Those of us who live in houses with fenced yards have it pretty easy when it comes to dealing with dog eliminations. We open the door and let the dog out. Even easier, some of us have dog doors and the dog lets himself out. The dog takes care of business and, when he’s done, we let him back in (or he lets himself back in).
Imagine instead that you don’t have a back yard—that you live in an apartment in a very crowded city and you have to take your dog to the street (to the curb) to eliminate. Talk about distractions!
Yet every day, in every city, dogs “hold it” as owners throw on jackets, grab keys, check for plastic bags, leash up Fido, walk down the hall, wait for the elevator, exit the building, and move as quickly as possible to the spot where Fido can empty his bladder and bowels. And what if he doesn’t? That means another round of suiting up and getting out there, regardless of the weather, until Fido produces. With an uncooperative dog, it could mean being late for work or appointments, or risking potty problems inside your domicile. Potty pads don’t cut it when your dog is over ten pounds!
How do urban, apartment-dwelling dogs learn to “do their business” on the street, on the curb, or in a nearby grassy area, without accidents, leakage in the halls and elevators, or pooping in the lobby? They learn those skills exactly the same way you’ve taught your dog to potty in the back yard—with great care, endless patience, positive training . . . and several caseloads of paper towels! The next time you get frustrated with your own dog’s pottying issues, keep in mind that you’ve probably got it easier than many dog owners all over the world. Your back yard is a luxury many dogs don’t have.
Teaching your dog to eliminate on cue is one of the most useful skills you can give him—for his comfort and for your own. You may never live in an urban high-rise condominium, but chances are, at some time during your dog’s life you will want to travel. Wouldn’t it be great if your dog could travel with you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your dog could be comfortable with pottying away from home—so much so that travel wouldn’t change his potty habits at all? Wouldn’t you be glad if your dog could travel without diarrhea or constipation, because he was already used to eliminating in unfamiliar places?
I heard a great true story once, at a meeting of a nationwide group of dog training instructors. This was long before the concept of “service dogs” was widely known, before rights of access were given by the ADA, before most people had any idea of what a “service dog” was or did. The couple that presented their story at this conference were pioneers, really, in training dogs to meet the needs of disabled persons. She was in a wheelchair. The dog assisted her with mobility, retrieving objects—in general, exactly what you would expect. The dog helped her human with everyday life.
This couple’s relatives had bought them a very special gift—a cruise! The cruise line agreed that the dog could accompany them on the ship and fulfill her normal duties. There was only one catch, and it was big: since the ship would be at sea during most of the cruise, the dog would have to potty on board. In fact, since there was no on-board accommodation for a doggy bathroom, the dog would have to potty (it was finally resolved) in the stall shower of the couple’s room.
Clearly, this would be a new behavior. The dog was perfectly potty-trained for almost any situation, but the thought of a dog pottying in a shower stall had simply never been imagined! The cruise was theirs if their dog could learn to potty in a shower. They had two months. Could this training be accomplished?
I remember the faces of the attendees at the banquet that night—all experienced trainers and instructors—as everyone wondered, many out loud, How the heck would I do that if it were my dog?
What the couple did was simple. It took faith and patience, but it was not complicated.
They wouldn’t let the dog potty anywhere else but their shower stall.
They took her to the stall and asked her to step in.
She was more than willing to step in. I bet she thought, Why not? But eliminating there? In the house? In the shower? The dog knew darn well that this was something she had never done before. It was so clearly out of the realm of behavior that had been encouraged, it was (to anthropomorphize) inconceivable to her. I imagine her thinking, Have my humans gone crazy? What is it that I’m supposed to do? The humans could not show her; they had to let her figure it out for herself.
I remember so well what the couple expressed about their emotions at the time—they felt awful! They were asking their beloved companion and aide to do something that, to her, must’ve seemed . . . wrong. They were also denying her the option of pottying anywhere else. She was not allowed outside. She was taken, again and again, to the shower stall.
How long did it take? It took two days, if I recall correctly. By that point, the humans were distraught and sleepless with uncertainty and guilt. But they stuck to it, doing their very best to not express their anxiety to the dog. Finally the dog could simply hold it no longer. She eliminated in the shower stall.
Whew!
Once the dog was able to understand that eliminating in the shower stall was what her humans wanted her to do, once she had done it, she got the immense relief (after two days!) of emptying her bladder and bowels and the praise and rewards from her humans indicating that she’d done the right thing.
She was able to transfer that behavior easily to other shower stalls in other places. The couple and their dog companion took the cruise and had a wonderful time. (They bagged the solid contents and sent the rest down the drain, bleaching the shower stall after every use.)
That’s how you start, too, but you get to choose a simpler goal!
Pick a place you’d like your dog to pee and poop. Let’s say that you plan to take your dog in his crate in your car to a spot not far from where you live—a public park, for example. You do your very best to make sure that, when you go to that spot, your dog is not empty. In other words, do not allow him access to your yard directly before you crate him in your car.
Crate your dog, drive to that place, leash and uncrate the dog, and walk directly to the spot you’ve chosen.
Wait there, with your dog on a leash or long line, in just the same way you wait for him to pee in your own yard. Be patient and not distracting. Say nothing.
Set a time limit. I suggest five minutes, but really, it’s up to you. If you’re willing to stand in one area longer than five minutes to wait for your dog to pee, good for you! Remember that it’s your job to not show impatience. No texting or talking on your phone. Just wait, silently.
If your dog does not eliminate, go back to the car, take him home, crate him there, and try again in another 15 minutes. (This is why you choose a spot nearby!)
Repeat as many times as it takes for him to eliminate, or as many times as you have patience (or time) for. Always start again at a point when you know your dog is “full,” even if that’s the next day. (Meanwhile, of course, follow your normal potty protocols at home. No one is suggesting that you keep your dog from eliminating there completely!)
If you keep returning to the same spot with a “full” animal, your dog will eventually eliminate.
When that happens, remember how you handled it in your own yard. Praise with the cue (“Good pee!”) and with a calm, happy attitude. Then walk the dog, let him sniff, encourage him to be a dog (on lead).
Repeat.
The more times you repeat, the more of a habit it becomes for your dog.
Repeat.
When you are darn sure that the dog understands that his job is to potty in that spot before anything fun commences (like a walk), start to say the cue word as the dog eliminates. Then, as the repetitions continue, experiment with saying the cue word just before the dog eliminates—exactly as you did at home.
You’ll know it’s time to move to training in a new spot once the first spot you’ve chosen becomes the location of consistent repeated responses to your cue. In other words, when your dog pees immediately that you say “Pee!” or when your dog poops immediately that you say, “Poop!”
Train the new spot in exactly the same way you trained the old spot.
Once you’ve conquered four or five “spots” in relatively distraction-free areas, it’s time to take your training on the road! Try something more difficult, like training your dog to eliminate before you let him into the dog park. Talk about a great reward! (That is, if he likes the dog park. If he doesn’t, please don’t do this training there!)
Eventually, you’ll be able to transfer this training to any location you choose. Think of the convenience of owning a dog who will eliminate immediately at a public rest stop off the highway! You’ll be so much more confident about taking your dog new and wonderful places when you can rest assured he’s “empty” before you walk in with him. It’s not difficult—it just takes time and patience!
