Comments on: Help this pooch pee inside.

Question: Help this pooch pee inside.

HabeasCorpus — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:27:56 -0800

Dog filter: How do I get a dog to pee in the house?

I'm asking this question for my aunt. She has a great dog, Cookie, who unfortunately had to have ligament surgery. Aunt Habeas and Cookie live on the third floor of a three story walk-up, and usually takes Cookie downstairs to pee. However, post-op Cookie can't do stairs for a month, and is too heavy to carry up and down. Ideally, Cookie would just stay inside the apartment for the month and go to the bathroom there. My aunt had bought some "potty pads" for this occasion.

Cookie is also well-trained, and refuses to pee inside the apartment because she's been previously taught that it was a no-no. Cookie will whine and otherwise make it known that she has to pee, but won't seem to do her business in the apartment. It's been one day since surgery, and my aunt has thus far capitulated and taken her down the stairs with the help of her landlord, in order to pee. But we need to find a more sustainable solution.

How do we get Cookie to know "it's ok to pee inside"? Should we just let her hold it in and whine, until she can't hold it anymore, and just goes? Isn't this a little mean? Could Cookie do herself any damage by holding it in for too long? Any tips for normalizing the situation? Any advice would be much appreciated

By: necessitas

necessitas — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:36:49 -0800

Don't have a suggestion. My only experience with dogs peeing inside are childhood dogs and the dogs my mom has now. They were/all paper trained from the time she got them. You could try something like this. Or google other doggie litter boxes. I saw some on amazon that had great reviews.

By: now i'm piste

now i'm piste — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:37:44 -0800

Some fake grass, or some real sod, and have another dog pee.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:46:09 -0800

Yeah, have another dog pee, or.... have a person, and have Aunty praise the pee-er in front of aunty's dog.

By: If only I had a penguin...

If only I had a penguin... — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:51:36 -0800

Given that you only want her to pee inside in the short term, you might have a problem re-training her once the recrovery is over. What about getting a wagon on which to take him outside?

If you really want to risk having him do this permanently, you could try this.

By: Captain Cardanthian!

Captain Cardanthian! — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:55:44 -0800

Going on now i'm piste's solution: Fill a sandbox with real dirt and grass and put it in the corner. When she whines, put her on her leash and lead her over to it, just like you would if she were going on a walk. Try to make it as much like what she's used to as possible. Reward her if she pees in the sandbox.

By: Blue Jello Elf

Blue Jello Elf — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:01:29 -0800

Can your aunt have the dog pee on the "potty pads" outside a couple times? Maybe she'll figure out that they're OK to pee on inside too. And once she goes on the pad inside (assuming your aunt is able to get the dog to do so), lots of treats and praise!

By: TochterAusElysium

TochterAusElysium — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:20:56 -0800

You could try using one of these pheromone-treated yard stakes; they're meant to show the dog where in the yard it's supposed to go; might work in the house. Maybe laying down the potty pads with one of these on top, along with some verbal encouragement?

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:33:45 -0800

Get her to pee on some newspaper or a pad outside, then bring that item inside so it has the proper scent mark that lets her know she can pee there. Combine that with the sandbox solution as well. A cheap kiddie pool is another good container.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:39:52 -0800

I will vouch for the effectiveness of having a person pee where the dog is supposed to. It might not make you or your aunt comfortable, and that's totally cool, but FWIW it does work.

By: theora55

theora55 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:18:09 -0800

Go out and dig some dirt where dogs have peed. Get a plastic kid's pool, or other plastic container, and add the dirt, plus plant grass. You may be able to start replacing dirt with catbox litter gradually.

By: natabat

natabat — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:47:49 -0800

Does your aunt have a patio or a big enough outside area by the front door to put the pee pad -- somewhere that's outside the apartment but still above the stairs? That way Cookie can still pee outside, and your aunt doesn't have to carry her downstairs. Plus, you wouldn't have to worry about having trained her to pee inside...

By: Cody's Keeper

Cody's Keeper — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:24:31 -0800

My puppy and I came across this product at last month's Woofstock in Toronto. It's similar to the product necessitas mentioned, but with a pheromone enhanced artificial grass surface.