# Entire backyard's a landmine field!



## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

I have a 7mos. old GSD and she picked up on potty training beautifully. She never has any accidents in the house and is so good at letting us know when she needs to go out. The problem is that I have a small backyard and she pee's and poops ALL over it. Is there any way I can train her at this point to just go in a certain area? There is a small patch of grass near the back shed that would be a perfect out of the way spot. I just don't know how to go about this. Any ideas would be appreciated.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Leash her so she doesn't have the option until she is used to going in one spot.


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

Clean up the poop right after she does it...? :O


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## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

kind of hard to do when ya work full time!


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

ibfreaky said:


> kind of hard to do when ya work full time!


...You can't take a baggie out with you and pick up the poop as soon as your dog is done going to the bathroom? Wut?
It takes a whole 30 seconds. If you have to do the whole yard - maybe 15 minutes. I find it hard to believe you can't pick up your dogs waste - it's part of owning a dog.


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## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

juliemule said:


> Leash her so she doesn't have the option until she is used to going in one spot.


Problem is that we work all day and the only one home with her is my mother in law and she is really able to deal with that.


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## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

Niraya said:


> ...You can't take a baggie out with you and pick up the poop as soon as your dog is done going to the bathroom? Wut?
> It takes a whole 30 seconds. If you have to do the whole yard - maybe 15 minutes. I find it hard to believe you can't pick up your dogs waste.


Like I said I work full time and I'm not home every time she poops. I guess I could set up a web cam and then ask my boss "I just saw my dog take a crap can I go home to pick it up?" but i'm sure he'd just laugh at me. Obviously you must not work and are able to be "johnny on the spot" with the poop bag.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

I work 24 hour shifts, have 6 dogs on about one acre. They had their areas, but if I dont clean it often enough, they go to other spots. Mostly they go out onto the farm to do their business, but when I work, the walker is only there once a day. Some dogs have better habits than others.


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

I'm sorry. My 50 pound dog poops once a day. If it's not me who picks it up - then someone that lives in the house who took her out will pick it up. And, my gosh, if no one does, I take a walk around the yard when I get home and pick it up. If it's dark when I get home - I walk around the next morning and pick it up.

Using your "full time" job as an excuse to not pick up your dogs waste..yeah. You don't have to do it every time she poops but to expect your dog to poop on a pile of her own waste because you "work full time"..not gonna work.

I am in fact taking this as you don't clean up your yard at all.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Once a day, spend 5 minutes and pick up the poop from that day. Unless your dog's got some digestive issues or is eating a really crappy diet, there's probably not more than 2-3 poops to pick up. 
Even if you train the dog to go in one spot (which would take time and effort and even then the dog might choose somewhere else when alone) you will have to pick up the poop from that spot each day so what's the difference?



ibfreaky said:


> Like I said I work full time and I'm not home every time she poops. I guess I could set up a web cam and then ask my boss "I just saw my dog take a crap can I go home to pick it up?" but i'm sure he'd just laugh at me. Obviously you must not work and are able to be "johnny on the spot" with the poop bag.


As for the poop bag thing Niraya suggested.... um, lots of people work and manage it-- dog goes outside in the morning before work, poops, it gets picked up. Work all day, dog's inside, come home and let dog outside. Dog poops, it gets picked up. Maybe dog waits till his evening walk to poop and obviously it gets picked up then. 2 meals per day= 2 poops per day basically. Not that complicated.


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## Nev Allen (Feb 17, 2010)

I know where you are coming from ibfreaky, time poor like me. But someone needs to take responsiblity to clean up the poop and do it regularly.

First thing I would ask is what food is the pup eating. If you are using a cheaper brand kibble then these are bulked out with stuff that does not get dissolved and passes straight through the dogs guts to leave plenty of land mines. If you switch to a premium brand high quality kibble, you will be rewarded with smaller and fewer land mines and your dog will get a better level of the correct vitamens and minerals.

Training him to go in one place can be done by cleaning up all poop and thoroughly cleaning those spots with water and an enzyme cleaner. Leave one piece of poop in the area where you want him to go. Every day, do the same - make sure the rest of the yard is cleared and cleaned. He will get the idea.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

If he's going so much that you can't pick it up inside one minute, he needs a vet visit. Switch to a good food like wellness, TOTW or Blue and he'll go once or twice a day. But, really, I had a 90 lb GSD mix, and even when I was feeding him purina and he was going 3-4 times a day, I was able to clean it up after work. 

Since you don't have time to pick up poop, are you walking him? Training him? Playing with him? I'm a bit concerned.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

If the OP's question was how to get the dog to only use part of the yard..... What you can do is fence off the yard you don't want your dog to use, and then have it so she can only go to the potty area. But, she will kill the grass there, so it might be an idea to do a dog run with gravel or shavings so that it's easy enough to keep clean. Eventually you could remove the fencing but it will take a lot of work from you to get her consistant - so a dog run would be the easier step.

If you don't keep the dog run clean, she will find other spots too, so every day or so do a clean up. I use straw in our dog run and pick up a bit of it each time, then put out a fresh bale every month or so.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

i have 2 great danes and work well over full time, and my SO works full time too.... there is NO poop in our yard right now. AND i have 2 labs with me that i have for 5days for one of my clients.. i have 4 dogs here... and no poop in the yard.... i guess i cant understand why youre too lazy to pick it up?


