# My 5 mo. old will only poop/pee in own backyard!!!



## frenchie27

Believe it or not, Charlie will only go do his business ONLY in our yard. I can walk him for miles, sometimes hours







and he will hold it in REGARDLESS until he gets home. The same thing if we go to pet stores, other homes, etc. Has anyone out there gone thru this ackward behavior? Please help!!!!


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO

i went through this with mikko. very frustrating and scary as once he waited so long to pee that he actually peed for about an entire minute straight. it got better as he got older, especially now since he'll mark. what we did to help fix this problem was to give him a command, we use "go to the bathroom." so when we let him out in the yard to go, we say the phrase and reward when he does it. now when we go on roadtrips or i need him to go to the bathroom before an agility run, i use the command and he'll go.


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## Kaylas Mom

I went through the same thing with Kayla..LOL...I could walk her miles and nothing, till she got in her own back yard...Don't worry he will do his thing in his own time


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## BowWowMeow

*Re: My 5 mo. old will only poop/pee in own backyar*

Rafi is like this, especially with pooping. In fact, he often forgets to poop! I put everything on command and when we're out on a walk i often say, "Don't forget to poop, Rafi!"


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## DocBrown

Yes, I had the same problem with my boy! I think eventually they get to a point where they realize they just can't hold it anymore! My boy didn't pee in an unfamiliar environment until he was 9-10 months old! And it was in a dog park when he finally did. Maybe all of the smells of different dog urine made him realize that it was ok to go. *shrugs* I'm almost positive that this will eventually pass!


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## frenchie27

Thank you so much for your nice responses. It makes me much more relieved. I thought my Charlie was just TOO SHY, YEAH RIGHT!!! Thanks again!!!


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## BlackGSD

I've never had this problem. However all of my dogs are taught from 8 weeks to "go" on command like the other poster was talking about. Not only is it very helpfull when in a strange place, but also at home when it is freezing cold and/or raining or snowing. All I have to do is let them out, say "hurry up" and they "go" and are back in the house in a matter of seconds.

I just love it when we are traveling and stop at a rest area and the "dog area" is full of people waiting for their dogs to "go". I drive up, let the dogs out(on leash of course) and am GONE and the other folks are STILL standing there in the freezing cold or 100 degrees!


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## middleofnowhere

I had one dog that I trained to go on command - but it seems the training took in the yard only. The poor dog would hold it for nearly 24 hours when traveling! 

My youngest was once reluctant about this. After fiddling around when I was recovering from anesthesia and waiting to go in an obedience ring, I said this had to stop. So next time I used an enema -- cured the problem.


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## MaggieRoseLee

I would be concerned to the extent I wouldn't ignore the issue and instead fix it.

I agree with the person who says go out in the yard with your dog and start coming up with a verbal cue for when your dog goes. I actually go in to the yard and say weirdnesses like 'go peepees' or 'go poopies' as soon as we hit the yard. Then when my pup squats I'm IMMEDIATELY into the happy praising with the 'GOOD poopies or peepees'. 

So my dogs all have a verbal cue to the BEHAVIOR I have 'taught'. Just like I've taught them to 'sit' (they also sit naturally), or 'down' or anything else. Going on a command can be taught just like everything else, just takes some time and work on our end. 

Added to the fact I'd be taking my dog out and about WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more. Weather allowing, if I leave the house so does my puppy. So tons of car rides with long walks, hikes, socialization and POOPING AND PEEING!!!

6 months is also the age I usually start up with dog classes. So you'll be in a good situation if you work on this the next month so starting up classes will work right into all the other great socialization and training we all do with our dogs.


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## Sherush

Jesse at 6 months is the same 99 percent of the time. If we take him in the car to a new place and has been a long time since he was in our backyard, he will go, but if I walk him in the neighborhood he holds it till home so we are forced to go in the backyard after at walk


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## Eve-Lynn

As soon as we brought Link home at 9 weeks we would take him outside and say "be quick" as he was peeing. We also took him to a specific spot in the backyard to do his business. For awhile he would not go to the bathroom when we were out on walks either. Then once we were out and he would see home he would try to pull us because he had to go so bad. I don't know what happened but once he got somewhere and we let him sniff around a little and used our "be quick" he started going outside of the yard. Giving the command sure is nice when you have somewhere to be and he needs to go in the crate, we can take him out and use our words and he goes even if it is just a little bit. He will be 5 months on Thursday.


