We got a dog. He is about a year and a half. He has been with us for about 2 months now and he has adapted well. When we got him, he was potty trained. He was doing fine at first, going outside and not in the house. Then, after a while, it started fading away. Now, he will go outside to pee, but he waits until he gets in the house to go poop. What do we do? We have tried a lot of stuff like letting him stay outside all day but he just waits until he comes in to go to the bathroom. We have also tried a spanking but, he just does it again. I’m pulling my hair out because I don’t know how to make him go outside, instead of inside. Can you please help me?

Photo courtesy of Pat Thomas of Photo Phetish

This story is a very common one.  Many people tell you that their dog is a potty trained angel, as they try to give him away.  In fact, a lot of people classify their dog as “potty trained,” but if he pees on the floor, or he poops on the floor…  Guess what?  He IS NOT potty trained!  Potty training is a very black and white issue.  Either a dog IS or IS NOT potty trained.  There is no middle ground or room for qualifiers.

If your expectation is that your dog will consistently wait twelve hours inside before “getting busy,” you should reconsider your situation with your schedule, your dog, or your expectations.  If he cannot hold it that long every day, it is not his fault when he goes in the house before you let him out.  If your schedule does not allow you to be home for your pup more often than that, consider getting a professional dog walker or pet sitter to visit your house during your work day.

Specifically for this commenter, I suggest that you revisit the basics of potty training, for both your sake and your dog’s.  Also, examine your potty routine with your dog by asking yourself these questions:

• Do you have an established potty spot?  If not, establish one and take your dog out to that same spot every time.  Dogs like consistency and routine.
• Are you immediately praising each successful outside #1 and #2?  If not, carry some treats in your pocket on your walks and totally overreact positively when your dog does something you want.
• Are you walking your dog on a leash?  Naturally, you will need a leash to control that he stays in his potty spot until he does his business.  Give him up to 15 minutes to do his business.  Since this is not a walk (for fun and exercise), do not walk around.  You have taken your dog to his potty spot for him to get down to business.
• Are you confining him to his crate, if he does not “get busy” outside?  If he is not successful outside, take him back in the house and put him in his crate or confine him to a small room.  Dogs do not generally like to soil the area they sleep in, and most potty training dogs spend their nights in a confined area or crate.  After five or ten minutes, take him back outside for another opportunity, going out the same door, to the same spot, and give him a command to potty.  Mom uses “get busy” to pee and “big busy” for poop.

If he continues having accidents in the house, he has lost his privilege to roam the house freely.  Remember Potty Training Rule #1: If you cannot physically keep your eye on the dog while he is in the house, he must be put in his confined area.  He must also wear a leash so that when you catch him soiling, you can say NO very sternly and take him immediately outside to his potty spot.  You must catch him in the act of soiling or you cannot correct it.  It is also important to note that you should never allow your dog to see you clean up his mess.  Speaking of cleaning, use Simple Solution, or something like it, to completely eliminate the odor from his past indiscretions in the house.

As with all training, you must be consistent with this until you have successfully eliminated accidents inside.

Photo Courtesy of Comedy Central

First things first, get those dogs neutered as soon as possible.  You are sitting on a powder keg of testosterone among the three pups, and I would not want to be around when it explodes!  You should also have Bae-Bae spayed soon after she is old enough.  I know that it can be expensive to get your dog fixed, but it is certainly worth not bringing any puppies into a world with so many puppies in need of homes.  You will also see a tremendous change in behavior in your boys.

Butters is the one that concerns me the most.  We need to establish the hierarchy in this pack.  Humans should be the ultimate alphas, and that certainly is not the case.  Being the ultimate alpha, you must never show any form of submission.  You should never allow any of the dogs see you cleaning up their waste, because that is a job reserved for the lowest members in the pack.  Following this rule, you will start down the right road with both Butters and Cartman on the .

The next thing to do is to follow Mom’s #1 training rule: YOU CANNOT TRAIN WHAT YOUR CANNOT CONTROL!  To do this, you will need to put a six foot non-retractable leash on each dog anytime they are outside of the crate.  If you find that you have a problem with leash-chewing, spray them with Bitter Apple, or something equally heinous in taste.  It is also imperative that they be put in a confined place, like their crates, if you cannot physically keep your eyes on each of them.  Roaming free in the house is a privilege that must be earned, and that privilege is lost when they soil the house, be it marking or otherwise.

