I just need to vent here a minute. So I live in a fourplex in a very walkable, vibrant neighborhood. We have a big, beautiful grassy space right in front of our apartment, but unfortunately, we do not have a private fenced or gated space. I never thought this would be a problem as I know of and see many apartment renters with dogs, and with our grass, I thought doing the potty thing would be easy-peasy. I didn’t realize beforehand what a pain it would be to potty a puppy who is distracted by l i t e r a l l y e v e r y t h i n g. A leaf can move two millimeters and her potty concentration is gone. When someone walks by, a car starts, someone on a skateboard goes whizzing by, a dog barks 18 blocks away she’s lost her urge to poo. It is SO frustrating and I wonder sometimes if I’m letting her down because she doesn’t have her own private place to potty or run around. Anyone else relate?
Apartment Potty Rant
- Thread starter eliana123
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- house training puppy 101
lessiebelle
New member
@eliana123 You're definitely not letting her down! Most of the things that you mentioned would also come up with a private yard, and just continuing to put the reps in each and every potty break will desensitize her very well. One training tip you can try is teaching her a solid "look at me" when you're inside the apartment, and then practicing it outside, eventually working up for her to be able to do it even with environmental distractions.
@lessiebelle Thank you. This makes me feel so much better! I am definitely going to work on “look at me”.
@eliana123 I am having the same issue, and I would imagine most people with dogs in more urban areas have this problem also. Whenever my pup gets distracted it’s like she needs to start her process all over. I’ve definitely found that bringing her to a quieter patch of grass (if available) has helped and also giving set time limits, say five minutes, for potty breaks so she separates that time in her mind from our walks. Still a work in progress but getting better!
@gjmoody69 Yeah, it’s so tough. There are just so, so many distractions. Tonight, my upstairs neighbor was playing video games and was legit screaming. I think it was really freaking her out. There is a patch of wood chips down the street a bit that is quieter but she gets a glimpse of the dog park so I really just can’t win 
docskeptic
New member
@eliana123 This is very real! My puppy can go at my place just fine now that she’s used to the sounds and sights of our neighborhood, but my parents’ place - which is in a much busier area and very close to a busy street - is another story. It took her six visits to finally poop outside while there. Just set time limits so the distracted wandering doesn’t get out of hand, know that there will likely be some accidents, give lots of praise, and stick with it!
@docskeptic Thank you for the tips! What’s utterly insane is she went immediately in the right spot in my parents’ backyard. They have her brother so we go over for play dates often. The very first day, she went to their designated potty spot and went. Since, it’s her favorite thing to do, other than boss her brother around 