My Nugget was trained to go outside originally too.
Then…. one winter day when he was not even two years old, he decided the 6′ x 4′ swath of uncovered grass in the back yard (from snow) wasn’t good enough to go on, so unknowingly to me, he decided to wander on down the street do his duty. I had made it a habit to sit by the side entrance, waiting for him to return once he was finished going. He was taking far too long this one day, so I immediately went out to the back yard, and no Nugget… and, the snow banks at the front were very high, and he wasn’t readily seen from the end of my driveway.
Needless to say, I was frantic, dreading the worse, that he’d been dog-napped …and I immediately called a friend who lived nearby. I threw on a winter coat, as the friend was driving over to see if she could spot him from her end… and then, as I was heading out my driveway to walk north, Nugget appeared around the front edge of the house. I scooped him up rather quickly, hugging him thankfully, and tearfully telling him he was a bad boy. I told him he scared mummy!
After that incident, I told him he’d have to learn to go on the newspaper tray that I then setup for him to use. I had a metal tray from a rather large, previously used dog cage… the tray used to sit inside the cage. It was perfect for holding newspaper for my two female Maltese dogs I USED to have… so, now Nugget was being forced to use it.
At first, he’d hold his pee for long periods of time. Each time he’d ask me to go outside, I take him to the laundry room where his newspaper-lined tray was waiting, and I explained that he has to go pee on the try. It was only a few days later that he started using the tray without my having to tell him.
It helps to praise your dog when they do something they’re supposed to… which I did on many occasions.
The potty-pan I created simply replaced the newspaper filled, metal pan.
At first, Nugget felt awkward about pooing on the plastic grid, but this year he’s had no problem, just so long as I remove the poo as soon as he’s left it.
Nugget has made a game out of his pooing now. Every morning after he’s eaten his breakfast, he’ll come and sit pretty, and when I ask him what he wants, he leans his head a little though to say “you know”… so I say, “you gotta’ go poo?”… and then he’s off like a shot, for the potty-pan.
Just as soon as he starts to poo, I tell him what a good boy he is, and then say “I’m going for toilet paper and I’ll be right back.” When I return, he’s sitting just outside the laundry room door, waiting, and then I say “Good boy!” as I head into the laundry room to pick up his poo.
He does the same thing after his dinner at 9PM nightly.
And, if a piece of poo sticks to him, he’s smart enough to wait beside the tray… and until I figure it out… so I can remove the piece of poo, so he can be free to wander from the laundry room again.
The main thing is to watch your dog’s body language. It truly is a matter of THEIR training us.
This is a long way around answering your question… but I truly do NOT think your Toy Fox Terrier stopped using the potty tray JUST because the water cooler isn’t there any more. Maybe the area it’s more open now? Did he have privacy to pee before?
Nugget has sometimes peed beside the tray… and though I’m not certain because I haven’t actually caught him doing it, I THINK it’s the male dog habit of lifting one leg, while he’s on the potty-pan that may have caused this to happen. Though too, this happens most often if I’ve failed to provide fresh, dry newspaper in the potty-pan… you know… the newspapers are extremely wet.
Hope this info helps you LB.