Remember, you cannot correct a dog for misbehavior, unless you catch him in the act.  you cannot correct it.  What I mean is, if you find waste on the floor, you need to ask, “Where was I when the dog did this?”  If you have to ask yourself that question, YOU are at fault for not keeping an eye on your dog.  If you do catch your dog soiling, you must say a very stern “NO” and take the dog to his outside potty spot.  If your dog runs in the opposite direction, all you have to do is step on his leash.  BINGO! You are back in charge.  If you stick to the advice above,  there should not be any reason that you cannot stop this behavior.

Why does he run to the crate?  Butters’ mom stated that he knows he has done wrong, but he actually does not know that what he did was wrong.  What he DOES know is that marking territory, soiling in the house, or hiding his poop and waiting for you to find it is a fun game to play. You follow him to his crate, and you pay attention to him.  Dogs do not care what kind of attention we get.  Even negative attention, like screaming at him, is okay.  To us, negative attention is almost as good as positive attention.  What is it that Butters gets for all his hard work?  ATTENTION.

Your pack order should go like this: YOU, Butters (alpha dog), and Blue will be the omega.  Bae-Bae and Cartman will work out the “second in command” position.  In fact, they may make it so that one holds it one day and the other the next.  The only position you need to worry about is the alpha position.  As the alpha, Butters should be greeted first, fed first, and “treated” first.  By treating Butters special, you are sending a sending a message to the others that HE is the alpha dog, but you need to reinforce the fact that he is NOT above you.  You still need to go through the door in front of Butters, eat in front of him (without sharing), and ignore him when he demands attention.  Remember, YOU are the ultimate alpha, and everything is up to YOU!

As for Cartman, he thinks that it is his job to “get busy” in the crate.  Since he has done it before, you have probably cleaned his crate in front of him, and you probably talked to him while you cleaned.  What did that teach Cartman?  If he soils the crate, he gets attention from you.  Cartman’s view of these actions are that you enjoyed them so much, it is his job to keep doing it.

The first thing that you should do with Cartman is to reduce the size of his crate.  He needs only enough room to stand up and turn around.  There should be no blankets or bedding of any sort in there with him.  When he stops soiling his crate, he has earned having a blanket.  Until then, you should clean his crate with Simple Solution, a cleaning solution that truly removes the odor of a dog’s mess.  It goes without saying that you should clean the crate outside of his presence.

I also suggest that you feed your dogs a “premium” dog food.  I know it costs more, but there are numerous benefits that outweigh that slight difference in cost.  For one, the dogs will need less of it to satisfy them, so they will not expel as much waste.

The neutering of your male dogs should be your top priority, as it will result in some serious behavioral changes nearly immediately.  Since it is obvious that neither Butters nor Cartman is fully potty trained, your first training focus should be correcting that.  Make sure that you bookmark my Potty Training page for any issues that pop up there.

As for Butters’ aggression issues, we can talk about that once you have addressed the neutering, marking, and indoor soiling issues.  Keep me up to date on the situation.

I would like to address the issue of most concern to me, and that is the relationship between the dog and the children.  I like to remind humans that dogs and children are not always a good match, especially young children.  Young children have a knack for viewing everything as a playmate or a toy.  Some children simply play too rough, even hurting the dog.  Six years old is about the right age to begin teaching a child how to play with a dog properly.  If you need some direction about teaching your children about dog safety, check out this video.

My suggestion is to never, ever leave any child alone with a dog.  Just as young children do not know how to play with a dog, dogs do not know that they cannot nip and “chew” on children the same way they can with adults.  We play rough naturally, unless we are taught the right way to play.  Since children can also play rough, neither are too good at reading each others body language to know if their pending action will hurt the other.  Typically, children use quick, jerky motions that indicate to a dog that he needs to protect himself, which is a disaster waiting to happen.

Like dogs, children like to play chase, and when they catch their prey, they get very excited.  Often, this can result in the child falling on the dog or holding him against his will.  This is a situation that the dog does not understand this, and he may react negatively to it.  If the roles reverse, it is not just a game of chase for the dog.  Because of the smaller size, he can think that he is  hunting prey.  Dogs generally catch slower “prey” and if the “prey drive switch” is flipped on, he does not care if it is a rabbit or a small child!  As we all know, children are not prey, and due to their newfound mode of transportation, toddlers are especially vulnerable.  They are still learning to walk, and they have many accidents.  We are not aware of accidents, and we do not realize that a child does not mean to do us harm.  However, we will react and not always in a good way.

