to go back into the house with the knowledge that a longer walk comes after he eats. Greyhounds like routine so this may work for you.

[Time4ANap]

If you have access to some other dogs, buy a traffic cone at the hardware store, and have some other dogs pee on it. Put it in the spot where you want him to go. A tall (28 inch) traffic cone should be around 20 bucks or so. The big hardware and farm stores all carry them. I used two of them in a turnout area to keep Rocket from going on the Central AC unit, and he still runs to a cone in the morning.

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey prefers to pee on grass and not snow, so I have the completely opposite issue of you!

 

IMO it's a wait him out game.....sorry buddy you gotta go sometime and we'll stand out here as long as you want until you just GO!

 

Your training ideas are all appropriate, take him out, if he doesn't try again, etc., just have to keep trying to find out what works best. I was wondering, have you thought about buying some straw and putting it down...maybe he'll associate with that?

[Hubcitypam]

LOL. Once when we went to the surgical center the floor of the elevator was wet and they had a traffic cone with "wet floor" on it in there, The puzzlement on Rex's facew hen he looked at the cone then at me, then the cone was hilarious. He was saying "they want me to pee in here?????".

[Guest Johberry]

Is there another spot where he can go to pee? We live in an apartment complex so our boy does his business on leash, too. He has 3 spots where he goes just for a pee and then goes back inside. He gets a short walk first thing in the morning for p&p before my DBF leaves for work. I feed him breakfast afterward when I'm up and take him on a long walk after breakfast where he can explore. He gets another short walk in the afternoon whoever gets home first and then another long walk in late evening after dinner. In between, depending on his water intake, he'll ask to go pee and go to one of his spots just to pee and will go back inside. We didn't use treats, just lots of praise and consistency so he understood routine. If your boy is anything like ours, he won't go on his pee spots because he needs to poop as well. I hope that helps some.

[locket]

OMG I love the idea of visual markers! And Hubcitypam, that is just hilarious!!!!

Did Kasey finally got over his fear of the snow during the years or is it a continuous learning process?

To answer Johberry, He could always go into the forest behind our house but it gets so distracting that 1. choosing a place to pee takes forever and 2. He wants to go for a walk to see things and follow scents. What we do is up, breakfast, then pee (Otherwise he rushed to pee and would be dripping inside after breakfast), little play session, wait for mommy to be ready, go for a long walk. When we come back home, we go for another walk, then it's dinner time, sometimes he gets an outing in the evening (but usually he holds it until his final walk) So quite similar to your routine!

[XTRAWLD]

Did Kasey finally got over his fear of the snow during the years or is it a continuous learning process?

 

 

He actually will pee on the road or cleared sidewalk instead LOL. He does pee in the snow but it took a long time for him to realize he has no choice and it must be done whether the snow is 1 inch deep or 1 foot deep.

[KickReturn]

Mine won't pee in our yard unless another dog is present, so lots of walking. Yours is telling you it prefers to go for a walk, so why not? I see you are in Quebec - Montreal? Quebec City? So many beautiful places to walk your dog. Winters can be tough but the weather is good now so get out there, even at night if you have to.

 

If you have to do a turnout for whatever reason, try sticking the branch of a tree upright into the grass.

[3greytjoys]

OP quote: "Take him out to his spot, then if he doesn't produce in like 5 minutes take him back in without saying anything and try out again later?" End quote.

Yes, and turn your body and face away from him. Best to practice this when you know he has to urinate, and when you will be home to repeat it as needed (e.g., once per hour until he urinates). Immediately after he finishes urinating, have a happy praise party!

 

Sometimes helps to very securely link two leashes together to give new hounds a feeling of greater potty privacy.

 

Pre-scented doggie pee posts are available in many pet stores (if you lack enough storage for a large cone).

If needed, you could do a stream catch of Jack's urine with a large (soup) ladel to pour on a cone, or ask another male dog owner to stop by the cone with their dog.

 

Seems there are plenty of ground surfaces for Jack to select his favorite, but it may be helpful to check his paw pads for debris or sores (which might be painful on certain surfaces). Greyhounds are especially sensitive to sunny/hot surfaces.

[Hubcitypam]

With a boy dog I wouldn't be overly concerned about one specific spot unless you have small children or such that you need a pee free area. The old adage is the boys kill the shrubs and the girls kill the grass. That said one of the best things ever bestowed upon me was that my Buck decided on his own to pee and poop in the corner of the back yard that was most distant from the house.

Even my foster heathen 15-18 month "beauty school dropouts" that never raced quickly adapted to a loud "GO OUT GO POTTY" and I'd stand in the yard until they did and the heap praise. It really never took more than 5-10 minutes but that could be because there were multiple dogs. We also had a loud "last call" of "GO POTTY GO TO BED" and I swear even the dimmest bulbs understood that.

[locket]

I am not overly concerned about having to walk him, it is more for convenience that we want to (re)train him

Thanks for the suggestions so far! This morning was fine, it only took 2-3 minutes Granted we haven't been in his spot for a few days and now the shrubs had leaves on it.

[GeorgeofNE]

I've been leash walks ONLY for, lets see, 20 years now. Same routine with all three dogs: get up, take dog out (one lap around the dog walking area at my complex). Go in, feed dog. Drink copious amounts of coffee. Take dog for long walk. Come home, shower, dress, go to work. Come home. Take dog out. One lap around the dog walking area. Go in. Feed dog. Drink copious amounts of Diet Coke. One hour after dinner, take dog out. Equivalent of two laps around the dog walking area (most dogs poop after meals). Go in. Take dog out one last time before bed--again, a lap around the dog walking area.

 

Weekends are a bit different, but what NEVER changes is that I take him out IMMEDIATELY upon rising, and again immediately upon returning home. I can't imagine having to hold it all night and then being fed a meal before I have a chance to pee! It also might motivate him to pee quickly if he knows he gets his food after he does his business. Might try a little switch for a week or so and see if he's faster in the AM.