Dog VS Lawn.. My dog is winning, How do I get him to poop and pee in one place and regrow the dead pee spots?
I have an older 100 pound lab, he is so sweet and gentle and fits our families needs perfectly. I was super impressed that since we adopted him 18 months ago he has never pooped under the kids swing set. I was happy with this and never worried about kids stepping in it. We have recently added a stage (basically a small deck) in the back corner of our yard for our kids to play on, it is just beyond where he always poops.
So I was wondering if there are any safe and passive ways to encourage him to poop & pee somewhere else? I read about walking him out in the yard on leash and rewarding him when he does his business in the specified spot, but he spends most of his day in the back yard (with my kids) and so that will be hard, and lets just admit it, I am still potty training my son, so adding a dog is a bit overwhelming right now. Also looking for tips on how to prevent the dead spots (from pee) and help the dead spots grow back faster? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks for all the positive help. I am not so worried about having dead spots as I am having a soft green lawn for my kids to play on.
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Tagged with: amp • back yard • dead spots • green lawn • Pee • Poop And Pee • Swing Set
Filed under: How To Get Him Back
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I’ve learned to live with the bare spots in my lawn. I have 2 female dogs and 2 male. One of the males doesn’t lift his leg to pee (never has, probably never will) so he contributes to the dead spots just as much as the girls. I just bought some grass seed to patch the bare spots and that does the trick.
I’ve always heard soaking down their pee spots with water after they go helps dilute the urine and helps keep the lawn from being burnt by the nitrogen in their urine……but who really has the time to follow the dog around? I know I don’t. Just make sure he drinks plenty of water and that should dilute his urine enough to help some.
There is a product out called a "Pee Post" which is treated with pheromones like the "pee pee pads" for puppies, and it supposedly attracts dogs to pee in that spot. Maybe try sticking one of those in an out-of-the-way place.
Umm, seriously, it’s just a lawn.
How about this, just live with it.
There are so many other things in life to stress about.
Or is your house going to be featured in Better Homes and Gardens soon?
By the way, it has been recently discovered that dog poop will wash off shoes with a garden hose!
Fence an area in to make a small ‘run’ area and put him in there until he goes- then bring him in when he’s done- or let him out to the rest of the backyard. This has always worked for us.
Dogs will pee where it suits them. You can buy a pee stake which is made out of plastic. It has some kind of scent impregnated into it. put the stake in your garden and your dog should go over to the stake and pee on it. It may or may not work. Worked for my dogs. I just used it to get them to use the top end of the garden in general.
You can try this:
http://www.dogrocks.org/
These are a type of rock from Australia that neutralizes whatever it is in dog urine to stop yellow spots from happening. It doesn’t change the PH which is very harmful to a dog’s health.
The only training technique I know would be do the leashed thing for a while until he learns where to potty. You could also try one of these:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11109&c=3307+32
Good luck with potty training – the dog and your son!
Dogs do not like to go in the same area unless it’s cleaned up first. You would have to retrain him. About the grassless areas : grass seed and cuttings from the grass. When you cut the grass blow or pile the cut grass on the bare spots it will help seed it and grow back. It’s not a quick fix. But if you want to save the grass you will have to do something with the dog. And I would say let the dog play clean up after it whenever you see him poop so the kids won’t step in it. I had 3young children and 3dogs at the same time I was always cleaning up after the dogs since there was no way I had time to retrain them. Sorry I can’t help make it any easier.