# 12 Week Old pup hates leaving the apartment



## Aglass86 (Jan 21, 2012)

We have a 12 week old pup that we got at 8 weeks. He is great for the most part, he is crate trained and sleeps through the night. Our problem lies with going outside to go for walks and/or potty breaks. He never is excited to leave the house, he seems to not want to go outside at all. We encourage him at the door but still he slumps down and does not want to budge. 

We live in Seattle so it is rainy but he has a fleece and a rain coat. We are wondering when will it be time that he is aching and whining to go outside because it leads to other problems like loving to pee in the house. As soon as he is out he wants to go right back inside, I wait and tell him no, and I stand outside for 10 min on end, then bring him inside and sure enough, pees in the house. He poops outside pretty much most of the time. 

We praise him when he pees and poops outside. My boyfriend is unemployed at the moment so pup has all attention on him to get this potty training figured out. He is let out at least 8 or more times during the day. We really just don't know what to do, sometimes he gets it but other times he is clueless.

Help, and thanks in advance.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Ahhh yes, the well known Vizsla aversion to cold and wet!  Welcome to owning a V! 

I don't like going outside on wet grass mid winter with bare feet to pee either and if I can get away with doing it somewhere else I will! 

My first suggestion is not on how to stop him going inside, but what you do when he does go inside. Try this next time.

Mop up the wet spot with a tissue or paper towel, pick up the wet towel, pick up the puppy, take them both outside to where you want puppy to pee. Place the towel down, place the puppy down, allow puppy to sniff it and treat/reward/praise like **** immediately.

Repeat this consistently. 

The next suggestion is stop letting puppy win by bringing it inside before it pees. You have to outlast it. At the moment, it's winning the game every time you retreat back inside prior to puppy going. I have had to sit out side for sometimes half an hour or more to make them realise they went or we did not come back inside. They soon learn to run out, pee quickly and get let back in fast


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

I bought some sod from a Home Depot for the yard when Bailey was young and put some in a small plastic tub so Bailey could do his business inside. Then the transition to outside where I wanted him to do his business became very easy as he went to the turf I had planted in the area of the yard I wanted him to use.

Associations are important to dogs. Feel, smell, texture assoications can be used to teach the pup new lessions better than your voice and commands.

My dogs even at 3 and 4 years old don't like to go out in the rain at home. But take them out walking off leash and they are in heaven.


http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/02/old-closed-road-works-in-rain.html

RBD


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## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

Ozkar has good advice. Once you commit to going out with your pup you must stay out until he does his business. We brought our little guy home at 8 weeks. Experienced his first rain, but then his first snow dumped about a foot on us in 3 days. Every time we took him out we stayed until his end of the deal was complete. When he tried to come back in we just picked him up and sent him back into the yard.

Nitro is let loose in our fenced in yard but also goes while on leash. If you take him on a leash and are having issues, try taking him on a walk until he goes. 

We also introduced commands for the process which are helpful. Nitro now goes pee on command, every time.

Everyone in the house has to be consistent and do exactly the same things in order to be successful.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

They do go potty, just make them move a little.


http://www.teachingpuppies.com/how-do-i-house-train-my-puppy-in-an-apartment

"Every time after your puppy has eaten or had a drink try to take them out immediately, aside from this in the first few weeks you should give them the opportunity at least hourly unless they are asleep and as soon as they awake. Don’t worry you can extend this over the coming weeks, as their bladder and bowl control increases. This is very important when you are living in an apartment with a puppy due to the time it will take you to get out of the building. In most cases you should still be able to carry your 8 week old puppy and this is the best option here, as it is very rare that they will pee or poop as you carry them. This is not a guarantee but as funny as it may sound, I am sure you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that mess! Making sure you get outside as quickly as possible is so important, as you can imagine! If you walk your puppy downstairs on the leash, they are likely to go on the way down."


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

We live in Seattle too, and at first Gus refused to walk in wet grass! (Which would be a problem since the grass is wet 90% of the time). Luckily, we have an overhang on our house and a rocky area that stays dry, so at first he would do all his business on the rocks where it was dry. Fast forward 7 months, and now he happily runs out in the wet grass, snow, whatever, and it doesn't bother him. It was just a matter fo getting used to it, and it took several months. Is there somewhere dry or under cover outside that you could take him to go potty?


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

And in addition to all the other suggestions...

I've been watching the weather in Seattle, and I know this is going to be hard...

When it is time to go outside, you have to make it seem like the best thing you could possibly be doing at that moment. 'Are you ready to go outside? Yea! It's time to go OUTSIDE! Yea, Outside! Time to get the coat...time to get the leash...Oh boy - outside!' Lots of happy talk - lots of enthusiasm getting ready to go out. Once you are outside, use your potty words and keep up the happy talk. Even if you are pacing back and forth. 'Yea, big circles!' If your pup knows you don't want to be out in the cold and wet, he won't want to be either.

I say in addition to the other suggestions because your attitude alone probably won't solve the problem. But it can help.


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## Aglass86 (Jan 21, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. We are working on the paper towel trick as well and not allowing to go back inside till business is done. It is hard sometimes looking into those 12 week old green eyes that are pining to go back inside. 

But we will stay strong and are looking forward till he WANTS to go out in the snow, sleet, and rainy weather of Seattle. 

Thanks again all!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

We live in The Lake District (UK) and the reason we have the lakes is....rain! lots of it!, We overcame Ruby's aversion to going outside by making it fun for her, taking her favourite toy of the time out with us and tossing it onto the lawn, and as Ozkar said, outlasting her until she'd done her business, followed up with lots of praise and cuddles.


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

We has the same problem with Jack. We did the same thing that Ozkar recommended, we didnt let Jack come in until he went. While out there we would keep saying "Go Potty" over and over and over again until he finally went. And when he did go we you tell him "Good Jack!" and give him a treat. Now everytime we say "Potty" he hikes that leg even if he doesnt have to go!! Once he was fully potty trained we stop with the treats everytime he went. We give him a treat every now and then. Holding out and giving positive words back with a treat seemed to help us A LOT!

Good Luck


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## vicwineguy (Jan 27, 2012)

redbirddog said:


> My dogs even at 3 and 4 years old don't like to go out in the rain at home. But take them out walking off leash and they are in heaven.


Also from the pacific northwest and yes v's don't like to get wet. One of them was reluctant to do any of her business on lead, from a very early age. I wonder if I had shown more strength if she would have worked it out (no pun intended). As it was, I let her off lead, she would take care of business (without straying) and come back on recall.

gravespinner


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