My dog with only pee and poo in the backyard if there is snow.

[TiffanyRayne]

Why won't dog pee and poo in the backyard unless there is snow on the ground?

I have a 3 year old girl which came to our home at 8 weeks old in November 2007. We were pleasantly surprised that she has very few accidents in the home at all as she quite enjoyed the back yard and such.

Around April 2009 she stated peeing and pooing in the house (the snow had melted). We tried working through many reasons, crate trained her, and various different practices. She can hold it, she will hold it for days it seems as we now have different areas of the house boarded off to prevent her just going where no one is looking.

Come November 2009 the snow fell again. For the next 4 months there wasn't a single accident in the house. Snow melted and we were back to square one. This now happens each year.

We have tried everything short of getting our own snow maker for the back yard in order to ensure that she goes outside to do her business. We have put carpets outside, she seems to have no problem peeing on the carpets inside so it was a hope, but we just can't understand why she won't go outside in the backyard unless there is snow on the ground.

Please any ideas you may have? So frustrated here.

 

[Rebecca4614]

Wow... I deal with clients with a lot of strange housebreaking issues, and this is one I've never heard before!

If she was initially housetrained during the winter, maybe instead of making the normal association that she's supposed to potty outside, she learned that she was supposed to go on snow, so, when the snow disappeared, so did her housebreaking. Sounds like the poor girl is mighty confused!

Generally, when dogs don't want to go potty out in the yard, which is pretty common with dogs who have been trained on potty pads or dogs who are used to always going potty on a walk, I'd suggest taking a weekend or another chunk of a couple of days when you can be with her 24/7 and doing umbilical cord training, where she's with you on a leash at all times in the house and she only has freedom to roam around and go potty when she's outside. Sounds like you may have already tried something like that if you say that you've found she can hold it for days on end. If you haven't done that and want to give it a shot, you should be sure to watch her carefully when she's outside so you can really praise her when you see her go.

Another option might be to have another dog come to visit... if she sees another dog going potty in the yard, it might encourage her to do the same.

If your yard is enclosed and there's no risk of escaping, you could also do a more hardcore program as a last resort... as a temporary measure, you can try keeping her outside a LOT. Have her inside with you at times when you can keep her with you on a leash so there are no opportunities for her to have accidents, but keep her outside at all other times (overnight, when you're at work, etc.).

I suspect if you could get her to go outside a few times, she'd stop the "I'll hold it 'til I explode" stuff, then you could just do a normal re-housebreaking program with her and she'd probably do fine.

I hope this helps... hang in there!

Good luck with her!

 

[cygray73]

I have the same exact problem with my year old dog. She was difficult to house train all last year, then the snow started in Dec and she did great all winter. Now it's melting and she's stopped going outside again. I don't know if it is because the ground is wet or what. It's seriously getting out of hand though. I hate to leave her crated so much.

 

[scrofford]

I have never heard of that! Wow! Maybe try leashing her and taking her for walks on a regular schedule. When you take her out for a walk, stop constantly and tell her to go potty. Take her out several times a day. When she isn't on a walk, crate her, and make sure the crate is only big enough for her to stand up, turn around and lie down in.

It seems like maybe you need to go back to square one of potty training and go from there. She needs to come to the understanding that eliminating in the house is NOT the right thing to do.

I'm kinda at a loss for this one! Please let us know if you figure out something that works!