Why would you want to teach your dog to pee on command? Imagine it’s the middle of winter, it’s snowing and you’re just about to go to bed. You have to take your dog out for one last pee, but when you do, all he wants to do is sniff. You slowly freeze as your dog enjoys a little stroll around the garden. How much easier would it be if you could just give the command “toilet”, and your dog immediately goes to the toilet? You’d be in your warm bed in no time.

There are other circumstances where pee on command is very useful. For example, if you’re at your veterinarian’s office and she needs a urine sample from your dog. Perhaps you’re just about to go into the ring in an obedience trial, and you know if your dog urinates in the ring, he’ll be eliminated.  It’s handy to be able to ask him to empty his bladder before he goes in the ring.

Just as it’s easy to toilet train a dog, you can actually teach them to pee on command.  As with toilet training, it’s easier to do this when your dog is young, while they’re learning where to go to the toilet.  While they may not go immediately you give the command, they’ll certainly be much quicker at doing their business.

If you can’t supervise your dog and prevent him peeing in inappropriate places, it’s a good idea to crate him. That way you’ve got the best chance of him going to the toilet as soon as you take him outside.

When you’re taking your dog out to the toilet, take him to the same place each time, so the smell stimulates him to urinate.  As he goes, give him the command “toilet”, “tinkle” or whatever word you’ve chosen to use. Make sure you use the same word every time he pees, so he associates that command with going to the toilet.

When he does actually go to the toilet, praise and reward him. That way he’ll learn to toilet in the right place. Over time, he will also learn that when you give him the “go to the toilet” command, you want him to pee.

It’s not going to happen overnight, and you may get some funny looks from passers-by as you repeatedly tell your dog to “toilet”, while he strolls around sniffing the grass. But, eventually most dogs do learn what you want them to do when you give them the command.

Dogs are extremely intelligent and are capable of learning many tricks and behaviors. Why not take advantage of this ability to make toilet breaks more convenient for you.

This guest post is brought to you be Dog Fence DIY's staff veterinarian Dr. Susan Wright. Dog Fence DIY has many different types of underground dog fence systems for you to choose from. Dog Fence DIY likes to go above and beyond and help with making sure you are getting the right system for your particular pet. They help you with installation and training your pet on the proper way to use the system. Visit Dog Fence DIY for all your pet containment needs.