Your dog needs to learn proper socialization skills with humans, especially the smaller ones.  I suggest that you place a leash on your dog to control his actions.  Remember, YOU CANNOT TRAIN WHAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL. With the leash attached, you will be able to confine him to a timeout area if he growls and shoes teeth toward any human, regardless of size or age.  Dogs are among the most social creatures on the face of the earth, and we do not like to be banished away from everything.  You should use a stern “NO” as you pick up the leash, but nothing more.  You do not want to give him any more attention for a negative action.  After a few instances, he will associate growling and showing teeth with the banishment, learning that behavior is not a “good” one.  This is not something that will be learned immediately, so you will have to repeat this until he learns.  When you are training your pup, you cannot do something once and decide it did not work.  The bulk of training is repetition.

If your dog still poops on the floor, that means he is not fully potty trained.  That is no fault of the dog, because an untrained dog is caused by a bad owner.  My suggestion in correcting this problem is to consult my potty training guide, and if you run into trouble, there are several articles to support you here.

To tackle the chewing problem, you can do two things to correct the behavior.  First, as a preventative action, you should spray Bitter Apple or something equally poor tasting on the areas where he chews.  If you opt not to spray, you cannot correct him for it, unless you catch them in the act.  Now, keep your eye on him and if you catch him chewing, give him a firm “NO” and put him in the confined area we discussed above.

Keep me posted on your progress!

I have seen many litter boxes in my day, since I have several feline friends, but until Morgan’s mom asked me, I had not even heard of the Porch Potty.

Getting back to Morgan, it is important to note that he is totally housebroken.  In fact, he handles potty time and potty spots so well, that when he he visits other people’s homes, he only needs to be shown once which door goes outside for potty time, and he will consistently ask to go out that door, holding it in until he is outside.

Since Morgan is a small dog, I think that a litter box could be a very cool thing, but it may provide some mixed signals for him, since he is so well-behaved about potty time.  There are some days, mainly the really hot, really rainy, or really cold days, that I would like to have a little box inside to protect me from the elements.  Unfortunately, we have not seen one large enough for me.  Ever wonder what a litter box for a 110 pound Golden Retriever would look like?  Let me know if you see one.

Dogs are pretty smart about this potty stuff.  In fact, most of the time when people complain about their dog’s potty habits, it is usually something that the people did, or did not do that is the problem.  Once you start unloading things in Morgan’s new home, place the litter box in its permanent location.  Show Morgan where his new potty place is, and if the new place is large, you may have to confine Morgan with the litter box until he figures out the new location and uses it on the “long days.”

Keep in mind that moving can be traumatic for dogs, since they do not really understand what is happening.  During the packing and moving activities, try to keep the new routine as close to the old one as possible.  Morgan will have to learn new doors to enter and exit, where his new potty spot is, and where his toys and bowls have moved.  Even with a dog as smart as Morgan, there may even be a few accidents at first, but do not get upset.  Morgan has not forgotten everything he learned, he is still figuring things out in the new place!

Mom and I have taught a few classes about dog litter boxes.  Here in Atlanta, there are many high-rise apartment and condominium buildings, and that number keep growing.  The people that live in those buildings do not want to run down stairs or catching an elevator when it is potty time for their pup!

One time, Mom taught a class and one of the students lived in one of those big condo buildings in Buckhead, a swanky part of Atlanta.  Although the class was specifically about potty training, it never fails that people have questions about all kinds of other dog stuff.  In this class, someone asked about flea control, so Mom explained the options available to declare war on them.  The guy from Buckhead decided this was an appropriate time to announce to the whole class that his dogs did not have any fleas, did not get any fleas, etc.  He further explained that the reason his dog was flealess is because he lived in the Buckhead neighborhood!  Mom, the never-ending comedienne, asked the man if the fleas in Atlanta jumped off of dogs when they passed the “Welcome to Buckhead” sign?  After class, I suggested that perhaps there was a very small sign located under the welcoming sign that read, “Fleas Not Allowed.”

Training for the Porch Potty will be much the same, and I suggest you start using it before the move, if possible.  In the interest of full disclosure, after learning about the Porch Potty and trying one out, I became an affiliate for their company.  As you may have noticed, Mom and I do not endorse just anything.  To get my pawed seal of approval, I have to make sure it meets my standards.  If you find that it fits your needs, you can get $15 off by entering “askspikeonline” in the coupon code field.

• take your dog for a walk when it is potty time?
• have a yard that you can just let him or her out the door and the potty magic just happens?
• have your dog use a litter box or Porch Potty?
• let your dog come and go at will via a “doggie door”?

