Potty training on the grass instead of the cement

Zinja

So, I'm having a difficult time potty training my puppy. I've only had an AA and Shiba and they were a breeze to potty train. Now Mochi is a pain

He does not poo on the carpet but will pee without giving me notice. I try to take him out 30 minutes after he eats or drinks heavily. Heavy praise and "potty" when he eliminates outside.

Now, when we are walking to the potty location, he will eliminate on the cement while walking. I do not know how to correct the behavior because I want him to go outside. At my parents house, we do not have any carpet. Mochi will pee/poo in the house and on our lanai patio and I'm only there once a month.

How can I associate the grass being the designated potty area while keeping cement and indoors off limits?

Thanks!

white_bear

Hi Joe, have you considered carrying Mochi until you reach the grass area? He will not go while being carried.

Zinja

I haven't thought about that. I used to pick him up and took him to the door after he wakes up from his crate so he doesn't go on the way to the door. I'll try that next time.

How about when we're taking longer walks? He seems to just eliminate on the sidewalks, parking lots, or plaza floors. My Kai and Akita always walks off the trail even on hikes but it seemed they did it out of instinct.

My Shiba eventually started veering off when he was two years old.

ttddinh

Yea, I 2nd carrying him. I'm trying to get kilbun to go down the hill as opposed to the dirt area near the house (I don't like the smell of pee) I have to carry and push him off the hill now

PoetikDragon

I carry my puppies to the spot I want them to potty. From the moment they wake up from their nap they get excited and then the clock is ticking until they have to go!

Zinja

Would it be wise for my routine to be:

Come home, wait until he settles, take out crate, wait until he sits, pick him up, go to spot, stay there until potty, afterwards, walk a little then come home? Or is it cruel to have him wait to go out?

He is 6 months.

rikumom

@Zinja,
At 6-months of age, I wonder if the issue is not potty training but rather he's starting to mark territory, especially when you said you only go to your parents' once a month. Is your dog neutered yet?

The rule of thumb they can hold their bladder for every month of their life. I don't think it's cruel to have him wait to go out if he's only been crated for a few hours, though most dog training books say don't overuse the crate... you might be better off using an ex-pen instead of a crate if you need to be home >6 hours...

white_bear

Hm, it depends how long you are away I guess. If you are gone for many hours he should go out as soon as possible to my mind. You should also take into account the fact that your being back is cause for excitement and that together with him being still a pup should be good reasons to take him out sooner rather than later.
I wouldn't worry on the long run though. He will start lifting his leg soon and start marking his ~territory~ around the house, so your potty problems should be over.
It would also be useful if on longer walks you would take an older dog that prefers the grass. And I would stay away from the mall until he has learnt.
PS: also take into consideration the other side of the coin. As you, I was very eager to teach my first JA - Tenshi - to go only on grass. This is a real pain when it is raining and it is wet outside as he refuses to step on wet grass. It is terribly frustrating to have to push him on the wet grass hoping he will go. Most of the times he doesn't and if we have many rainy days is a row going potty is a nightmare.

white_bear

@rikumom I could be wrong, but I wouldn't count 'peeing like little girls' as a sign of marking his territory. He is still too young for that I think

rikumom

@white_bear, I have no idea what age males start marking territory, we could both be wrong... I just know that dogs and cats can be house broken but "choose" to pee indoors when there are other animals sharing the house. Not all boys lift when they mark.

white_bear

It is possible, I can only speak about the breed I know (JA):-)

rikumom

@white_bear, good point, what kind of puppy are we talking about here??

Zinja

I found Mochi about two months ago. He's the white little dog in this thread.

http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/7542/introducing-eevee-and-mochi-updated-1613#Item_64

I am only away at a maximum of 4 hours. Typically 3 hours.

I think picking him up is working. We had two days without accidents in the house. We only had one potty accident on cement when we were crossing a crosswalk and he had to poo. Luckily, there were no cars.

He just started lifting his leg to pee two weeks ago. He normally squats.

rikumom

I c I c,
Looks like he has some toy breed in him? I've heard some toy breeds don't know the difference between inside & outside, but if he's started to lift & there are other dogs around, I suspect marking still :-p