# V Pup refuses to go outside



## NorthernVizsla (Jan 4, 2015)

Afternoon everyone.

This is my first post, we are a family of 5 and have just moved up to Northumberland, we picked up our pup just after xmas and she seems like a pretty run of the mill V, she is our 2nd female V so we know what we're up against ;D

i am wondering if anyone can offer advice for an issue which we are trying hard to overcome with our new girl Meg aged 9 weeks today. She has been with us just over a week and has taken to crate training very well, she is taken out once in the night around 2 am in which i set my alarm to prevent whining. She is dry in her crate, in the car crate and also when i'm carrying her round wrapped up in a blanket. 
However although i expect many 'accidents' in the house this issue we have with her is she absolutely hates going outside , she will not even come to the door. We have a bell on the back as she is our second V and this worked for us before but she won't even come into the boot room never mind near the door!
I am using small bits of cheese and chicken to use 'come' and 'sit', which she is really great with until she gets to the boot room  Then she stops still, i have to then pick her up and carry her to the back door where her lead is hung, attach it, use the phrase 'toilet' and try very hard to coax her outside. 
Once out she does her business but she does not seem to empty her bladder fully, even after 10 minutes of staying out, therefore there have been quite a few accidents of wee, but not poo. 
Over the xmas holidays we have taken her out every 10 minutes, we have 3 children so there are plenty of people to watch and help. We only use positive reinforcement, if she has an accident then we pick her straight up, take her to the back door and say 'toilet' then go out so she can finish off. 
I know V's don't like the wind /rain etc but someone is always out with her so i don't think its just a weather issue, we didn't have this before and our old girl was potty trained pretty quickly after arriving. 
I'm at home all day apart from school runs in which she comes with me in the car. When we have had a walk round town /park etc and i pop her down for a week before getting back in the car she does a full wee so i know she can hold it. 

Any advice would be greatly welcome. I don't want to make the situation worse and cause her fear of going out , i'm not sure we can be outside any more than we are apart from pitching a tent ???

Many thanks to everyone who reads this 

Megs Mum


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## rudolph (Dec 14, 2013)

I wonder if she finds the ground too cold on her...parts. Have you tried having her go on a pee pad or something that isn't frozen ground when she is outside? If that's not it, it might be worth a trip to the vet to rule out medical problems that would prevent her from emptying her bladder.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Hi NorthernVizsla,

I have a 14wk old wirehaired vizsla - and I have to say I sympathise with your young lady - it has not been pleasant house training in the winter. 

I think you are doing everything you can and I think you just need to persist and stay out until she relieves herself - lots of praise. She has to realise that the quicker she pees the quicker she gets to go in. Have you a covered area outside. Outside our back door is all covered which is great for winter puppy training. Maybe even your garage to start with. Put a puppy pad and or paper down there and use a command so she gets the association. Then when you get that I you can move the pad onto a patio or somewhere.

The other thing I would suggest is a little coat for when she goes out. I bought a cheap little knit wear coat in Pets at Home, just stopped him shivering so he has a good association with going out in the cold. I live in Berkshire so that is like the Bahamas compared to where you live.

You will get there, patience and persistence.


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## Chaos911 (Oct 30, 2013)

We went thru Blazes first winter last year and dealt with potty training in one of the worst winters I can remember . Soo many days below zero. I got a 4x6 artificial turf pad and kept it just outside the door, with shovel near by. We took Blaze out on a leash to make sure he did his business in timely manner. It seemed like when of leash he was so focused on getting back inside. Having turf pad on our deck by door made it less miserable for us both . Good luck.


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## Ruthie_67 (Jan 25, 2014)

Just a thought ... Is there something there that she could be scared of? We got our V around the same time of year as you, last year, constant wind and rain, he didn't like it but was okay with going out. However, sometimes he is still reluctant to go toilet in the garden and often it is because something has worried him x


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## killmodell (Nov 10, 2014)

Chaos911 said:


> We went thru Blazes first winter last year and dealt with potty training in one of the worst winters I can remember . Soo many days below zero. I got a 4x6 artificial turf pad and kept it just outside the door, with shovel near by. We took Blaze out on a leash to make sure he did his business in timely manner. It seemed like when of leash he was so focused on getting back inside. Having turf pad on our deck by door made it less miserable for us both . Good luck.


I think that is part of Ginger's problem with the occasional accident still at 17weeks. I push her off the deck but occasionally we still can't stop her peeing on the deck, 5 feet from the grass...
She loves to go run in the snow but I have noticed she's the first one at the door to go back in after running around in the snow...
Good luck


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## NorthernVizsla (Jan 4, 2015)

Sorry it has taken so long to reply, we are renting a farmhouse and wifi or anything technical for that matter is very patchy much to the annoyance of our teenage daughter!

Thank's everyone for the replies. We have preserved and we have had less accidents and now if i say 'toilet' and she really does need it i jog to the door and she's coming along with me and outside. Not all the time but a definite improvement. 
Where we are renting we don't actually have a back door to the garden so we go through the boot room which leads on to the drive, i say 'drive' loosely as its a long rough drive with barns on one side and our garden on the other, but she heads for the garden. Previously i have taken her out on lead as we are surrounded with sheep, cows and pheasants and didn't fancy her doing a run round the farm :

I'm wondering if the the smells of the farm have been putting her off going outside, they have had rats at the the bottom of the farm before we moved which the estate 'wood' man is flushing / poisoning at the bottom of the farm. Also there are owls, foxes, you name it and i think we have it including deer which run in the field past my kitchen window 

We have just started walks yesterday, with a coat added but she seems quite unsure, lots of whimpering and stopping/sitting in protest. Ive not experienced this before, even with hotdog she doesn't move far. I have been carrying her round town /parks / everywhere i can take her i could since we brought her home at 8 weeks but now she's much heavier and with jabs i am wanting her to take some walks , at least to burn off the 4-6pm witching hour nipping/energy 
By the time the kids get home from school its dark in the garden so we can;t get out there for a play, my daughter took her out for a walk on lead round the farm but she lasted 7 minutes before the crying started so she brought her in. 
Any tips on getting her more comfortable with walks? We are having our first family walk with her saturday afternoon so i'm hoping with the kids and my husband there it will seem fun!

Thanks for now


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