My daughter recently moved with her large mix breed male dog, to a home without a fenced yard. The yard is supposed to be fenced by June 1. He is used to having the freedom of using his favorite spot in our back yard to poop, off the leash, in a fenced yard. Her dog will not poop while on the leash. She has taken him for long walks in the new neighborhood and he will not poop for her. He also is not having accidents in the house but cries and whines in the house until she takes him over to the old house to use his favorite spot. What is a good way to train him to defecate while on the leash?

Thanks.

Thank you for your question! It is not unusual for dogs accustomed to relieve themselves off leash to refuse to do so on leash.

My first suggestion is to increase the length of the leash. Your dog may not feel comfortable going next to you. Some dogs prefer privacy. I am not a fan of retractable leashes but in this case you may find one useful. The better choice is a long line. Make sure that the line is long enough that you can guarantee that you can get to the end of it before your dog gets away. You will find that distance helps. Try to resist the temptation to take him back to his familiar spot. I have worked with dogs that have gone as long as long as 36 hours before relieving themselves.

Your second option is to take him back to his familiar spot as long as it is still available to you. Condition him to a ‘command to eliminate’. This means to follow him to the place that he prefers and as he is sniffing and circling repeat a phrase such as ‘be quick’, ‘go potty’ or ‘do your business’. He will begin to associate this phrase with the urge to potty.

I hope that people reading this post will understand the importance of teaching the puppy to be comfortable relieving himself on leash. While it is great to have the option to have the dog run free in the backyard, it doesn’t help him much in ‘on leash’ situations.

Thank you for your question. Please let me know if this helps! Margaret Davis