Deep down inside, if we had a choice, we would probably not wear a leash, if humans had a choice (and a well-behaved dog off-leash), they probably would not leash their dogs either.  In most cities and towns across the country, a dog being off-leash outside of private property is illegal, since they have leash laws in effect.

For many pups, potty time is a pretty particular and peculiar exercise.  We can be super picky when it comes to finding a potty spot, but when we find it, we definitely know what to do.  Sometimes, the problem comes when you try to make the potty spot mobile.  When you are introducing us to the “special spot” in the yard during potty training, you need to give us a command word to potty, so that we can associate that word with the action in the future.  Feel free to choose whatever command word you wish.  Some common ones I have heard are potty or pee pee.  You are also welcome to use my word, which is “GET BUSY.”

Whenever it is time for me to potty, I give Mom a little signal, and she will ask me “Spike, do you need to GET BUSY?”  I respond with a bark and/or turning in circles and leading her to the door.  Whether it is a walk, or I am let out into the backyard, Mom ALWAYS says, “Spike, GET BUSY.”  I know that means to find a spot to pee in the yard, near where we are walking, or wherever I may be.  If Mom says, “Spike, BIG BUSY,” I know that means the same thing, but for poop.

As a pup, I learned this as we went out to my potty spot.  Whenever I would find a spot and start to pee, Mom went crazy, giving me a treat, and praising me by saying, “Good get busy, good get busy!”  When I would find a spot and begin the infamous squat to poop, Mom would go nuts again, treat me and say, “Good big busy, good big busy!”  She did this over and over until I figured out what the difference between get busy and big busy was.  She would also tell me to GET BUSY in places other than my usual potty spot.

It has nothing to do with the leash, but everything to do with understanding and complying with the command, which makes the potty spot mobile.

This article is a part of our Potty Training Page.

Since this was my first encounter with an “Invisible Fence,” my initial questions were pretty basic informational ones.  I found out that an invisible fence is actually a system where a wire outlines the areas that are meant to contain a dog, and that wire sends a radio frequency to a receiver on the dog’s collar.  That collar can emit a beep, vibration, or static pulse (similar to touching a doorknob after walking across carpet) when it receives the radio signal that the collar, and the dog it is attached to, come too close to the pre-determined boundary.  They use a “patented, vet & behaviorist approved training program” during and after the installation to teach pets to stay within the prescribed boundaries.

Since there are different correction methods, I was curious to know how it is determined which to use.  The fence company has animal trainers that come to train the pets about the boundaries set for them in the yard.  Apparently, this even works for cats or indoors.  The trainers that follow the installation team set an appropriate correction level, depending on the pet, often starting with a beep, working up to the static correction, if necessary.

Since I am such a smart dog, I figured out that once a dog got past the wire, the collar would just stop its beep, vibration, or static correction.  They must have thought about that too, because the correction is sustained for several seconds upon breaking the plane of the boundary, but it does not continue indefinitely.  Maybe they do speak dog after all, because I am sure a human did not figure that out.  They probably have a resident dog on staff to help them figure things like this out.

There is an animal trainer involved shortly after installation to work with the dog, as well as the family, to define the boundary and how to use their tools for containment.  Teaching the family and the pet is the most important part of safe containment, so the office has at least one full-time trainer on staff to make sure that everyone understands how to use the system, pets included.  Mom said they would not provide me with a wiring diagram or full details on how to dismantle the system, so my four-legged readers will have to try getting their parents to get that for them.  I think she may have some plans for Tax, Molly, and I and this “fence” thing.

I wanted to see if I could fool the system by running really fast past the boundary, but the receiver continues correcting for a number of seconds outside of the boundary, making the “break-out dash” completely useless.  The training program for the pets teaches them to return to home upon triggering the correction method.

They were really friendly to Mom and even talked to me for a few minutes.  They said that Web-savvy pups can find out more information at their website, but they assured Mom that the shut-off switch information was not included.

After discussing it with Mom, we agreed that we could recommend it for dogs that are generally well-behaved, especially if signage is utilized to inform passersby of the containment system.  However, if your dog is fearful or shows any signs of aggression, a more traditional fence will probably be a better option.

We have a pit bull puppy who refuses to go outside. We have to drag him on a walk. Then, if we stop, he turns and runs back to our apartment. He knows the way from wherever we go. He was potty trained when we got him, but that is fading fast, because he won’t go outside.

