# My Vizsla wont poop in the grass!



## Marion (Aug 8, 2011)

My 4month old male vizsla has started a new trend. He used to do very well at potty training. I am with him all day, and my boyfriend gets home around 8 pm. He's very well potty trained during the day, but it seems that at around 6 pm every night he loses bladder control. Peeing inside, giving no warning such as the bark/whining we have trained him to when he needs to go outside. As frustrating as that is, I can tell when he as to poop he runs around frantically, so I let him outside. 

His new and equally frustrating thing is that he will not go off the patio into the crass to poop. He's like become afraid of it. Help! I'm thinking it may have something to do with when Nate comes home Copper's not the center of attention?- But Nate gives him all the affection he could ask for when he gets home.. I'm not sure but it's very frustrating that he's regressing instead of progressing.

Also; he gets the hiccups.. all the time, randomly. Even if he hasn't eaten anything lately. Sometimes he gets them at night and it wakes him and I up. Any ideas what's that all about?

Thanks for any ideas!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I have no advice about the urinating at 6pm thing (so interesting that it's at that specific time), but as for pooping--your best bet is to start taking him out all the way onto the grass, probably with a leash and collar. If he won't budge off the patio, then pick him up and plop him on the grass. Eventually he'll get the idea that you won't tolerate him pooping on the patio. 

Puppies get hiccups...a lot! Especially young ones. I think Jasper was between 5 and 6 months before he grew out of them. It was always funny and cute, especially as sometimes a really big one would take him totally by surprise!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah used to get the hiccups quite a lot, but she also outgrew them. I never really noticed when.

As for the grass, I agree with redrover, your best bet is taking him out onto the grass with a leash and collar. Just go back to the basics. Take him out frequently, give your potty command, praise when he goes. Learning seems to be a two steps forward, one step back kind of process at some point in development. If you comb through the posts, you will see people talking about regressing on potty training and leash manners. I think I remember some posts that talk about regressing with jumping on people and meeting visitors. If regression is all it is, go back to basics.

Additionally, I would check a few things. Savannah rotates the area of the yard where she will pee. When it is time to rotate, she will hold it until I take her to a different part of the yard. No idea why, but it does let my grass grow back, so I don't complain. At 4 months, is he trying to avoid only the grass right next to the patio where he routinely pees? Also, she will not go if the sprinklers have been on recently or are going to come on soon. Check your sprinkler program around the 4-6pm time. You might also keep an ear outside for any other noises/activities that he may be avoiding (a neighbor with a loud truck coming home from work would be one example). If you are right and the routine arrival of Nate is part of the problem, then change the routine to verify that's the problem. Have Nate come in through a different door and have a toy or treat in hand. If the next night your V's behavior has changed, then you at least know you have to change the evening routine.

Good luck!


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## Marion (Aug 8, 2011)

Thank you everyone! I'll try all of those they are good ideas, he might just not want to go there. I'll try moving his tie-out see if that helps...


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

It's all in the training. If you don't clean up the floor properly he will think it's OK to pee there again. If you don't take him to the same spot every time, every day he will go whereever he feels like it. You are the master and need to continually show him what and where to do it. Do some more reading on crate and potty training and do it every day 24/7/365 a year.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Mine swallowed a wasp a few days ago and refused to go and poop in the back yard. I had to take him outside across the street into the park. 
I made sure I still take him to the back yard and play soccer with him... he soon forgot the wasp and returned to his old habits.

Perhaps something similar happened to your dog.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Funny, I was just thinking it could have been caused by some sort of bug bite. I remember reading about the wasp-swallowing incident, too. So glad he has put it behind him!! My previous dog was stung by bees when she was young, and she never really got over it. Was always terrified by bees... Poor girl.


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## bowtie-guy (Sep 4, 2011)

haha bee eating keeps getting passed down from one dog to another in my family. i used to have a basset/pointer mix and dont ask why but he became fascinated with eating bees. he would bite and shake and slobber all over them till they died. well he passed it on to my dachsund because now he does it all the time. well then it was passed on to the boxer. maybe they'll pass their technique onto my new vizsla puppy. i hope not!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

The 6pm peeing inside sounds like an excitement thing. Perhaps anticipation of OH coming home?

As well as making it clear where you want puppy to go as others have said, it is also important as to what you do when puppy makes the mistake.

Here is something somone suggested to me a long time ago and I have used this technique with all my dogs and it worked on all of them. 

When puppy makes a mistake inside, mop/clean up the mess with paper towels. Take the wet/soiled paper towels out onto the area where you want puppy to go. Put the paper towels down, put the puppy next to it, let them sniff it and the split second they sniff it, praise them furiously/reward/treat.. whatever your method is.

Ozkar took 4 hours to house train at 8 weeks of age and only ever had two little accidents, which were my fault as I was either asleep and didn't hear his signals, or was busy and ignored them. I used this positive reinforcement method and he hasn't had an accident since he was maybe 12 weeks old?? 

Same with my GSP who I adopted at 12 months of age. She had lived in kennels all her life and had been trained to go on concrete. It took a little longer than Ozkar did for her to work out the grass was the place, not the patio. But, after a few weeks persistence using the above method, she stopped doing it on the concrete and now always uses the grass.


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## Lucy Vizsla (May 19, 2008)

It wouldn't be abnormal to see a regression. Yes so back to the basics and treat him like a puppy, until he understands. Just show him what you want him to do. He will get it. 

We have a foster V right now that is scared of the dark and will not go outside to potty after 8:15  but we would take him out where he want him to go over and over. He got better and worse and better again. 

Sometimes puppies need a timeout as well in either crates.

He will be just fine, just when you think they aren't getting it they wow you.


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