Puppy Peeing On Patio

[auir]

Hi All

New to the forums and have a question (there will probably be many over time hehe)

I have a boy puppy border collie - 16 weeks old now - for the past 2 or 3 weeks he has started to occasionally pee on the patio rather than on the grass like he normally does. Now the majority of the time he goes some where in the yard, but lately he has been getting lazy and peeing right infront of his food/water or right next to where he sleeps. I have been cleaning it up with paper towel and then using a spray that removes the enzymes so the patio isnt marked as a place to pee, i also have been hosing down the patio on the weekends. After hosing down he is good for a day or two then starts peeing on the patio again. Since winter is coming up and the patio and the garage are the only dry places when it rains im a bit conerned about him sitting or playing in his own pee all day (although he likes running around in the rain so i guess thats not a problem since he most likely wont be on the patio )

Is there any ideas to what i can do to stop him from doing this or is it something he will grow out of in time?

Cheers

[poodlefan]

Is there any ideas to what i can do to stop him from doing this or is it something he will grow out of in time?

Cheers

Pups dont tend to grow out of many behaviours. You have to train them out of them. If you want him to toilet in a particular area, you'll need to be regularly taking him there and rewarding the behaviour.

Left to his own devices, he'll pee where ever takes his fancy. If you really don't want him peeing on the patio, I suggest you install a barrier to keep him off.

Edited May 7, 2009 by poodlefan

[Red Fox]

Kei took to peeing on the door mat for a while when he was about the same age. If I caught him doing it in time (which was 90% of the time as he was always supervised outside at that age) I told him no and put him on the grass, then gave him his 'toilet' command. If he peed on the mat no reward, but if he peed on the grass he got a treat. Didn't take him long to figure it out

As PF said though, If you're not there to train/reward him regularly when he does go in the right place then you might find that the habit it hard to break.

[Danois]

I told him no and put him on the grass, then gave him his 'toilet' command. If he peed on the mat no reward, but if he peed on the grass he got a treat. Didn't take him long to figure it out

You have to be careful about reprimanding the dog for peeing in the wrong spot - hard to do but remember - a dog will think you are telling it off for going to the toilet - it does not know necessarily where is an allowable spot.

If it is an issue then take puppy out to toilet on a lead and go to the grass and use the toilet command. Praise and reward etc.

[Red Fox]

You have to be careful about reprimanding the dog for peeing in the wrong spot - hard to do but remember - a dog will think you are telling it off for going to the toilet - it does not know necessarily where is an allowable spot.

If it is an issue then take puppy out to toilet on a lead and go to the grass and use the toilet command. Praise and reward etc.

Yes, you're right. I probably didn't explain that too well

I would only tell him 'no' when I thought he was about to pee, ie sniffing/circling or getting into that position that they do. BUT I would never yell at him or reprimand mid-stream -too late by then- only ever a quiet 'no' or 'uh-uh' to distract him and then moved onto the grass. If the puppy has already started to go then it's too late to do much at all except kick yourself for not watching them closer.

The lead is a good idea. Maybe you just need to go back to basics for a while and use lots of treats and praise until he gets it.

[auir]

thanks for the replies

yeah thats pretty much what i have been doing, ie reward him when he goes on the grass just wasnt sure if there was anything else i should be doing etc

thanks once again