The first thing I have to say is “Congratulations” on the expansion of your family, and I wish to extend a special thank you for choosing to have a dog of that breed.  I have always said that pit bulls are not born bad, they are just raised that way.

Unfortunately, there was no age specification about this puppy, so I will have to do some guessing.  Keep in mind that young puppies do not know what a leash is.  They need to become acquainted with it, so that it is not totally foreign to them when you take him out.  You can acclimate him by attaching it to his collar and having no one on the other end.  This is temporary, and you will need to make sure you are able to see him at all times when he is acclimating to the leash concept.  Let him just pull it around and get used to having it around.  If you notice that he starts to bite or chew on it, you may have to spray the leash with one of those bitter-tasting products to keep him from chewing on his new friend.  When I was a puppy, Mom used Right Guard spray deodorant on my leash after the bitter stuff did not work.  I did not like the smell, so there was no way I was putting my mouth on it!

Keep in mind that young puppies do not like to walk very far, so limiting his walks to only a block or two would be a very good start.  They are very quick to distraction, so short walks are very desirable.  Since it has been very cold lately, we must address the weather.  It has so cold lately, that I only go outdoors to “get busy” and to bark at the neighbor’s dog.  Domesticated animals like cats and dogs feel the elements just as much as humans.  Remember, your puppy just came from the warmth of his mom and litter mates, and now he is wondering what he did that warrants going out in the freezing weather?  You may want to buy him a sweater to ease him outside while it is still so bitterly cold across much of the country.  He probably will not have a need for it once he gets used to the outside, plus he will outgrow it in no time.  In an effort to encourage him to go outside, take along a few tasteful treats that are used exclusively for outside play, along with a toy that he already enjoys.  Remember this is play time to encourage him to venture outside, not a time to potty train.  If you have any questions about that, please see my guide to potty training.

Mom has a few tricks for getting a dog to follow, which you may find useful in getting him to follow you outside.  Buy a dowel stick, and dip it in untainted peanut butter.  Place it in front of your puppy’s nose, and let him have a lick or two.  Then, you can start walking, and he is almost guaranteed to follow.  If you find that he is not a fan of peanut butter, or you cannot locate uncontaminated peanut butter right now, try some cheese whiz as a lure on the end of that dowel stick.  You do not want to make him walk too far, just enough to get him outside.  When spring arrives, you will not need anything to get him to go out.  He will be enthusiastic about going outside, so that he can chase butterflies and bees and other fun unknown creatures.  Do be careful about any exposure to the bees, because they do not play nice!  It is very important that you do not expose your puppy to negative things that are associated with the outside right now, as this can scar him for the rest of his life, resulting in a much greater fear of the outdoors.  All of his experiences should be fun and positive.

As far as the “leaking” problem goes, remember that he is always happy to see you!  Seeing you is one of the greatest part about having a human.  If you have been to the vet and there are no physical problems causing this, he will most likely grow out of it.  Until he has, do not make a big excited production every time you see him, and you will not excite him to the point of leaking.  I went into how to deal with this in great detail earlier here, so feel free to take a peak.

Since I am doing some guessing about this puppy, I am willing to wager that he belongs to your son.  You can tell him that the dog, and some of the responsibilities, belong to him, children do not raise dogs.  They can learn a lot about raising them, and they can be a tremendous amount of help, but ultimately the responsibility lies with the adult.  As soon as possible, get yourself, your son and the dog enrolled in a training class.  The socialization of the class will help him to mature a lot.  You may also want to join a bully socialization group to get some direction in choosing a great trainer.  When you are choosing a trainer, you do not want a good one, but a GREAT one.  You can find them by getting referrals, asking around with your vet and other pet professionals you already have a relationship with, and discuss some of the issues you wish to address with potential trainers before signing up for a class.  Remember, when it comes to your pet’s behavior training, that you get what you pay for.  You want someone who solely focuses on behavior training right now.

Being a human to a bully breed carries a great deal of responsibility, due to the bad reputation they have been given by sensationalized media stories.  It is up to you, the humans of the bully breeds, to train and raise them correctly.  It sounds like you hve started down the right track.

If you are interested, send us some pictures of your new puppy to add to our Reader Photo Gallery.

This article is a part of our Potty Training Page.

I was shocked that there was a border collie with any problems.  I thought their only problems revolved around not being able to operate cars, get a job, or perform brain surgery.  It seems that they have mastered everything else.  To Suki’s human, I seriously doubt that there is anything mentally wrong with your dog, but one thing does come to mind.

