# Living in Apartment with Elevators?



## DeNovo206 (Oct 24, 2013)

Are there other people on this forum who live in an apartment or condo with an elevator? Our 16 week old pup, De Novo, has been doing pretty good with potty training so far (*knock on wood), considering we live on the 6th floor of an apartment in a fairly urban area. There is a pee tree post, right outside our lobby, but dropping a deuce requires a trek about a block and a half away to a decent patch of grass.

We were just wondering if anybody had any advice for making sure the pup doesn't pee in the elevator or the lobby. He's only had one or two accidents so far there, but it's usually because we hold him in the mornings until we can get outside. As he keeps growing though, it won't really be feasible to continue holding him. That said, he does seem to be getting things and I feel pretty confident that he will get it eventually.


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## Deber (Aug 23, 2011)

A friend of mine also lives in a condo with an elevator. When she got her lab, she built a 3 x 3 ft box and lined it with dirt & planted a quick growing grass and it was outside on her patio/landing and puppy was taught to go there if emergency and she didn't think he would make it downstairs in time. He got the hang of it quickly and she removed it when he showed he could send signals better he needed to go and she dropped everything and got him downstairs. This worked for her and by 5 mo he was trained to go to the door and ring a bell to head downstairs. 

I am sorry I have no better help, but others may.


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## DeNovo206 (Oct 24, 2013)

Forgot to mention that we're not really concerned about him peeing in those respective areas otherwise, mainly just in the mornings after he wakes up...


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## Care54A (Jul 15, 2013)

Deber said:


> A friend of mine also lives in a condo with an elevator. When she got her lab, she built a 3 x 3 ft box and lined it with dirt & planted a quick growing grass and it was outside on her patio/landing and puppy was taught to go there if emergency and she didn't think he would make it downstairs in time. He got the hang of it quickly and she removed it when he showed he could send signals better he needed to go and she dropped everything and got him downstairs. This worked for her and by 5 mo he was trained to go to the door and ring a bell to head downstairs.
> 
> My mom did this same exact thing except she would buy pieces of sod and replace them every few weeks. She put the sod in one of those plastic trays that go under washing machines and kept it on the balcony. I was still living at home at the time and it worked very well to get her dog trained until he was able to hold himself reliably.


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## Care54A (Jul 15, 2013)

Forgot to add: pics are adorable!


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## ShadowGolden (Sep 4, 2012)

We got Shadow when we lived in an apartment (10th floor!). We just took it one day at a time. The first success was not messing in the apartment. Then making it onto the elevator without an accident - and finally, making it all the way outside. 

Honestly, if we thought there was a chance of him messing because it had been a while, we went for the "Shadow Express", which was carry him (running!) to the elevator and running outside. He never messed one either of us. 

Otherwise, we just took him out frequently to show him that he needed to wait until we got outside. He did pretty well - and when he had an accident, we always had paper towels and cleaners with us to clean up after. 

It takes a little longer, but it can be done - and Shadow is well-versed in waiting on the elevator in general. Our elevator would say the name of the floor and he learned "lobby" and "10th floor" - he never tried to get off at any additional floors. Smart puppy. 

Good luck!


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## tobster (Oct 28, 2013)

I had this same problem with my puppy. I thought I was never gonna be able to nick it, and was constantly cleaning up piddle marks outside the elevator, even though my pup rarely ever had accidents inside the apartment. I would carry him every morning, but he got heavy quickly and once he peed on me accidentally. I didn't want to use puppy pads/indoor grass/sod areas.

The trick that helped (other than carrying him) was to lead him quickly to the elevator and immediate ask him to sit once we got there and give him a small treat for it. I did this every time we went for a potty break, not just in the morning. He quickly got that he gets a treat when he walks to the elevator, sits down, and waits. I think this distracted him from peeing and put him in a position where he can't easily start peeing (as opposed to standing up). He hasn't had an accident since the week we started this.

Good luck, hope that helps!


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## DeNovo206 (Oct 24, 2013)

Thanks everyone for all the advice and sharing your experiences! We don't want to jinx it, but it does seem like he's "getting it," with respect to holding it in the elevator. We haven't carried him on the elevator in at least a few weeks now, and he's been doing well with just sitting. We tried keeping a handful of treats on us when in the elevator, and we think he's learned it. Keeping our fingers crossed!


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## Francis (Oct 23, 2013)

We also live in a condo on the 4th floor, and we have a 10 week old puppy. Our dog walker had this suggestion, which I haven't tried yet (I am still carrying him down). He said to keep him distracted by talking in a high happy voice and rubbing/petting him until you can get him outside. Good luck!


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## DeNovo206 (Oct 24, 2013)

Francis said:


> We also live in a condo on the 4th floor, and we have a 10 week old puppy. Our dog walker had this suggestion, which I haven't tried yet (I am still carrying him down). He said to keep him distracted by talking in a high happy voice and rubbing/petting him until you can get him outside. Good luck!


For what it's worth, we noticed that when our puppy was going down stairs outside, for whatever reason, it would cause him to pee, even if it had only been 30 to 45 minutes since he last peed. Not sure if something in his muscles were forcing his bladder muscle to feel released, but it was something we definitely noticed back when hew as 10-13 weeks old. Now that he's 19 weeks going on 20 weeks, haven't noticed any issues with stairs or in the elevator (he's rarely around stairs though). Also, we forgot to mention that from when he would get off the elevator to the front gate of the apartment, it's still a good 30+ feet of linoleum before we get outside, and those moments can still be a bit nerve-racking in the mornings, he's been accident-free (*knock on wood*) for almost a month now...


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