Potty Training & Walking Issue

[klue408]

Hello all:

I am an owner of a beautiful 5month old, salt and pepper mini schnauzer named Theo.

Lately, I have attempted to transition Theo from potty pads to releasing outside, but I am having trouble. I've noticed that Theo will hold his pee/poop and wait until we get home to release on the pad. I've tried the waiting game, intervening when he's about to release and running outside, moving a new/used pad outside just outside the door, but he still not release. I feel that I have inadvertently trained him to only release inside my house. He is kennel trained. I am not sure what else to do and I have felt really frustrated as of lately.

I've also noticed that Theo dislikes going on walks now. Before when he was younger, he would be ecstatic to go outside for his walk, but now I can't even walk a block away before Theo decides to sits down and stop walking . I've tried dragging him a bit, but even then, he will not budge. I've tried commands, treats, praise, but to no avail.

Any tips on how to correct this issue is greatly appreciated!

P.S. Here's a pic of Theo!

[Oscar 12345]

First of all Alonso, welcome to the forum and my word, what a beauty little Theo is. My advice is to pretty much start again and establish a new routine, one that you can stick to in terms of getting up, walks, feeding, etc. Schnauzers absolutely adore routine and once established I find they are set like concrete. First remove the puppy pads. So, you get up in the morning, take him outside for a walk straight away, it can be a proper walk or just pottering around sniffing type walk, hopefully he does what he needs to outside but you remain outside until he does. Then when inside, restrict him to a room whilst he is fed, then depending on whether he had a poop you can either pop him back outside again on a leash to have a wander and poop or just let him relax. Every 2 hours or so pop him outside for a wee, again on a leash. What you are doing is instilling in him that outdoors is where this stuff happens and not inside. So a very regular routine, when you think he is starting to understand you can lengthen the time between popping outside, but don't get disheartened if he makes a mistake. In terms of not liking the walks, I imagine you might be getting frustrated with him when outside and he is sensing this so he freezes, doesn't understand and wants to go back inside. Encourage him by throwing some treats on the ground, even popping him in the car to a nice walking, sniffing place. The not budging will take time to get over but be patient with him. It's more important for him to be relaxed and sniff rather than walking at the moment. So routine, consistency and lots and lots of reassurance and patience.