housetraining confusion

Question
Hello Kristen.

I have a 6 month old chihuahua /mini pinscher mix. She is a very smart girl and she catches on to learning things very quickly. Originally we trained her on a pad outside the door because we live in a 3 story walk up in NYC. We don't have private access to a yard or anything, and this made training her difficult. It took about a month to fully train her. Before it gets very cold and starts to snow I'd like her to be trained to go outside. I went home to Austin and realized that she LOVES to play in the grass and use the bathroom in the grass. So I came back to NYC and have been trying to take her often and get her to use the bathroom outside. I am confused because I will take her out and she will poop almost immediately, but she will not pee. She will literally be crying because she has to pee so bad, and no matter how long I wait, she can wait me out even longer-- I once waited with her for 3 hours!! Once we would go back in the apartment she would go on the pad outside the door. I have now removed the pad, and the poor pup is so confused. She will just pee on the floor and look confused and tries to punish herself with her ears back and goes to the corner. What I don't understand is that she HAS peed outside after pooping, and she received treats for each individual action; she was very proud and pranced about. But then the next day she'll have an accident. Is it just going to take more time? So far I've only been trying this full force for about a week now. I am confused! She is a rather stubbourn mix though. Also, she is getting spayed tomorrow. Will this slow her down in terms of knowing to go outside? Or will it effect it at all? Thanks for your help.

-Kristen

Answer
Hello, Kristen! I would recommend taking the pad outside with you and putting it on the ground. She already knows to use the pad, so when she does pee on it, praise her just as you do when she poops outside. Gradually make the pad smaller and smaller (cut about an inch off, all the way around, every 2-3 days), until she is peeing just on the grass. If you can, block off her access to the spot by the door where the pad used to be, so she cannot pee on the floor where it was. It sounds like you've done a very good job of training her to use the pads, so you shouldn't have too hard a time training her to go outside.

Spaying can *sometimes* cause accidents, but those accidents are more involuntary than her actually getting up and just peeing on the floor. You will have to keep her pretty quiet for several days, which means you'll have to carry her up and down stairs, and not allow her to run and jump and exert herself. Also, no long walks.