Rusty thinks we go outside to catch the guy who is drilling holes in the ground. 

Spoiler Alert:  It’s chipmunks.

Rusty doesn’t know he’s supposed to do his dirty business, so we can go back inside and be comfortable.  How can somebody be convinced to go to the bathroom?

If Rusty doesn’t go when we are outside, then he’s going to do it in the house.  Unless I catch him in the act, he won’t learn that’s wrong.  Keeping him in his crate all the time is not good for crate training and doesn’t help him feel safe and welcome.

I am working the problem.

One approach I use is to take a piss to give Rusty the idea.  Laugh if you want, but it works.  

Take a piss with a dog on a leash, and he will investigate.  Spin slowly while pissing to avoid peeing on the dog’s head.  The dog is compelled to piss on the same spot to cover with his scent,  I guess.  Maybe it’s just contagious like yawning,  Doesn’t matter, it works.

A couple of seconds after that photo, Rusty looked at me with his, “I don’t know what I am supposed to do” expression.

I had anticipated Rusty’s confusion so hadn’t taken a wee this morning.  Shortly after this photo, I pissed on the tree, and then Rusty did also.  Without the demonstration, Rusty would have looked around a little more, then headed for the house.

A few related points:

A friend of mine lost 20 pounds when they got their Newfie.  The big dog needed exercise, so the walks were good for both of them.  When I got Sparky, my water bill went down 20 bucks because we were outside more often.  I piss if I’m out.  It’s the environmental thing to do, and my property is isolated, so public decency is maintained.

Sparky could model appropriate behavior, but on walks, he is more of a distraction.  Rusty races to catch up.  He may mark where Sparky pissed, but is too rushed to really let go.  Marking takes 2 seconds, and is a trivial amount of urine.  A good piss is over 5 seconds.

I’m not going to shit in the woods. 

If Rusty hasn’t taken a dump in a while, I have gone back in to get Sparky.  He has mastered the subject.  Sparky pisses and marks territory like a younger man, and will take a dump if he’s got one in the pipe.  It’s taken time to reach this level of understanding.

In the past, I’ve had to remind him.  “Hey Sparky, wanna take a dump while we are out here?”

“Yeah, thanks for asking.”

Now, when we are on a walk, when I give the ‘House!” command, Sparky knows to find a good spot in the weeds to dump before heading in.

It did take some time for Sparky to understand how important it was not to poop in the house.  He had the general idea, but didn’t appreciate the significance.  I’d never had a dog, so thought I was doing something wrong.

At one point, we’d gone for a long walk, and 20 minutes later, he pooped in the house.  That was entirely on him.  I put his poop in a deli container, poked holes in it. and locked it in the crate with him for the night. 

Everybody says that a dog won’t foul his own crate because that’s his den.  I assume that Sparky had a dreadful night, and that’s what I intended.  I don’t know if this was a good idea, but like I said, Sparky really understands bathroom work.

I’m going to drill some holes in a peanut jar just in case.

I do reward Rusty when he does either one while we are out.  I secretly reward Sparky every time Rusty gets a treat.

Once a dog gets potty trained there are no accidents.  Dogs have few ways to file a complaint, so will take a dump to let you know to get your act together.

An acquaintance of mine had a dog that was potty trained and knew the rules of the house.  The dog avoided detection as he snuck up the stairs and took a dump in their bedroom.  That’s a message, not an accident.

In the initial photo, Rusty looks like he should be on the cover of Vigilant Dog Monthly magazine.