How To Train A Dog To Pee On Command
08 Feb 2010
You can teach your dog a lot of different commands. Commands such as “stay” are useful, and some like “come” are potentially life saving. There are a number of other commands that may not be as important, but they are very convenient. My favorite is to teach my dog to pee when I ask him to.
Why would I want to do that? I used to compete in obedience and agility competitions, and if my dog urinated in the ring, we were heavily penalized. I taught my dog to urinate on command, and before we went in the competition ring, I’d take him for a walk, ask him to pee, and I’d be confident he’d not cost us points by doing it at the wrong time.
There are also some other times it is useful. As an example, late at night, when you are tired, the last thing you will want to do is wait for your dog to eventually empty his bladder. If your dog can pee on command, you will be back inside and in your bed very quickly.
You may be visiting your vet, and your vet may need a urine sample. No problems, take your dog outside, ask him to pee, and come back in with a freshly voided sample for testing. It really is a useful behavior for your dog to learn.
Although your dog may not always pee immediately when told to, he will go to the toilet quicker than if he had not been trained.
You can train your puppy to go when you ask it to at the same time as you are toilet training him. It’s easier for him to learn at the same time as he learns where his toileting area is when you’re potty training a puppy. However, older dogs are just as capable of learning this command.
Take your dog outside to his toileting area, and as he urinates, give him whatever command you’ve chosen - it could be “toilet” or “pee” or even “tinkle”. It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re consistent, and use the same command every time.
When your dog urinates, give it lots of praise and cuddles. That way, while he’s learning where he’s allowed to pee, he’s also associating it with your command.
You’ll need to give him this command every time he urinates, and reward him when he gets it right. This means you’ll have to do this when you’re out walking, or at the beach. You could get some odd looks from some people, but don not let a chance go by to reinforce what your command means.
Commands like “sit” or “drop” are very quick to teach using food, however training your dog to pee on command can be a slow process. It will take time, repetition and a lot of patience, and in some cases, dogs do not ever “get it”. Dogs are clever though, and in most cases, they eventually learn. When your dog gets it. providing your dog has something in it's bladder, it will be very willing to do as you ask. Taking him or her to go potty last thing at night will be so much more convenient.