My puppy gets distracted outside. How to make her potty first?

You can try training Harley to urinate on command. When you take her for a walk bring some high-value treats. Pick a command to use. Once she starts urinating, give her the command and reward her with the high-value treats. Make sure to do this consistently every single time. Some dogs can be trained in this fashion so that when you give the command to urinate, they do. Dogs are individuals however and some will take to this and some will not. Otherwise it may not be realistic that you can expect her to potty outside right away. If she is urinating in the house, when you take her outside and she does not go after 15 minutes, carry her back to her crate and put her in the crate for 30 minutes. Then carry her back outside for another 15 minutes. You repeat this until she potties outside. Praise and reward her and then she can have freedom in the house. Most pets will catch on to this quickly.

Just keep trying! You may need to get in a routine of walking him in the same place, preferably with minimal distractions, like a small yard or a private area. Walk in large circles and repeat a phrase like "go potty" over and over until he goes. When he does, give him lots of praise, a special treat, then continue on your walk to more exciting places. Puppies do not come leash trained, and it may take several more months for him to get use to walking with something attached to his body.

Harley is very little still so may be a bit confused as to what she needs to be doing. Puppies are also VERY easily distracted as everything is new to them! It may be that you are not giving her enough time outside to give her the chance to go. You may need to be outside a good 15-20 minutes with her (even if she urinates) until she gets the urge to go and successfully goes potty outside. Running her around with a toy or on a leash can help exercise and get things moving. If she doesn't go, then bringing her inside, waiting 30-60 minutes, and then going right back out and trying again will give her plenty of opportunity to go potty outside. If she does go, offer lots of praise and treats to help her learn that both urine and stool should be done outside!

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, there are things that you can do. I recommend treats. It all comes down to positive reinforcement. Puppies love treats so you just need to make sure you associate these commands with positive things such as treats to distract him. It will require persistence and consistency so stay there, you are doing well. Puppies just require some time while they learn but he will get there. Good luck and have a good evening!

Put him on a leash and take him outside to his designated spot. Do not walk around. Just stand there and repeat "go outside" or a similar phrase. As soon as he starts to go, repeat "go outside" and praise "good dog!" as he goes. When he is finished, or if it appears that he is not going to go, bring him inside but do not remove the leash, e3ven if he has done his business. Attach it to your belt loop and keep him with you. Don’t let him out of your sight! When you see him start to circle or sniff, take him right outdoors again and repeat the process. If he does mess in the house, do not scold him unless you actually catch him in the act. In that case, say "NO!" and take him right outside. Tell him to "go outside" and praise as he finishes. Keep him in a crate at night, or for short periods when you are not at home. For further assistance, click on the prompt to start a consult, where we can discuss this at length.

If there is a specific pattern in the behaviour then re-organising the routine may help to rebuild a new pattern. Getting her to come, sit and receive a treat somewhere else in the house and then putting on the leash as he praises her may help to bypass the behaviour until she builds up more confidence. Revisiting basic recall/sit/wait training during walks and ball play by with may help to improve her confidence also

If there are a lot of distractions in the yard it may be better to go in some kind of an enclosed pen. You could also work on a command like 'look at me' or something similar where she makes eye contact with you inside and then practice outside. If she is wandering off you may also want to consider simply having her on a long lead when she's out in the yard - that way you can draw her towards you to get her attention and begin training again. Keep in mind that younger dogs do better with more frequent, shorter training sessions since their attention span may not be as long as an older dog.