fresh track dog only "goes" on familiar territory

[twright3]

My previous greyhound came to me at age 6 (when the owner got MS) and passed away recently at age 15+. Now I have adopted a 2.5 year old female fresh off the track. She was 3 weeks at the adoption center and has been with me less than 3 weeks. Tulip is absolutely great but I'm working on one problem. She will only wee or dump on familiar ground. This is either on one of the decks of my condo in Mission Beach or near the entrance of my shop on my property near Mexico. On rare occasions she will go on familiar territory near my condo (now in the alleys since the beach is closed due to the pandemic) or on one of the trails on my shop property. Of course I give her praise and a treat whenever she goes in the alley or on a walk away from the shop. The biggest problem with this is that as a fresh track dog, unless I see that she wants to get on the deck within 5 or 10 seconds, she goes on the floor. Yesterday I took her on a lengthy adventure, stopping to switch my car for my truck at a friends house, driving to Long Beach to a used car dealer, trading in my truck for a newer one including a trip to the bank for cash, back from Long Beach to San Diego switching the truck for the car and then home. We did walks at every stop, sometimes two if we were there for a while but it was "no go" in spite of being on the go over 7 hours. Once home, she went on the deck. Has anyone else experienced this, only going on familiar territory for a dog fresh from the track? Did your dog quickly outgrow it or was a lot of training needed? Thanks, Tom

[HeyRunDog]

Grace will regularly go for 12 hours between needing to go so 7 hours is not unusual especially for females. As for adding to her repertoire of dumping grounds, do you walk her where other dogs have been?

[twright3]

Of course I know a dog used to domestic living can go 7 hours without needing to go. But it is unusual for a dog given several opportunities to go in areas where other dog have been to resist the opportunity to do some marking. Here at the beach you can't go 3 steps without being where other dogs have been. And at my rural property there are wild animal markings everywhere especially coyotes. Still she resists going anywhere that's at all distant from either home.

Edited April 11, 2020 by twright3

[greysmom]

Yes, it's not uncommon.  I've had several dogs who wouldn't potty away from home.  Ever.   It makes the first few days of any vacation interesting, but it's not a particular "problem."

A dog needs to feel safe to toilet, and your girl hasn't been with you all that long really.  Remember, she's had her life turned upside down *twice* in the last month, and each dog takes their own time developing comfort in their individual situation.  Continue to give her opportunities to go, and run her out to her deck whenever you get home!  You can try using something like a puppy pee pad, which has some pheromones in them to encourage toileting, or a rock she's peed on (though carrying it will be interesting!), or your last option is just to go someplace yourself to show her it's OK.

[LilasMum]

You said she's gone a few times near your condo or on the trails. From now on I would keep always walking her past these spots where she's already gone. They will become more and more safe and familiar to her. I made the mistake of taking Lila for long walks around different neighbourhoods because it seemed like she wanted to explore and I was worried she was bored of the same walk, but she ended up taking forever to go to toilet. What helped for us to increase her confidence was to keep taking the same short route and if she doesn't go the first time, then walk the same route again. It didn't take that long for Lila to adjust (she only had accidents inside the first two days) but every time we walk somewhere new, she is clearly more nervous to go and it takes more time, especially if there's people around or it's dark. We've had her for a month.

[twright3]

Just past 3 weeks since adoption, 6 weeks off the track. We making slooooow progress on bathroom locations. She is sometimes expanding her comfort zone to include nearby alleys but not without some indoor accidents. One funny thing is a couple of times near the start of a walk she has slightly squatted for maybe one second, sort of faking taking a wee or dump and then standing up expectantly to see if she gets the treat she's gotten when actually doing it during a walk. Another LOL moment she's supplied to make the pandemic livable.

[Hubcitypam]

Orange traffic ones work great on boys.  .:dunno about girls.

[Banjoman]

I can take mine out for an hour long walk and they will both do plenty but when we arrive back home there is every chance that Nutmeg the little lurcher will go out in the garden and do a wee.

There is a link to a useful article in the Everything Else section - “Brain cramp”.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Banjoman

[EllenEveBaz]

I've had a variation of this problem with 2 males, but it only involved poop.  I never thought of the safe territory aspect; I thought it was they wouldn't poop on leash because they certainly had no problem peeing on leash.  I was desperate in one situation because we had to wait a month for a fence to be installed.  We finally got him to go with a combination of an extra long leash (for his privacy, with me turning my back and pretending I wasn't there); trees or bushes for him to back into, and a friend who took him on multi-mile runs a few times.  

[twright3]

Tulip continues to make progress. I'm making progress too in manipulating conditions to encourage going when not on the deck. The "familiar places" are expanding. (BTW in the area of everything being new in her seventh week off the track, she had an amusing encounter with a trio of helium balloons someone left tied to a post; they were too interesting not to approach but then she felt at times they were trying to get her as they darted around randomly in the breeze!)

[twright3]

Today I managed to get Tulip to wee in a parking lot far from home while I was helping my daughter out at her work. (She's taken over my tax business now that I'm retired.) If your dog has this "location problem" this approach may be helpful. I picked a comfortable spot in the shade (this being in hot, sunny San Diego) and waited. And waited. Eventually it wasn't too hard to get her to move in a circle by keeping her leash short and turning a little when she moved in the right direction. If she stopped I stopped. After several on-and-off revolutions, which mimic what dogs sometimes do when picking a spot to wee, she faked it once or twice hoping for a treat and finally went (and got a treat and praise). I'm convinced patience coupled with the circular motion helped a lot. If you too have this problem with your dog, give it a try.

[EllenEveBaz]

Quote

Today I managed to get Tulip to wee in a parking lot far from home

 

[twright3]

I'm pleased to report that Tulip and I have total closure on this problem. As mentioned it took a while for her to give me the opportunity to reward normal behavior in walk territory. But slowly but surly she got the idea. Amusingly, she tried cheating a little by faking it for extra treats but quickly learned that wouldn't work. She even has gotten the concept that only the first wee and first poo on a walk got a reward. Now after four months she's marking like she's lived in suburbia all her life! One interesting thing I've noticed: at the beach it's easy to see where other females have "gone". Tulip studies these spots carefully and makes a particular choice. I often wonder how she decides whose wee is "worthy" of being marked. Anyway were happy and the deck is only used when absolutely necessary.

[BatterseaBrindl]