Dog house training - I don't understand «12...Next Go

simstr0ng

I am not understanding how to train a dog to outside on their own. I have a dog door. The dog appears to want to potty but won't go outside on their own. Does this mean I have to walk the dog? I see the command to potty - do I have to take the dog outside myself and give the command? I read on a thread the dog can have the "independent" trait and go on their own. Correct? Help is appreciated.

JillieLuna

If you click on the dog you should see a command to get them to potty (I don't remember what exactly it says). They have to be trained to potty by themselves (you'll get a notification when they've learned). I think there's a bug with the mechanism, though, because even when dogs have been trained to go on their own many people are reporting that they stand by the door and wait.

simstr0ng

I don't know how to train the dog to potty - - there is not a train command for that. Is it just "go potty" that trains them to go on their own?

JimG72

simstr0ng wrote: »

I don't know how to train the dog to potty - - there is not a train command for that. Is it just "go potty" that trains them to go on their own?

Yeah, you just "ask them to go potty" a few times and then you'll get a pop-up that says they learned to go on their own. But, as was mentioned above, it seems buggy. You definitely don't have to take them outside yourself....you can just keep asking them to go on their own.

simstr0ng

I got the pop-up and the dog went outside...and potty'd on the deck. The dog should know to go to grass or some other terrain - right? So what now - do I just let the dog direct himself to potty? Who cleans up the potty? Will the gardener or the maid do that?

JimG72

simstr0ng wrote: »

I got the pop-up and the dog went outside...and potty'd on the deck. The dog should know to go to grass or some other terrain - right? So what now - do I just let the dog direct himself to potty? Who cleans up the potty? Will the gardener or the maid do that?

I think they use the deck because the roomba covers the deck...so I think they were set up that way. Also, if it's a puppy, they can't go down stairs on their own. The puddles will evaporate on their own...although you may get a pet trying to drink from or play in them before they disappear if you don't clean them up. The poo you'll need to clean up...haven't tried it with a maid but seems like that's something they would clean up as they mop up messes in the yards caused by kids. The dog should know to go outside to go potty by himself but it seems buggy as most people are saying they still have to tell the dog to go potty....and that's how it's been for me too.

Domi867

I really hope it is just a bug and they will correct it, because it is really annoying to have to send the dogs outside all the time. I asked to go potty hundred times already and they are still waiting in front of the door every time and whining.

Andiratyme

Disregard me. Super tired this morning.

tegteg87

I've found that if dogs are still waiting by the door to go out to potty, despite already having gotten the notification that they can go on their own, if you place a doggie door they will start using that. That's in my experience anyway.

Tomatplante

JimG72 wrote: »

simstr0ng wrote: »

I got the pop-up and the dog went outside...and potty'd on the deck. The dog should know to go to grass or some other terrain - right? So what now - do I just let the dog direct himself to potty? Who cleans up the potty? Will the gardener or the maid do that?

I think they use the deck because the roomba covers the deck...so I think they were set up that way. Also, if it's a puppy, they can't go down stairs on their own. The puddles will evaporate on their own...although you may get a pet trying to drink from or play in them before they disappear if you don't clean them up. The poo you'll need to clean up...haven't tried it with a maid but seems like that's something they would clean up as they mop up messes in the yards caused by kids. The dog should know to go outside to go potty by himself but it seems buggy as most people are saying they still have to tell the dog to go potty....and that's how it's been for me too.

That doesn't sound right - not every household has a roomba. And if they are supposed to go on the porch, what's the point of having them go outside at all? Then they could just pee inside the house and the "roomba would clean it up"... I hope this is an oversight that they will change in a patch later, so dogs will know the difference between a porch and the terrain.

JimG72

tegteg87 wrote: »

I've found that if dogs are still waiting by the door to go out to potty, despite already having gotten the notification that they can go on their own, if you place a doggie door they will start using that. That's in my experience anyway.

I've got the pet door and the puppy still waits by the front door even long after I got the pop-up saying he now knows to go outside on his own. It's definitely buggy.

Tomatplante wrote: »

That doesn't sound right - not every household has a roomba. And if they are supposed to go on the porch, what's the point of having them go outside at all? Then they could just pee inside the house and the "roomba would clean it up"... I hope this is an oversight that they will change in a patch later, so dogs will know the difference between a porch and the terrain.

The more I have played, I think they just go near the door. I have a backyard with no porch and the puppy generally goes right near the door. So I think they just go a certain distance from the door, regardless of whether it's a porch or grass....don't think they know anything about the particular terrain. Now this is for an adult dog....puppies can't go down stairs so they'll never get off the porch on their own anyway.

Rae357

simstr0ng wrote: »

I got the pop-up and the dog went outside...and potty'd on the deck. The dog should know to go to grass or some other terrain - right? So what now - do I just let the dog direct himself to potty? Who cleans up the potty? Will the gardener or the maid do that?