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## fuzzballiscute

*My dog refuses to poop and knows the commands*

My dog, since she was a puppy didn't want to go to the bathroom anywhere except for a couple of places she got used to to. Now, it is even worse, she will rarely ever do it on leash. Since she arrived at my house at 4 months, she has been taught the command "go potty" and she knows what it means. When I take her somewhere and tell her "go potty" she knows what I want, but will just start moving around, only peeing and peeing again and again, squatting and halfway sitting just to stand up and start moving around again. I try to have patience, but I just cannot control my frustration, which I know only makes things worse. Its just so irritating when I know she knows what I want her to do but refuses to do it. No, she isn't food motivated. I've praised her when she has done it right. The only thing she really wants is to play with other dogs and strangers. When she is off leash she does it. But on leash, at home, she'll try to pull to go somewhere else to do it, no matter where i go! Today when I took her to lake and was walking around, she actually squatted in the middle of the walk, out of nowhere, to poop like one piece onto the concrete. I took to several places in the bushes and told her to go potty, but she just kept walking around and sitting down, barely paying attention to my presence. It is just so frustrating! When I took her home I let her off leash like I do every morning to the hillside she always goes to the bathroom on and she immediately went to the bathroom... I just want to know why she does this and how can I stop it... Thanks


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## wick

Haha Wick did this but we moved across country when he was 5mos old and 4days on the road... He finally just had to give in and go ! He held in the pee for 6hours after I knew he needed to go, and the poop for more than 24. Now he prefers to poop anywhere but on his own lawn







smart dog!

He is a very shy pooper though and if anything seems off about his surroundings he will refuse to go, he checks behind his shoulder about 10 times before he will actually poop, it's ridiculous! Some nights when the neighbors are outside he will ask to go outside 3 times but won't go until they go back in.


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## Galathiel

My dog knows 3 different commands for eliminating. Comes in handy when you want to be 'discreet' out in public. At home I can use the generic (and he decides which one he wants to do), or go pee or go poop.

My public command is "take a break". I kinda like it. Subtle. Usually only use it for urinating as he is fairly consistent in when he needs to poop. He also knows I will require him to eliminate before getting in the car, so when I get his collar/leash out he rushes to the car. I then will tell him to take a break and he will hurriedly take care of things so he can G.O.


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## wick

fuzzballiscute said:


> My dog, since she was a puppy didn't want to go to the bathroom anywhere except for a couple of places she got used to to. Now, it is even worse, she will rarely ever do it on leash. Since she arrived at my house at 4 months, she has been taught the command "go potty" and she knows what it means. When I take her somewhere and tell her "go potty" she knows what I want, but will just start moving around, only peeing and peeing again and again, squatting and halfway sitting just to stand up and start moving around again. I try to have patience, but I just cannot control my frustration, which I know only makes things worse. Its just so irritating when I know she knows what I want her to do but refuses to do it. No, she isn't food motivated. I've praised her when she has done it right. The only thing she really wants is to play with other dogs and strangers. When she is off leash she does it. But on leash, at home, she'll try to pull to go somewhere else to do it, no matter where i go! Today when I took her to lake and was walking around, she actually squatted in the middle of the walk, out of nowhere, to poop like one piece onto the concrete. I took to several places in the bushes and told her to go potty, but she just kept walking around and sitting down, barely paying attention to my presence. It is just so frustrating! When I took her home I let her off leash like I do every morning to the hillside she always goes to the bathroom on and she immediately went to the bathroom... I just want to know why she does this and how can I stop it... Thanks


You gotta just not let her poop at home a few times, and always take her out on a leash. she does it because she feels vulnerable when using the restroom, she knows your yard is safe and secluded, and she just wants the freedomo choose lol. Once she goes a good solid handful of times she will realize it is ok. Go camping or on a road trip, she will get used to it then! Tey can only hold it so long, wick pooped right on the trail a few times because of the same reason, he finally realized that I wasn't bringing him home anytime soon so just started going were i told him to. They are total dorks! But I understand the frustration  I get really annoyed when wick is too scared to go because he here's neighbors etc.


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## yfontenett

frenchie27 said:


> Believe it or not, Charlie will only go do his business ONLY in our yard. I can walk him for miles, sometimes hours
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and he will hold it in REGARDLESS until he gets home. The same thing if we go to pet stores, other homes, etc. Has anyone out there gone thru this ackward behavior? Please help!!!!


I’m going through the same thing right now. We can be gone for hours at a time. She will not potty nowhere but our house. In fact we are on a road trip right now. We left yesterday at 3:30pm from Texas to Oklahoma. This was a very long drive. Stopped the car twice walked her around and she still hasn’t used it. I’m here at the hotel and woke up this morning to take her out and she still won’t use it. She has eating and drinker plenty of water. I’m very concerned with this.


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## WNGD

13 year old thread, I bet the dog has peed by now!

You just have tp persevere; you and nature will eventually win out, they won't explode.
Dogs who don't get out on walks/hikes at least once or several times / day are more likely to insist on the familiarity and privacy of their own back yard imo.

Try to START the day with a walk/hike and not a backyard visit. As suggested above, if you use a key word when they are already going, it's easier to transfer and proof to out of the yard.

My dog hasn't gone in the yard in 7 years and 2 years respectively. My prior dog didn't go in the yard in 13 years. They need to be in a field or woods.


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## whitbred

frenchie27 said:


> Believe it or not, Charlie will only go do his business ONLY in our yard. I can walk him for miles, sometimes hours
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and he will hold it in REGARDLESS until he gets home. The same thing if we go to pet stores, other homes, etc. Has anyone out there gone thru this ackward behavior? Please help!!!!


I had one who would only pee on grass. That’s what she was used to


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