i wasn't sure the best forum for this.

i did some searching, read the Q&A on housebreaking, but aren't having luck.

teagan often takes a long time to go to the washroom, and sometimes when i take her out she won't go at all. last night, for instance, the dogs got taken out at 7 pm, and then at 12.30 am, and she didn't go at the 12.30 time but waited until this morning - so by choice didn't go to the washroom for about 11 hours.

and even then, she had to spend 5 minutes sniffing around the park (particularly where other dogs have gone) and checking everything out. this is fairly normal for her. (i always take the dogs to go to the washroom in that park.)

she doesn't seem to be straining, so i don't think it's any kind of infection.

i've tried marking her peeing by saying 'good pee!' and making a fuss over what a good job she did, but it hasn't translated that i'm able to get her to pee on command. i also try to take the dogs out at roughly the same times each day.

....maybe i did the wrong searches, but any thoughts? is there anything else i can be doing? it weirds me out that sometimes she only goes 2X/day by choice - luc is happy to go any opportunity.

also, if she pees, she will not pooh. and if she poohs - unless she's peeing at the same time (she does both squatting, though her pee squat is lower), maybe she is, but she will not pee following a pooh. she'll only do one on any trip to the park.

What a strange predilection. Right now she's being rewarded more for sniffing than the reward she receives for peeing. Sniffing is self reinforcing behavior, if you want her to do something else instead of sniff it has to be more rewarding than sniffing is.

What worked for us, was waiting 'till the dogs started to go, then immediately saying "do your business" as they went. As soon as they were done, I marked it, and said treated with a high value treat.

It took about a month with Noah and Macy gets it but isn't convinced that she cares. Now, Noah can be in the middle of whatever it is dogs do when they're frolicking in the backyard, I can say "Do your business" and he'll look at me for a second, cock his head, then trot over to his area and pee. Unless he's REALLY having fun with something else. Or in the mornings. In the morning he'd rather just bark at the door. :p

If you are feeding raw, 2x a day is normal. Does she go roughly the same time everyday?

I have a GSD here in training that will hold it forever while we are traveling. Then, once she goes, she gets back to normal and will go when I take her out and tell her "do your business".

Sometimes they need to sniff around a bit to "start the process". Totally normal as well.

If it not infection or blockage, I would say she is just one of those dogs that likes to go when she wants, and since it was probably allowed to do that before you got her, it will take a bit longer to implement the "potty" command.

Jen I'm new here and don't want to come off as a blow hard so I'll keep it simple and tell you how I like to train for this. Peeing only twice a day seems kind of strange but assuming everything is OK with your dog here it go's. I like to wait till I know they have to pee. I like to time this for the same time of day mostly at night. I use the command hurry up. As soon as they pee I don't say much just take them straight back inside. I try and make the connection that this trip out is for only one thing. No play no sniffing just pee. It takes awhile but most I have trained catch on in just a few weeks. I also like to go to the exact same spot each time close to the house. Pooing on command I have never had much luck with. Different body function. Hope this helps a little.

Gunman

thanks everyone.

i do feed the dogs raw (once in awhile they get grain-free kibble, but that's not all that common).

if it took noah a month, maybe i just need some more patience. and start giving her treats, right now when she pees i say 'good pee!' and then pet her and make a big deal like she just did something really great. treats couldn't hurt.

with the sniffing - she does enjoy it, but she almost always slides into a squat from sniffing so i don't discourage it since i'm already usually crossing my fingers she's going to go. as carol said, it's like she's sniffing to get started, but i think it's twofold - 1)to get started; and 2)to check out 'her' area.

i do take the dogs to the exact same spot at least 3X every day to go to the washroom, and i wonder if she's not also checking out what happened in her absence - she's dominant, so could she be in essence also doing 'perimeter checks' of the area that she may see as hers (based on how she looks at other dogs....though we don't see other dogs any more at our times....we used to see regular dogs. i swear i always have her under control, but then i wonder if other owners are avoiding us....probably not. i hope not).

steve - i usually take them right out of the park once they've gone, to finish our walk. maybe i am being too impatient, but she's been a bit weird (to me) about this since i got her, but i've only recently started trying to mark it.

like i said....when she does pee, there's not straining, and she doesn't have house accidents, so i don't see it being an infection. i would expect there to be noticeable physical signs....

Teaching a dog to go on command is crucial if you will be traveling with the dog at all. Standing outside of a hotel at midnight when it's 5 degrees outside tring to get you dog to go is no fun! I use "go potty" and say it to get the dog sniffing. Once they go I say "good potty" and give the highest valued treat I can to mark it and then immediately go inside quickly and happily. Repeat until you take them out and say "go potty" and they immediately sniff to find a spot and go. Then take them other places and do it.

too true....when i took them backpacking, the night before we went out we were in a campground and she flat out refused to go - i think it was the strange place. woke up around 5.30 with her a bit restless, she did go then when i took her out.

it just seems like while she does want to go to the washroom at times, it's not always her highest priority, even when it would be logical for it to be so - sometimes it doesn't even register!

 Quote: steve jackson

Pooing on command I have never had much luck with. Different body function. Hope this helps a little.

Gunman

Interesting. For my dogs, "Do your business" means "Do everything you want to do for the next few hours, because you won't have another chance until I feel like taking you out again." They sniff sniff sniff, pee, ("good do your business") then sniff sniff sniff sniff, sniff sniff, sniff, sniff sniff, sniff, poop! ("good do your business"). But sometimes they only do one or the other of the two. I have no doubt that they know what the command means, even though it encompasses two seperate physical actions.

My dog pees and poos on command, it's very convenient, even my roommates are jealous/admire it because it makes things easier for them if they take her out while I'm gone. :P
She responds to, "go pee", "go poo", and "go potty" - I think I "trained" it by not allowing her to explore/play until she had done her business. SO each time we went out it was staying in one small area until she goes, verbal reward with a LOT of praise and allowing her to THEN explore and do fun dog things. If she didn't go after 10-15 minutes, she wouldn't be "allowed" out until next walk, unless it was late at night/she indicated she really had to go later.

Has anyone tried treats after pottying? Did that "speed up" the process?

 Quote: david eagle

For my dogs, "Do your business" means "Do everything you want to do for the next few hours, because you won't have another chance until I feel like taking you out again." They sniff sniff sniff, pee, ("good do your business") then sniff sniff sniff sniff, sniff sniff, sniff, sniff sniff, sniff, poop! ("good do your business"). But sometimes they only do one or the other of the two. I have no doubt that they know what the command means, even though it encompasses two seperate physical actions.

Exactly, "do it now or hold it". All my dogs are conditioned to this. But, they do let me know if they actually HAVE to go when it is not time. It is a much different alert to me than "ah, I feel like I want out" it is a "MOM I gotta GO NOW" thing.