The pets don't seem to understand flooring that is outside is not grass terrain. My dog keeps going right outside the door on the path I made using wood flooring. On the plus side you can mop it up so pets don't drink it(ew), unlike when they go on the grass. But it still feels like they are not trained when they do that. The maid will mop it like any other puddles. As for the other, not sure, but you can click and drag that yourself.

kalaksed

some people have mentioned that apparently smart dogs don't learn how to pee outside. no matter how many times you have your sims convince them to go outside.

as for non-smart dogs, mine will wait a short while at doors (i don't use pet doors in the main household just because they don't match the alien style) then bolt out onto their own. they mostly like to use the two decks i've got, which i'm ok with. one deck is set up entirely with pet stuff anyway and even has the newspapers rug on it. they do also like to run all the way around to the decorative pool in the back and go potty around it, mostly in the plants that hide the stuff and make the household's father (who is neat) step in it when he goes around back to mop the puddles off the grass...

also, with the pets drinking puddles. that is one of the bad behaviors you can train them out of via lecturing while they're doing the action or for a short while after they finish it.

also also, you can store poo in your sim's inventory. it's pretty decent fertilizer, esp from large dogs. just in case you've got any harvestable plants growing on your lot

simstr0ng

Thanks for all the tips. I gave it a rest for a day but I will try again to figure out how to have a pet without a lot of hassle.

simstr0ng

Ok - the maid did mop up the pet tinkle. New news. Also I had to go to the vet because the dog was throwing up.

fadingaudio

It takes several "ask to go potty" interactions before they learn. I think it was about a sim week for me to get them to learn it. Now he does use the pet door and goes outside on his own. He still uses the deck sometimes though which is annoying, but I've had him go near my garden too. So it seems like it's possible. My sims actually have done a good job of keeping the yard clean on their own.

simstr0ng

Yes - I am also seeing some progress over time. Mine is going outdoors - but on the patio.

06Bon06

I got the notification that my puppy is house trained after sending her outside twice

jennette_talea

I can confirm that after some testing, this appears to be either a bug/"feature" for dogs with the Smart trait. They're not that smart after all. :D I'm not sure if there are other conditions that cause this to happen. I have only observed that Smart dogs cannot learn to potty outside for some reason.

Chazzzy

The only way I was able to stop my dog from using the front porch to potty was to make my deck small. Like 1 square maximum. Then he would walk onto the porch and down the stairs to the grass to potty.

Also, the maid will clean up pee, poop, and throw up even if it’s in the front yard on the grass.

TheSimsBoi13

Chazzzy wrote: »

The only way I was able to stop my dog from using the front porch to potty was to make my deck small. Like 1 square maximum. Then he would walk onto the porch and down the stairs to the grass to potty.

Also, the maid will clean up pee, poop, and throw up even if it’s in the front yard on the grass.

True. I feel bad for the maids, but at least the poo they pick up is pretty.

Cynna

It would've been nice if there was an object that could tell the dog, "Pee here". I thought there was something like this in TS2? A hydrant or a tree or something?

Dannydanbo

Have you tried taking the dog for a walk (on a leash) and telling them to poop at some remote spot?

GalacticGal

06Bon06 wrote: »

I got the notification that my puppy is house trained after sending her outside twice

Would that in RL, that's all it took. LOL

simstr0ng

hello @Chazzzy - I remodeled my house to have a one square porch and I moved the dog door there - the dog went to another door (Sim size) and went out and pee'd on the deck. This house is rather large - with lots of outside doors and decks. Not a big problem but I would like the dog to go outside to terrain. I would like the dog to prefer to go out the dog door. When I gave direction to "go potty" the dog was next to the dog door.

Cinebar

Tomatplante wrote: »

JimG72 wrote: »

simstr0ng wrote: »

I got the pop-up and the dog went outside...and potty'd on the deck. The dog should know to go to grass or some other terrain - right? So what now - do I just let the dog direct himself to potty? Who cleans up the potty? Will the gardener or the maid do that?

I think they use the deck because the roomba covers the deck...so I think they were set up that way. Also, if it's a puppy, they can't go down stairs on their own. The puddles will evaporate on their own...although you may get a pet trying to drink from or play in them before they disappear if you don't clean them up. The poo you'll need to clean up...haven't tried it with a maid but seems like that's something they would clean up as they mop up messes in the yards caused by kids. The dog should know to go outside to go potty by himself but it seems buggy as most people are saying they still have to tell the dog to go potty....and that's how it's been for me too.

That doesn't sound right - not every household has a roomba. And if they are supposed to go on the porch, what's the point of having them go outside at all? Then they could just pee inside the house and the "roomba would clean it up"... I hope this is an oversight that they will change in a patch later, so dogs will know the difference between a porch and the terrain.

People who have a dog door train their dogs to use a certain spot in the yard etc. Maxis must have not remembered this or didn't know this about dog owners who don't want the whole yard covered in poo. I agree there should have been another step in training to teach them to poo and pee in a particular spot in the yard.