As anyone who has ever had a dog will tell you, keeping one is much like having a child. You have to keep an eye out for strange behavior and even symptoms of common conditions. With these furry companions, you really never know when things will go south. And it doesn’t help that they are prone to eating moths, bottle caps, and a ton of other foreign objects.
That’s why when a pet owner notices that their dog won’t pee anywhere, but at home, it’s normal for them to get worried. It’s natural for such pet owners to automatically assume that their dog is sick or uncomfortable in some way. But is this an accurate diagnosis of the situation?
Well, we’re here to shed some light on the matter. In this article, we’re going to talk about why some dogs won’t pee anywhere but home, whether it’s bad behavior, and what you can do to stop it. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be thoroughly informed.
Why doesn’t my dog pee anywhere but home?
The most common reason why your dog will only pee at home is that they are used to the comfort and familiar environment of your home. So when you try to get them to pee somewhere else, they get nervous and can’t do it. This is particularly common when the place where you want them to pee has different surfaces and smells to the ones they’re used to at home.
In fact, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals even notes that a puppy is usually attracted to the smell of their own urine. This makes them prone to pee on the same spot over and over again. However, as puppies grow, they usually naturally overcome the fear of peeing away from home. If they continue to refuse to pee in other places apart from home, it’s possible that you inadvertently trained them to only pee at home.
Alternatively, it could indicate that your dog has had negative experiences while peeing in places away from home. For instance, someone may have shouted at your dog and yanked its leash while it was peeing on the sidewalk, making it fearful and anxious. While many dogs will take this kind of aggression as an indication that peeing on concrete is bad, others may assume it’s bad to pee anywhere that isn’t home.
How do I get my dog to pee somewhere else?
Positive reinforcement and repetition are key to training your dog to pee away from home. So to start you off, take your dog to a place they’ve never peed before and wait for them to do the deed. Once they pee, give them a treat and repeat the process in the same place and others after that.
To make this process more effective, take your dog to the spots around the time that they usually pee, particularly after they eat. This will reduce the amount of time you’ll have to wait for your dog to pee. Also, try to go to spots that they have visited or seen before, like parks in your neighborhood. Ultimately, the more familiar a place is, the more comfortable your dog will be peeing there.
Another way you can get your dog to pee away from home is to train them to go on command. This makes them relate peeing to your command rather than to a location. To make things easier, you can even start the training at home using a potty training grass pee pad before trying it out at local parks. Since such tools look a lot like real grass, they can be quite effective at helping your dog get used to peeing outside.
Why won’t my dog go to the bathroom in new places?
Just like humans, dogs don’t like change. So when they go to new places, they can be anxious and fearful, especially when they are still puppies. That’s why it can be hard for your dog to pee or poop in new places.
This situation is made worse if the new place doesn’t look or smell like any place they’ve been to before. So when you’re trying to get your dog to potty in a new place, be patient. Walk with them for a while and allow them to get used to all the new sights and scents they encounter. Even if you command them to pee and they don’t, don’t push it, try again another day.
It could simply mean that they don’t feel like going at that exact time. So just keep trying until they successfully go to the bathroom in the new place. And once they do, pet them or give them some treats so that the positive behavior is reinforced. Over time, your dog will get used to going peeing and pooping in the new place.
Is it a bad thing if my dog won’t pee anywhere else but at home?
While it’s not necessarily a bad thing that your dog won’t pee anywhere but home, it can be an inconvenience. This is particularly an issue when you travel with your dog – they may refuse to pee for hours, leading to urinary and bladder infections. Ultimately, traveling with a dog that refuses to pee away from home is a bad idea.
Even if you opt to stick your dog in a crate when they need to pee during your vacation and it works, you won’t have solved the key issue. Instead, you would just have trained your dog to pee in a crate. This means that throughout the vacation, you’ll have to place them in a crate for them to pee.
Ultimately, this is still a major inconvenience, particularly because it means you’ll have to carry a crate everywhere. So before you take your dog on vacation with you, ensure that they are potty trained and can pee even when they are away from home. While this may take some time, it will make the vacation much more enjoyable for both you and your dog.
Conclusion
If your dog won’t pee anywhere but home, we’re here to tell you that it’s common and usually doesn’t indicate any health problem. This behavior is particularly common among dogs who don’t leave their homes and neighborhoods often. So if you want your dog to get used to peeing in other places, it’s up to you to train them. With enough effort and patience, you can get even the youngest and the most anxious dogs to pee away from home.
