Dog Community

Do your Business!

Posted : 5/9/2006 1:32:34 PM

Have any of your trained a dog to "do their business" (go the bathroom) on command?

I have some friends that have a couple of seeing-eye dog flunkies (still VERY WELL trained...just didn't make the cut) and they were taught to go the bathroom on command. I had never seen this before. I knew you could train a dog to go relieve itself in a particular place, but on command too, that was pretty cool. Being able to tell the dog to relieve itself prior to bed, or a long drive...it just seemed to have some good value.

So I read up on it and talked to some of the trainers at the seeing-eye dog program, and basically as you probably all are aware it starts when they are puppies. Looooooooong story short, we tried it on our pup last year and it worked very well. We were pretty consistent and she is pretty good about it. She isn't as good at the command as say our friends dogs, but she still does very well. We can tell her at night before going to bed to GO DO YOUR BUSINESS and she will go to the door, out the garage, through her kennel out the doggie door and over to the gravel area and relieve herself and then come back in.

Anyway, my question is...has anyone tried this on an older dog? Is it possible? Its easier on a puppy because they go the bathroom fairly consistently it seems every 3-4 hrs so you can get the repitition in and you can somewhat accurately predict when they will go (well sorta). But with an older dog...they can hold it for much longer and I didn't feel crating them was the answer because the time frame would be too long. (but maybe I'm wrong).

My question is, has anyone trained an older dog to relieve themselves on command? If so, what technique did you use?

Thanks!!

miranadobe

Posted : 5/9/2006 3:26:27 PM

I tried this on my Dobe as a puppy, but without much effect. I know I said it every time and praised her every time, but no real correlation in her mind. She goes when she wants/is ready/finds just the right spot. Maybe because I didn't get her until she was 11 weeks old?

I did know a dog trainer who could send his dog to any particular spot and have him pee or poop on command. He could even send them over near a particular person and have him do it. The dog had quite an extensive repertoire of known commands... Quite a good trick at parties! [

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spiritdogs

Posted : 5/9/2006 4:11:50 PM

Threeof my five dogs (the three youngest) are trained to go on command. It really isn't that hard, it's just that humans aren't consistent with the training. It's really quite easy - and a great pleasure on snowy New England days :-)

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miranadobe

Posted : 5/9/2006 5:00:11 PM

Yes, it was most likely me not training right. I wasn't exactly sure how to "teach" it without bringing her to her designated pee spot, saying the command (hurry), and praising her with the command word in the praise ("good hurry!") when she did pee. It wasn't that important to me after she got past house-breaking, so I didn't pursue. I wouldn't mind trying it again on a future pup. Any suggestions on how to train it with effectiveness?

loveukaykay

Posted : 5/9/2006 5:54:02 PM

Kayla always went when I said "go pee pee". She eventually made it into a game, like when she didnt have to go I would say it and she would squat for a second then jump up wagging her tail, like that was fun... so I would say yay! good girl!!! and go pee pee!!! again in a very excited voice and she'd do it again... [

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loveukaykay

Posted : 5/9/2006 5:55:41 PM

Baileys getting it.

When you bring the dog out just keep saying it every once in a while while they are walking around smelling stuff then when they go make a big deal and say it while they are doing it. Just do that every time. Or, at least thats how I do it, but it works.

miranadobe

Posted : 5/9/2006 6:26:24 PM

Yup, did that. Which is why we chose "hurry" as her command word...so that I wouldn't feel silly saying "pee pee" a dozen times while my nosy neighbors watched. Just never seemed to "take" with any immediate effect. I mean, she's nosing around the whole time looking for a place to pee, but it can be 5 minutes before she finally squats, she could get distracted by anything, etc. To me, that wasn't peeing on command.

And, oh my gosh, the image of little Kayla squatting for a second and jumping up wagging her tail is SOO cute! [

] BTW - the pic of Bailey spread-eagle on the couch makes me smile every time I see your signature! How adorable!

sierra2002

Posted : 5/9/2006 7:31:11 PM

Sierra sorta pees/poops on command. I don't have a back yard, so when I take her outside to her spot, I always say "hurry up", and sometimes she will eliminate immediately, other times she will search for 5 minutes then eliminate.

