HELP!!!! (going outside issues)

[vanillasugar]

Okay so Sierra's been housetrained now for several months. No accidents, perfectly reliable.

Until the snow melted.

Now, she barks to go out, and once we get outside it's like she forgets why she wanted to go out in the first place, and just stands there looking around at things. We wait, ten minutes or so, walk her around a bit to try and get her focused back to the task at hand, but she doesn't go.

So we take her back inside.

Repeat x3 or 4 (every 5 minutes or so) before she either a) gets so desperate to pee that she does it the instant she gets out the door (which she gets praised like crazy for) OR b) goes in the apartment.

I do NOT understand why she's doing this, or how to fix it.

She does have a command ("business") that we've used since day one, and it seems she's now ignoring us completley once we get outside.

I'm getting really REALLY tired of going up and down the several flights of stairs every five minutes (and my calves are starting to yell at me). Not to mention it's getting increasingly frustrating on our parts.

HELP!

Edit to add: I don't want her learning that she can ask to go out whenever she wants to just be outside to smell/look at things, as we don't have a backyard and can't be standing outside with her for hours a day. I feel that's what is starting to happen.

When she asks to go out, it should be because she has to pee or poop ONLY. We take her out for walks/playtime outside daily, it's not like she's lacking outside time.

[cinnamon]

Breezey has been doing the same thing at night. And I know she doesn't have to do anything because she went recently. It's like she's never seen grass before

I take her out and I just stand on the grass.If she has to pee she can go where I am. We don't walk, I don't let her roam and sniff.

Think how nice your legs will look come sumer, lol

[Dekka]

She has learned to 'go' on snow. She is lost with out the snow lol. (poor girl) Until she learns a new substrate preference to grass (or mud lol) I would go right back to the beginning, ie no letter her roam unwatched in the appt. This shouldn't take long.

[vanillasugar]

Ye think that's it? It seems more to me that she gets easily distracted by spring sights/smells (more squirrels to see, more people in the park, more birds in the trees, and SMELLS! she just sits there smelling the air) than not wanting to go on grass...

There are times where we take her out and she goes no problem, but then this happens 2 or 3 times a day.

[Dekka]

You have to remember sniffing is also a stress behaviour, as well as fun. This is a lot more common than you think.

(if your bathroom all of a sudden looked like a laundry room (for example), you might get distracted too)

[vanillasugar]

Hmmm good point, I didn't even consider the stress behaviour part of it.

We'll just have to work harder to keep reinforcing her good behavours, and re-train her.

Thanks

[vanillasugar]

Oookay so now I'm just confused again.

This afternoon/evening's rundown:

We've been taking her out every 10 minutes almost all night. She barks, paces and acts like she NEEDS to go out, she's desperate to go out if we ignore her longer than a few minutes.

Soon as we get out to the grass, she just stands there, staring at the park. Her tail is down, she looks... tense and stressed. I encourage her, using her word, trying to get her to focus on the task at hand, to no avail. (She has peed twice, after MUCH encouraging). At one point tonight she squatted like she was going to pee, but heard someone on the other side of the park and instantly bolted up and ignored that she was going to pee. I'm know she has to poop right now, and just ISN'T!

It's almost like she's afraid to go for some reason... I'm SO confused!!

I've given her some pumpkin, incase she's constipated, and some rescue for any stress she might be feeling. I don't know what else to do

Edit: OMG! She JUST POOPED IN THE APARTMENT!
I can't stop her once she's started, she's not the kind of dog you can interrupt. I'm at a loss. I took her out right before I posted this initially, and it's been not even 10 minutes. It did look like she was constipated though. ?!?!?!?!

[OutlineACDs]

Instead of letting her have the run of the apartment take her out to pee, if she doesn't bring her in and crate her. Then wait at least 30 mins before you try again. Use treats as a reward for pottying outside. Remeber, she doesn't go outside, no free time in the house until she does.

[Dekka]

I would crate too. It sounds like she is very confused by the lack of snow. My parents had a chessie pup that went through the same thing. Don't worry, once she figures this out it shouldn't be an issue again.

[vanillasugar]

Aww it's definatley the lack of snow

I found a patch of snow around the back of the building where there isn't much sunlight, and she peed as SOON as her feet touched it. Poor girl!