Training To Do Business In Certain Area Of Yard?

[Yamaha_gurl]

How do I train Bella and Cleo to do both #1 and #2 in a certain area of the yard? I have it fenced off right now. I'm thinking bring them there, then when they do their thing, give treat. What word could I use though?? Any other tips/ideas? It's by the fence, so I thought "pee pee fence!" but then if my neighbours hear...they might think I'm training them to pee ON the fence! lol

[Time4ANap]

For us, the word "outside" covers #1 and #2. Everything else outside is a walk or a ride, so when we ask if Rocket needs to go outside, he usually goes to the garage door if he does.

[Guest Doggone]

When Autumn first came to my house, I took her out (on a leash) to the area I had chosen for her. I stayed with her, talking to her, until she peed. Then I made a big, praising fuss for a short while, and brought her in. Since then, that's been her area to potty.

I don't know if this would work with two dogs new to your house, but for one, it seemed to do the trick.

Oddly enough, she will only defecate in that area in my yard.......on walks, she'll only pee (I always take bags with me, but so far, they haven't been needed).

Edited March 17, 2013 by Doggone

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

I think that once they start consistently going in that area, then they will just naturally go there, you wouldn't have to command them (I think) In the kennel turn out pens the dogs (every single dog, whether they have been in the kennel for the day or a year) go number 2 in the same area. For peeing it's more difficult because once one pees, they all want to pee in the same spot, so if the pee is in an undesirable area it could be hard to redirect them.

 

You could definitely train them to pee in their area first thing when they are let out, that way it could be a general "go potty!" and you won't seem so crazy!

[Hubcitypam]

I was blessed that Buck chose to go in the far corner of the yard by the alley of his own accord and everyone seems to hit on that cue. That is only #2 - never found a way to control #1. In one training class I was in they recommended the traffic cones and leash walking the dog out there until they got it.

[Feisty49]

I think by nature, most dogs want to potty as far from their home as possible. I don't have a fenced yard so walk Annie for her P&Ps. When we're on our property she has always peed on the grass on the left side of the driveway, about 100 feet behind the house, and has always poo'd way in the back (about 400 feet from the house) along the edge of the woods (I have almost 12 acres). I never had to show her or teach her. She just did it.

 

I think if you bring them out on a leash (individually to start) and walk back to the designated potty area, and don't leave until each has done their thing, they'll catch on almost immediately, if the area is big enough. While Annie poos way back near the woods, she doesn't go in the exact spot each time. She likes to separate poos by a few feet so in the course of a week, neat little piles can be spread out over a long way, unless I've picked them in the meantime.

 

ETA: The word potty covers both pee & poo. If after she pees she continues to want to walk toward the back, I know she's also got to poo.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Feisty49

[Yamaha_gurl]

Thanks for the info everyone! Bella does #2 in the same area, Cleo (the italian mastiff) just goes anywhere. That's the main part of this training.

[Guest shanesmom]

I don't have a fenced yard but my mother down the street from me does and that's where we go for off leash time.

 

Half the yard is pretty lawn and flowers and the other half is woods with gravel paths put in just for her dog and mine. Potty on the lawn is forbidden. They have to go down the path in the woods. All 3 of my greys learned this very fast. Show them where they can go and praise them for it and if it looks like they are going to lift a leg or squat on the manicured lawn area a quick no and redirection is all it took. Just had to make sure I was close to my greyhounds the first few times we used to yard and then after a while they know. Ace was the slowest to get it but he too eventually did.

[OwnedBySummer]

My previous dogs were area trained as well as command trained. They would attempt to perform whichever action I asked, be it pee or poo. They would potty on leash when we camped or were someplace else but if I walked them when we were home, they would never poo. Which was great! I never bought a poop bag until I got Summer, LOL!

 

I trained them on leash. To the same area, over and over and over and over. And over again. With lots of praise. And commands every time once they got into whichever position. My male that I adopted at 10yo was harder to train, probably took 6 months to a year until he was reliable. My girl that I adopted at 4 months was much easier, once she was housetrained. She never went on the grass except where she was supposed to (close to the house and under a cedar tree) and I had a back lawn manicured to within an inch of its life, with a total of 21 flower beds on the property. Yellow spots were "verboten"! If we were all at the back of the property, they would run up to the "toilet", do their thing and then return to us at the back. Such good dogs! When we moved to this current house, I just showed them both the interlock area at the side and they immediately adjusted to it.

 

Summer... I haven't bothered to teach. Why, I don't really know. She has her poop areas and they are all on the perimeter, so I can always walk around barefoot. Besides, I pick them up right away anyway. But she does pee wherever she wants.

Edited March 17, 2013 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I put up some snow fencing around an area. For the first month I gated her into that area until she emptied. After about a month of that I had her out in the yard one day and she went into her area on her own to poop.

 

Now we have the area fenced so she can't get into the main yard when we let her out the back door. She gets to run an play in the main yard when I let her into it, but if we're just tossing her out the door to potty she can't get out of our view. Plus, our yard is sloped and has a couple stone walls that might equal a hurt dog and large vet bills if she's zooming around in the wet grass or muddy areas.

 

She'll pee in other areas of the yard when she's out which I don't mind. It's extremely rare that she won't go back to her yard to poop, and even then it's always in the same area (near where the neighbor's dog goes on his side of the fence). If I see her getting ready, I'll tell her "go to your yard" and she does.