My dog won't pee or poop after moving to an apartment, what to do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | unspayed
My dog is house-trained, so she knows not to pee inside, but now we've moved into an apartment and can't always take her outside to pee when she needs to. We've tried keeping her inside for a day and using beaphar Puppy Trainer, plus people said to give her a place to poop, take her there frequently, and limit her area. Doing this makes me worried, though, because she's really not peeing/pooping!
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 6th, 2019
Definitely moving to an apartment can change a pets training behavior. I recommend kennel training Siao-lyn. You can find many great resources online and dog training books. Kennel training her is likely going to be the best way to housebreak her. Sometimes dogs do need a refreshing course in housebreaking when their home environment changes. An adult dog should be able to hold their urine and stool for 8 to 12 hours. Treat her just like she is a little puppy all over again. The only word of caution I will say, is if you are noticing that she is urinating in the house you should take her to the veterinarian to have her urine checked for infection. Sometimes bladder infections will cause dogs to urinate in the house. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on November 27th, 2017
Congratulations on your new addition! It can be a challenge to re-train adult rescue dogs, but it will be worth it. First, make sure you are taking Autumn to places outside that other dogs have urinated. That smell will likely help her associate that she is supposed to urinate outside. That may require that she go on a walk instead of just walking around a smaller area outside. Also, make sure you are rewarding her for going outside. This may be with treats or with verbal praise. If Autumn does not urinate outside, she needs to be put back in her kennel until she does. This will stop her from urinating on the carpet or couch. I have attached an article on house training adult or rescue dogs below that may have some other ideas for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1118 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas to get started. Thanks for using PetCoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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