If I say "hurry up" to her and she doesn't need to pee, she will also do a fake squat, just to make me happy. She squats then looks at me, as if asking if I'm satisfied.

I've found that my "hurry up" command is not really a "pee/poop.. now" command, but rather "it's OK to pee/poop here" kind of communication. When I take her to pet stores, I find a piece of grass outside the building and say "hurry up" and if she needs to, she will go. If not, she looks at me. Same thing when we're travelling. I took her on a 13 hour trip last year, and every time I took her to grass and said "hurry up" to her, she peed.
I've found that his command is more useful than I initially intended it to be, because now she will not pee anywhere without my "hurry up" (it's OK to pee here) command. Which means that I can pretty much take her anywhere without worrying that she will piddle on someone's carpet.

Now to actually answer your question... I didn't actually start training this until she was about a year old. When I started, I just said "hurry up" when she was peeing/pooping. I guess she just eventually connected the two.

Not sure I was much help, but I just figured I'd share my own experiences [

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loveukaykay

Posted : 5/10/2006 1:31:52 AM

Its the same with Bailey, she just fools around for as long as she wants and gets distracted at anything and everything, but I just keep on saying it periodically and then when she does pee I get all excited saying peepee!! ooo peepee!! good girl peepee!! and all that. I dont have neighbors who can hear me lol, but I would do the same with "hurry". They do get distracted, but I think with enough consistency they will get it. Its not as easy a thing to get them to catch on to b/c you cant make them pee. I would just keep saying it like you have been... and shell get it sooner or later.

Yup, Kayla was so funny, she was always sooooo happy and full of life. Happiest, tail wagginest thing on earth [sm=angel.gif]

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 5/10/2006 12:13:49 PM

At the risk of sounding like a *blond in training* here [

] what happens if, when you give the command, they just plain don't have to go? Or is there a chance you could wind up with a dog who thought he couldn't pee unless someone told him it was OK first?

Joyce & Max

loveukaykay

Posted : 5/10/2006 1:39:05 PM

I guess they may squat just to make you happy or just not do anything. I dont know about that second one... I dont think so tho unless you scolded them for going when you didnt say it, I wouldnt think they would feel they couldnt without you saying it.

Josh Sutton

Posted : 5/10/2006 10:47:23 PM

I've read that some dogs do get that way...feel they can't go unless they are told, but I would think that isn't very common.
From personal experience...our friends that have the seeing-eye dog flunkies...if you told them to "do their business" it was sorta funny because they would try anyways. And I think that was the point was to make the dog aware of that "function" so go now if you have to go!

Thanks for the feedback on your experiences. I love forums like this!

Justine Freeman

Posted : 5/10/2006 11:29:39 PM

Marley is pretty consistent about peeing/pooping on command. We are always working on it! He pees when I say "go potty" and poops when I say "more potty." I only tell him to go when i know he has to. DH is always amazed at how I know when he has to go. Marley gives me little signs...it's hard to explain.[

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As far as an older dog...it's worth a try. Maybe it could be clicker trained...that's how we got Marley to continue to "pee like a girl" we rewarded him when he did it!

Okay...I take it all back...he'll pee on command, but only poop on command when he's off lead. I am having some trouble with on lead potty.

Stephanie Book

Posted : 5/10/2006 11:48:10 PM

I never taught Cassidy any commands to go when she was a puppy, but started using "Exercise" when she was a little older ( just cause I didn't think of it before) and I'm not sure if she ever really learned it, but when I say it, I guess she knows to go potty, she doesn't always do it right away.

I'm raising a service dog puppy, and started teaching her to go on command since I got her. I use 'hurry' with her; that's what they say to do. She pretty much knows it and will go when I tell her, but sometimes will be distracted by other stuff. If I keep hold on the leash and not walk to keep her in a somewhat small circle, she'll go once she's not distracted anymore. It's helpful though, and she always gets praise when she does it [

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