Hi I was wondering if anyone else had this problem as my 6 month old Border won't wee when he is on his leads going for walks around the block where i live and will only do it off the lead when we take him for a wee in the woods (which is a couple of miles away otherwise i'd take him there every day!). I tried to tell him to wee wee last night on our walk on a patch of grass but he wouldn't! He held it till he got home and then i took him on the grass in our back garden and he still wouldn't do it with the lead on - just kept looking at me & tugging away from the lead thinking i'd took him off it! So i took him off and he walked up the lawn & weed! :? Does anyone think he will grow out of this or do you think he has a problem?!! Thank you!
It could be an insecurity thing or a training thing (perhaps you have inadvertently put him off going when on the lead) or a mixture of both. Do you have friends with dogs? I had a rescue bitch who did not like having a pee unless she was in a very safe area (our garden). The easiest way we found to encourage her to go elsewhere was to let her follow our other bitch around - when one dog pees it will usually encourage another to do so. Then once they have done it a couple of times with you praising/encouraging, you should find that he will be more willing to do it without the incentive of copying another dog. If there is no chance of you using another dog to encourage him, it may take a little longer - every time he goes for a pee in the garden say a word/phrase (e.g. 'have a pee' or 'be clean') then give praise and a treat. After awhile you should be able to say the words and your dog will respond (but don't forget to reward afterwards). once you are happy that he knows the command in the garden, you can then use it on a lead. one final alternative would be to try a longer lead (but only if this would not be dangerous - e.g. no chance of him running into the road) as he may find you standing so close to him a bit off putting - if you can put a bit of distance between you and him, that might help too.
OK thanks, I will try a longer lead. Sounds a good idea! I already praise him when he has been to toilet in the garden & have tried the same on our walks but he won't have any of it!!!
Our Yorkshire terrier will only wee or poo in our back yard and wont go on his walks, but he is only 4 months so I think it will come with time. I imagine that when they want to cock their leg and mark their territory they will start to wee on their walks. This was the case with our Jack Russell.
a) Do you stop in the sorts of places he prefers to pee? b) Do you give him plenty of time to stop and have a sniff?
Some good ideas above. Still, you may have to just keep going until he can't hold it any longer. Likely you will be off Friday and can outlast him. Dress to be out for a while. Yes, give him a chance to sniff around and your command. Once nature has its way, lavish praise on him.
