# Peeing right before we take him out?



## spinkamor

Our 5-month old German Shepherd puppy seems to be semi-crate trained, as he generally knows not to pee inside. However, there are a number of odd times where he will pee inside RIGHT before we take him out. We would be completely dressed, put his harness and leash on him, lead him to the door, then he would pee. Either that, or he would pee in the hallway of our condo. 
We take him out every 4-5 hours, so it isn't because he simply can't hold it in anymore. And I also know that if we continued to stay in, he wouldn't pee! He would be playing or sleeping 
Any suggestions on how to get him to hold it in a bit more until we are actually outside? Is it a psychological thing?


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## zivagirl

5 hours may still be too long for your little guy. Rules of thumb are just guidelines and don't account for individual needs. Same with the general age when ears stand up, what age before they have their first heat, and the length of gestation.

Sometimes, a horse is just a horse.


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## Cassidy's Mom

spinkamor said:


> Our 5-month old German Shepherd puppy seems to be semi-crate trained, as he generally knows not to pee inside. However, there are a number of odd times where he will pee inside RIGHT before we take him out. We would be completely dressed, put his harness and leash on him, lead him to the door, then he would pee. Either that, or he would pee in the hallway of our condo.


Emphasis on the "generally".  If he's still peeing in the house he's not yet housebroken, even if he's pretty good most of the time. I'm guessing it happens because when he needs to go he needs to go NOW. Waiting while you get fully dressed, he's harnessed and leashed, and then walking through the hallway of your condo before actually getting outdoors may just be too long for him. I would speed that process up, if possible. 

Even if it's only taking a few minutes, that might be the difference between success and failure. If he needs the harness can you just keep it on him all the time (as long as he's supervised)? Or use a martingale collar that you can quickly pop over his head if you're concerned about him backing out of his regular collar? Keep your coat handy and have some shoes nearby that you can quickly step into, and then RUN him out.


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## zivagirl

Lol...my shoes stay on, these days. Even at 11 months, when she asks, it's because she has to go, now.


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## spinkamor

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Emphasis on the "generally".  If he's still peeing in the house he's not yet housebroken, even if he's pretty good most of the time. I'm guessing it happens because when he needs to go he needs to go NOW. Waiting while you get fully dressed, he's harnessed and leashed, and then walking through the hallway of your condo before actually getting outdoors may just be too long for him. I would speed that process up, if possible.
> 
> Even if it's only taking a few minutes, that might be the difference between success and failure. If he needs the harness can you just keep it on him all the time (as long as he's supervised)? Or use a martingale collar that you can quickly pop over his head if you're concerned about him backing out of his regular collar? Keep your coat handy and have some shoes nearby that you can quickly step into, and then RUN him out.


We'll try that, but I get the feeling that he anticipates us going out, and he pees right beforehand. Also, the elevator wait is brutal!


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## spinkamor

zivagirl said:


> Lol...my shoes stay on, these days. Even at 11 months, when she asks, it's because she has to go, now.


It'd be a lot easier in the summer to just run down instead of having to put on layers of clothes, mittens, boots, etc. It's crazy cold in Canada!


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## blehmannwa

It may be excitement. Can you carry him during the elevator wait? I have never had a dog pee when I'm holding the pup.


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## spinkamor

blehmannwa said:


> It may be excitement. Can you carry him during the elevator wait? I have never had a dog pee when I'm holding the pup.


That's a big possibility actually. When we play Wii, he will start whining then pees in his crate as well. Those are the only times he will pee in his crate. I guess he gets really excited too when we jump around.

It's not really possible for me to carry him anymore as I'm about 90 lbs, and he's about 45 lbs


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## Lauri & The Gang

Leave him in his crate until you are fully dressed and have already pushed the button for the elevator. Then leash him up and go!


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## zivagirl

spinkamor said:


> It'd be a lot easier in the summer to just run down instead of having to put on layers of clothes, mittens, boots, etc. It's crazy cold in Canada!


I am very familiar with the weather there. I was raised in Quebec.


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## Nikkavy

We had a tough time with this too! Our pup has to go out the door, down a long hall, down the stairs or elevator, through the parking garage to get out. We had a few accidents especially in the halls. We saw improvement when we started getting *absolutely* everything* together before going to get her from the crate. Then (this is silly but she gets it) sing "outside outside outside" and really run/hustle her all the way out to her potty place. She now only has an accident if she gets distracted, or if we have to stop to grab keys, etc. She's getting a lot better, now only occasional accidents on the last (parking garage) leg, which I think is hard to tell if she's outside or inside. Our neighbors are all used to us running past them saying "hello goodbye gotta go outside outside".

Also, I never correct her for pulling when we are on our way out for potty time. This is tough because she does pull some now, but I want to keep her focus on potty and now she hustles her little booty right down to potty place and squats right away unless she sees someone she likes outside 
Good luck with your pup!


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