House-trained dog won't go to the bathroom outside after moving
Relocating often causes house-trained dogs to refuse to eliminate outside, leading them to relieve themselves indoors instead—even during the night or immediately after being placed on the grass. This sudden regression leaves owners exhausted, worried, and unsure how to get their pets back on a normal outdoor routine.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1keeping them on short leashes
- 2putting them on longer leases
- 3taking them out separately
- 4taking them out together
- 5standing on one spot
- 6walking them around
- 7having different people try to take them out
- 8keeping bedroom doors closed
- 9crating when leaving
- 10trying a quick walk around the block instead of standing in the yard
- 11restricting water an hour before bed
- 12Initially training on pee pads and later transitioning to a real grass patch on the balcony
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I can't get either to go to the bathroom outside...”source ↗
“I'm kind of at my wits' end. 😬”source ↗
“I just don't know what to do at this point.”source ↗
“I'm just looking for suggestions or wondering if anyone else has ever dealt with this, because right now I'm exhausted and worried over it.”source ↗
“ever since he has been doing his business indoors while everyone is asleep.”source ↗
“everytime I take him before everyone goes to bed, he doesn’t want to go, I physically move him onto the grass to do his business but he still won’t no matter how long I wait”source ↗
“So naturally he goes does his business inside the house.. I’m not sure what to do.”source ↗
“Recently, I started taking him downstairs to teach him to potty outside. Even when I take him out right after a crate nap, when I know he needs to pee, he often refuses and holds it. Sometimes he eventually pees (maybe 50% of the time), but other times he gets overstimulated by the busy environment, gets zoomies, and won’t go until we return home.”source ↗
“Has anyone successfully transitioned a puppy from balcony grass/pee pads to outdoor pottying?”source ↗
“Should I stop allowing the balcony grass altogether, or continue using it while teaching him outside? How long should I wait outside before giving up? And is 5 months still a normal age to be struggling with this?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why does my dog pee inside right after a walk?
- 2Why does my puppy pee indoors right when I come home?
- 2Why does my dog carry water in their mouth and spill it everywhere?
- 9How to handle puppy night potty breaks in a two story house
- 3Freaking out seeing worms in puppy stool after deworming
- 25Why does my dog refuse to potty outside?