Help! My Chi Won’t Go Potty When It’s Cold…. or raining….. or snowing! Does this sound like you? You are not alone! I get so many emails asking what to do.
I get it! My little Pebbles — the one with a failing heart — is a little trooper. She will go out potty in cold, wind, rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It doesn’t matter. When she comes in she stands and waits for me to dry her off with a towel or wrap her up in a blanket to warm her up. She started doing this on her own, I didn’t teach her to do it.
Chico is now 16 and won’t go down the few stairs he has to go down to go out the dog door. So he will stand at the top of the stairs and bark to let me know he has to go out and I carry him out and back in. However, when he was younger he would go out when in rain, but would not potty if it was cold, or in the snow, especially if there was snow on the ground.
UPDATE;
We lost our beautiful Chico on July 17, 2020. See his video of remembrance HERE.
Remedy will stick her nose out the door and if it’s raining, or snowing she will back right up and refuse to go out. She will go out no matter how cold it is though
Here’s a bit of trivia: Did you know that many times dogs won’t go outside in the rain not because they are afraid of getting wet. It’s the amplified sound that scares them. Rain pounding on the concrete, porch, or any other surface sounds much, much louder to a dog than it does to us. Once they go out and realize there is nothing to be afraid of, they will willingly go out to potty when it is raining.
I don’t blame them, I don’t much like to go out in bad weather or when it’s cold either, I especially wouldn’t like having to potty out there when it’s cold or rainy!
So, What Can You Do?
Here is a list of some suggestions that you can do on these days:
Go Out With Them To Potty When It’s Cold
He follows you anywhere, right? He is much more likely to brave the elements and go out in the cold to potty if his beloved human is with you. Give him his potty cue to hurry up the process. This way you will also know that he actually went potty and didn’t just run out and right back in. No whining. If he can do it, you can do it!
Condition Him To Wear A Coat And Boots.
Especially if your Chi is a short-coated one you can hardly blame him for not wanting to go out to potty on those cold, wet, windy, freezing days. Condition him to wear protective clothing.
Once he is happy to wear a coat, select the proper one for the weather; a sweater for those cool, crisp fall days, a raincoat for wet ones, a coat, or even a vest over a sweater for those really freezing days.
If going for a walk to potty when the weather is cold don’t forget to protect their paws from cold, slush, and salt by wearing boots.
Carry A Large Umbrella
On blustery, rainy days keep a large umbrella near the door. A large golf umbrella will cover both you and your Chi and protect you both from the rain. Remember to condition your Chi to love the umbrella before you use it.
Build A Covered Potty Area Outdoors
He won’t mind going to potty in the cold if he has a covered area that’s shielded from rain, cold wind, and blowing snow. Build it as close to the house as possible so he won’t have to go far and shovel a path to it. Be sure that it’s tall enough that you can stand under it too.
Teach Your Chi To Use A Litter Box
If your Chi has been well trained not to go indoors, put the litter box in the garage, covered porch, or maybe a utility room so as not to confuse him too much. Start by teaching him to use the litter box outdoors and then move it indoors. Always keep it in the same spot so he will learn that he goes to that spot on bad days.
Teach Your Chi To Use An Indoor Potty Patch
The same concept as with a litter box, however, I think it is a much better choice. My dogs will only go on the grass. So, it would be very difficult to teach them to go in a litter box. The texture, feel just wouldn’t be right. I also prefer the potty patch indoor potty because it is easier to keep clean and odor-free.
Condition your Chi to use the potty patch the same way as the litter box. Start by teaching them to use it outdoors, then move it indoors in the garage, covered porch, or utility room and always keep it in that one spot.
