Potty Issues

[Amy & Evan]

Dakota is 8 months old now has been potty trained for quite some time. However, sometimes he will cry by the door which is how he tells us he has to go outside, and when I take him out to let him pee or poop and just won't do anything. He just tries to eat absolutely everything on the ground instead... after 15 minutes of waiting for him to do anything I take him back inside, and as soon as we are in he cries again. I take him out again, and same thing - again. He sometimes will only pee in the morning and then won't pee again until supper time, but he is drinking water because I fill the water dish up a few times a day.

We had him neutered back in July, but he was doing this before he got neutered so I don't think it's related to that. I really have no idea what the deal is, and was wondering if anyone knows if this is just a puppy thing or has anyone else experienced this?

We do exercise him everyday to get his energy out, either walking him or playing in the backyard off leash, so it's not like he isn't getting enough stimulation.. I do play with him quite a bit in the house throughout the day as well.

 

[Hanne]

When Minnie was about the same age, she did not want to do "things" in our garden anymore
- neither in our town garden nor in our big garden in the summerhouse
- I can read that this is not uncommon with a Sheltie

So I go for a long walk in the morning where she does "things" - a short pee trip around dinner
- again a longer trip before dinner where she usually does both - a short pee trip before going to bed.

Minnie´s gardens are for play only

 

[Piper's mom]

I never had a problem getting Piper to go pee (our biggest problem was marking) but when I got him neutered at 2 (6 months ago) he'll only pee in the yard if he really has to go or if I promise him a treat but he'll always pee on a walk, he could easily go 12 hours without peeing if I let him (drives me crazy because this was never an issue before neutering. I might add that it's not enough to just physically tire a Sheltie, they need mental stimulation as well (it could be that your boy is just bored and just wants to go outside to play), I do obedience with Piper and I can tell you that a couple of 30 minute sessions /day and my boy is pooped but happy!
I read an interesting article regarding walking a dog, it was interesting because it combined walking your dog with a few obedience exercises. It said to do a brisk 1 minute walk then stop and have the dog do 10 reps of sits to downs then another brisk 1 minute walk then 10 sits downs to stands...continuing for 10 minutes total walking time stopping every minute and mixing it up with the sits/downs (or whatever your dog can do. This will tire your dog out way more than just a walk would.

 

[Ann]

Dakota is training you! He wants to be outside, either eating things, playing or just enjoying himself and has learned that when he cries, you'll take him out. It's an easy mistake we make when puppies are being house trained to rush them outside where they have fun. I have one that still does this at age 2. She'll stand in front of me and bark, once, in her demanding voice. If I know she doens't have to go, a stern "no" tells her she's not going.

The problem with puppies is that we're never sure if they really do have to go. If you know Dakota has already gone, distract him with another command such as "sit" or "lie down" or throw a toy for him inside. If he persists, try "no". Otherwise you'll be spending your day opening the door for him!

 

[Amy & Evan]

I never had a problem getting Piper to go pee (our biggest problem was marking) but when I got him neutered at 2 (6 months ago) he'll only pee in the yard if he really has to go or if I promise him a treat but he'll always pee on a walk, he could easily go 12 hours without peeing if I let him (drives me crazy because this was never an issue before neutering. I might add that it's not enough to just physically tire a Sheltie, they need mental stimulation as well (it could be that your boy is just bored and just wants to go outside to play), I do obedience with Piper and I can tell you that a couple of 30 minute sessions /day and my boy is pooped but happy!
I read an interesting article regarding walking a dog, it was interesting because it combined walking your dog with a few obedience exercises. It said to do a brisk 1 minute walk then stop and have the dog do 10 reps of sits to downs then another brisk 1 minute walk then 10 sits downs to stands...continuing for 10 minutes total walking time stopping every minute and mixing it up with the sits/downs (or whatever your dog can do. This will tire your dog out way more than just a walk would.

Thanks for your advice, I do training with him almost everyday which he really enjoys. He knows a lot of tricks and commands and loves to learn new tricks too, and I am thinking of putting him in agility training. We use the kong feeder toys everyday as well.. I've never owned a sheltie before, all I've had before was a pug for fourteen years, and they are very different dogs. The main problem is that he even does this first thing in the morning when I know for sure he has to pee or poop.