What If my Pup Doesn’t Want Go Potty When We’re Outside?

This is quite a common scenario for young pups or any adult dogs when you don’t establish a routine. I can’t stress enough the importance of setting up routine for our dogs. Many new dog owners view routine as if they’re begin rigid and limiting their dogs’ freedom.

What freedom do you want your dog to have? Freedom to vote? Freedom of speech? Or freedom to be disruptive?

Dogs love routine. Because it makes them feel confident, safe, and secure. This is the kind of “freedom” you want to give to your dog. Routine such as,

• Mealtime,
• Walking,
• Bedtime,
• Playtime,
• Training,
• Exercising, or
• Just Goofing around.

These are part and parcel of dog’s daily lifestyle. The greatest benefit about routine is that it facilitates housetraining.

Easy Steps to Help your Pup to Eliminate When Asked

If you’ve been observing the pup’s elimination behavior, most times you’ll have a pretty good idea of when he’ll need to go outside. However, sometimes you arrive outside and he’s more interested in playing with bugs, schmoozing with cats or the neighbor dog, or otherwise just being a puppy and getting distracted.

• If you find this happening quite often, you may want to put a leash and collar on the pup and walk him around a bit. As the saying goes, “movement produces movement.” Keeping him on the leash also helps you keep him focused, since he can’t run off when he gets distracted.
• If this happens infrequently, or if he simply does not have to go potty at the moment, then bring him back indoors. Now you have to be extra careful. If you aren’t on the floor with him, then put him in his crate or playpen* for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take him outside and try again. If he still doesn’t go, again put him in his crate or playpen* for another 15 minutes. When he does go, praise lavishly.

Note: If your pup’s playpen is spacious, then you have to use crate instead of playpen.

Once your dog learns the routine, it won’t take him very long to know what to expect and when to expect it.