Pottying off leash at night

The Yoga Chick

I have a five month old puppy and so far (knock on wood) housetraining is going well. She hasn't had an accident in the house in over a month. (again, knock on wood). She is getting pretty good about going to the back door when she wants to go out, etc.

We have a fenced in backyard. We have been taking her out on a leash to make sure she goes. Lately, in the morning, I will get her out of her crate, take her outside, let her off her leash and she will go potty right away and come running back to me. She usually does okay during the day, too, doing her business and then going back to playing, etc.

However, for the last trip out at night, she will just lay down and try to go to sleep either in the grass or on our back patio. She will not run out in the yard and go on her own at night even with me on the patio watching. I have to physically take her to the back of the year and walk her around until she goes.

Any advice on how to get her to go on her own at night?

Thanks!

Binkalette

Is there a yard light or anything you can do to illuminate the yard more?

fawkese1

my thoughts are that you are just going to have to keep at it for a while longer...
have you been putting it on a cue yet? that may help...

The Yoga Chick

The backyard is pretty well lit with some porch lights and a few flood lights. She just likes to sleep on my patio--lights of no lights.

We have been working on pottying on cue (she doesn't always do it, though.) If I say "Go potty," she knows what it is and will do it, but at night she is usually half asleep and more interested in sleeping than pottying. In the morning, I let her off her leash and say "go potty" and she runs and does her business.

I know she isn't an expert at this, yet, but I just wanted to get some advice from you guys.

Thanks and I will keep at it.

aud

My puppy is about the same age and just recently started getting stubborn about going on command. I've found that bringing back treats has helped motivate her sometimes (but not all the time).

Ironically, I'm going to have the opposite problem as you as I am taking down her "puppy area" fence and am letting her have full roam of my small fenced yard (she already jumps over the small, garden fence when we are out there during the day but usually stays close at night, or I block her if she heads to her favorite jumping-over spot). However, I don't want her wandering the whole yard at night as we often have skunks, groundhogs, stray cats and who knows what else around. So, I am going to have to train her to go while on the leash at night, which she doesn't like to do at the moment, even with treats offered. Anyway, good luck. =)

The Yoga Chick

Thanks for the link, but that is not my overall issue. She is doing okay with the housebreaking and such...it is just the nighttime trip we are having some issues with.

And good luck, aud. Having a puppy is a challenge, for sure!

Huckabees

Ahoy,

Are you waking her up while she's sleeping in order to take her out? Maybe she doesn't have to go at that time. You might try postponing your routine nightly trip outside by fifteen minutes to an hour. Most puppies at age five months can hold their urine for about six hours.