[piano71]

My dog is house trained in that she never goes inside (save for one accident in the middle of the night when I didn't heed her request to go outside). However, it seems she doesn't know she is "inside" when I take her to a weekly puppy play session at a nearby pet supply store.

She'll play with the other dogs for about 10-15 minutes, but then always pees or poops, in the store, on the concrete floor.

I've tried giving her plenty of outside time before going to the puppy play session so she can relieve herself, but about nine times out of ten she will still pee or poop at the puppy play session.

Anything else I can try to make sure she shows up with empty bladder and bowels???

 

[traciek88]

You could try to not feed her at least two hours before playtime, and also try to give her some playtime at home and let her go potty before she goes to the store. Vigorous activity often makes puppies have to go.

However, I have to say that doing that in the store...isn't that big a problem. Stella is the best housetrained dog I have--even as a puppy she rarely had any accidents. But at obedience school/playgroup? She went on the floor! To a dog the smell of canine urine and feces is like a neon sign that says "Toilet". Think about how many dogs must have gone that floor and how strong the toilet message of that store is! To her, the store doesn't smell like a normal "inside" space where she's learning not to go. If she doesn't go inside people's houses, then I think you can just let this slide.

 

[Shandula]

If it were me, after 5 or 10 minutes I would leash her up, and take her outside.

 

[piano71]

Interestingly, my dog never went to the bathroom during 12 one-hour obedience training sessions held in the same spot as the puppy play time.

Feeding schedule is at about 7:15AM and 5:15PM every day. The puppy play time is at 10AM. Is it better to alter the feeding schedule (which would require delaying a morning feeding by 4 hours) or try to get the dog to go to the bathroom before puppy play time? (I think the latter - everything I've read says dogs need consistent feeding times.)

As the weather gets warmer I might be able to get in a walk before puppy play time, which might help with clearing things out.

Usually, my dog wants to go outside first thing in the morning (around 6-7AM) and then comes back in with a zoomy/playful mood. This lasts about 5-10 minutes before she blows off steam and loses interest. So I do suspect the pee/poop at 10AM is from the morning food and water...?