Suki told me that the potty spot is “used” by the Golden, and that it has been used as a potty spot for about seven years.  While Suki’s family may pick up the feces, guess who knows that this is not exactly the cleanest place on the planet?  That is right…  Suki knows.  Even though it is a great spot for Suki’s sibling, she finds it to be somewhat inadequate.  To her humans, it looks clean and may even smell clean, but to a dog is it not.

I discussed human restroom activities with Mom a little today, and I asked her if, as a human, when she encounters a public restroom and the last person to occupy the throne did not flush the toilet, if one just sits down anyway?  She said no.  There is usually a flush first.

I think this is the message that Suki wants me to share with her people.  She is not overly impressed with a used toilet, let alone one that is worn out after seven years of use!  She wants a new “busy” place, maybe even a private “busy”place from her sibling.

Note to Suki’s family: Make sure that when you designate the place, that you are using a command word(s) to potty.  Mom likes “Get Busy!”  This way, she will associate the action with the place, as well as with the command word(s).  If you got on a trip, move, or find that you need to change the potty place, there will not be any problems.  The command word(s) will guide her toward what you want her to do.

Until you find the right potty place, continue to potty train as described in my potty training article.  If you are not using the guide, you better get started soon.  It is like we are hard-wired with that process in mind.  Mom says that Border Collies are the smartest dogs in the world.  She also says that retrievers are the easiest to potty train and that yorkies are the hardest, so I guess size does matter in this instance.

My question for Mom was if Border Collies are so smart, why has there not been one to run for president.  Mom said that they are too smart to want the job.

This article is a part of our Potty Training Page.

That stuff was every where, and it was cold and wet.  I tried picking up my paws and shaking that junk off, but it just would not go away.  I checked out the whole yard looking at all of my best busy spots, and that white stuff had taken over.  It was like the dream I had about kudzu taking over the yard while we slept!  Finally, I had to go so bad that I just started doing my business.  Guess what?  I found out that the white stuff is no match for pee!  The white stuff mom called “snow” did not like the big busy either.  I do not like doing a big busy in the snow because it scares me to look at it when I am done.  Did you know that you can see steam rising from it?  It made me think there was something wrong with me. There’s nothing wrong with me, it is all the fault of the snow!

Some dogs really like this stuff, but I prefer to sit on a nice sofa inside my house and watch TV.  So, Dude sounds a lot like me.  Dude’s mom said that he is a rescue, and you can assume that he came from a neglectful family.  If that was the case, then the family probably was also very lazy.  Lazy enough that when the weather was cold and snow was on the ground, they just did not bother to let the dog out!  Dude learned from his past experience that when it snowed, it is OK to potty in the house.  With a past like he may have had, you do not know what consequences Dude may have suffered for either going potty in the house or asking to go out to potty.  This led to confusion on his part when he faces this situation.

To remedy this issue, my suggestion is to find Dude a potty spot in the yard like we talked about here.  Even when it is not snowing, take him to that spot every time he needs to go.  Remember, you will have to put Dude on a leash, since you can not train what you can not control.  Usually, Mom gives us fifteen minutes in the potty spot, even though most humans do not want to stand outside in the cold for that long, and neither do I.  When he finishes his potty, praise him a lot and give him a treat.  It will mean even more if you give him the treat right there in the yard!

If Dude does not potty in the yard while you are with him, when he comes back into the house, you need to restrict his movements within the house.  Some people do this by using a crate, while others will restrict access to a kitchen or a bathroom.  Wait five to fifteen minutes and take him back to the potty spot in the yard.  I have even heard that some people will take some poop from a dog who is using the house for a potty spot and place it in the spot where they want the dog to potty outside.  I have talked before about examining the food you give your dog, and this is something you may want to think about for this issue.  If he is eating a less than quality food, he will have to go potty more often, but a premium brand food will reduce his waste, making the snow potty a daunting task less often.  Yes, do they cost more, but it is worth it when it comes down to the amount of waste.

I am fairly certain that Dude’s problem goes back to his former owners, who were probably too lazy to take him outside, especially during averse weather.  Poor Dude.  It may have been that Dude pooped on the floor because he was denied access to the outside, and then when the mistake was discovered, they threw him out into the snow as a punishment.

Be patient with Dude.  Spend some time with him outside in the snow and play games with him in an effort to ease any anxiety he may have about it.  You may also want to try burying a smelly, tasty bone in the snow and guide him toward it.  When he finds it, give him lots of praise and maybe even another treat.  This will help him learn that he can find and leave things in the snow.

This article is a part of our Potty Training Page.