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

I work full time and have 3 dogs and 3 cats, I dont understand your problem ??? Even if I were to go out once a week to pick up waste it still only takes me about 10 minutesn and my dogs have free run of the yard, though I dont pick up what they do out in the underbrush in the woods. Get yourself an easy to use pooper scooper or better yet see if there is a pooper scooper business near you that can come clean up your yard, when my kids were young they decided pooper scooping yards would be a good way to make money and they made a killing off of it , charging 10 dollars or more per yard and it didnt take them long


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

yeah there is a guy around here who does it, he charges 8/yard/week and more if there are more dogs. you can have him come once a week or more. the one day he told my client he had done 8yards before hers, and he averages doing like 10 a day. on top of that he gets extra if you do a "spring cleaning" when the snow melts if you havent had it picked up in a while. like 20. im thinking the poop business isnt a bad idea! im beginning to think of doing this on the side truthfully.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

ibfreaky said:


> Is there any way I can train her at this point to just go in a certain area?


Anything is possible. Heck, you could even train her to climb to the top of a six foot ladder and poop into a flaming bucket below, if you actually wanted to. But the real question in either case is, WHY would you want to 

IMO simple management beats complicated training hands down, especially in this particular situation. I say let her poop wherever her li'l heart desires, and pick it up daily. Easy peasy.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

petpeeve said:


> Anything is possible. Heck, you could even train her to climb to the top of a six foot ladder and poop into a flaming bucket below, if you actually wanted to. But the real question in either case is, WHY would you want to


 lmao. omg... hahaha


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

Full time graduate student plus two and a half jobs... HOW DO I EVER CARE FOR MY TWO DOGS?!

Working is a really poor excuse, sorry. I have a HUGE yard and it takes all of 5 minutes to clean up after my dogs (if I go a few days without doing it). If your dog is going so often that you cannot keep up with it maybe you need to feed a better food? Dogs on low quality foods poop more often (and bigger) than dogs on high quality foods.


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## KaywinnitLee (Jan 1, 2012)

Pick it up when you get home. Don't let it get out of control, especially in the warmer weather...baking turds do not create a pleasant aroma for you or your neighbors to enjoy.


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## reimacram (May 9, 2012)

I have a puppy and I live alone in my apartment. At first, it was terrible. Imagine having ladmines in the kitchen and the bedroom? I work 10 hours a day and like you, had a difficulty. But then cleaning your dog's poop is part of being a responsible dog-owner. I give a little effort in doing the cleaning and trained her to do her thing in the bathroom or balcony. After about two weeks, she learned to poop after playing right after a meal. She cries when she needs to go and the bathroom door is closed. You've got two choices like what GreatDaneMom said. You clean her landmines everywhere OR train her to poop in one spot (still you need to clean it).

You can do it. Trust us.


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

Thinking back on this - I'm not sure why none of us told the OP to go clean the yard instead of wasting time arguing with me at the beginning of this thread! Lol


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

OP ................ 

This is my favorite tool in the whole world ... you do not even have to bend! I carry it along side of me when I take the dogs out to their potty spot ... the woods.  I immediately pick it up right after them ... or sometimes I wait until night time to clean when I water the garden and such. It is not healthy for animal or human to have that in the yard at all times. I have three dogs ... I would have a sea of poop if I waited! Lol!


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## SassyCat (Aug 29, 2011)

To be honest I think this dog is simply left there in the yard all day, I doubt there was any "house" in house training but lets say I'm wrong. A properly house trained dog doesn't crap all over the yard, it usually does it along the fence because it doesn't want to step into its own faeces. If there are "land mines" in the yard the dog definitely walks over them on regular basis.

Besides, if one can't bother to clean up one's yard at least once a week then one doesn't deserve a clean yard. And, I mean... if you don't even have time to be there when your dog "does it" how do you expect the dog to learn where to do it?


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

PatchworkRobot said:


> If your dog is going so often that you cannot keep up with it maybe you need to feed a better food? Dogs on low quality foods poop more often (and bigger) than dogs on high quality foods.


I was wondering what you feed, as well. The lower quality the food, the more waste that's produced, because the dog can't process it (therefore going out the other end). If you feed a high quality food, you can feed less of it because it's more nutrient dense, and there's less waste product. Grain free foods tend to produce less waste product (Acana grain free, Orijen, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Taste of the Wild are examples - there are others). 

Back to the original question, you'll HAVE to take the dog out on leash to the specified area EVERY TIME he goes out, or he'll never learn to go consistently in that spot - PERIOD. A friend of mine did this with her boxer when he was a puppy for about a month, and now he always goes to that spot by himself. She's glad she did this, because now she has 2 small children and doesn't want them exposed to the poo, of course. I don't have time to do this either, so I just do poo patrol every evening when I get home from work. If I had small children, I'd pick it up immediately-no questions asked. I have two dogs and it really doesn't take much time if it's done consistently-maybe 5 minutes. Leaving lots of poo out in the yard is unhealthy, as another posted stated - yuk!


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## titiaamor (Nov 17, 2011)

If you don't want to pick-up your dog's poop, get a couple of chickens. They LOVE to pick through dog's poop, especially when the chicks hatch. When we are in between hatchlings, we have to pick up a little poop.

However, we taught Bob and Sacha to go in one area- and in general our dogs pee/poop in that area, over and over and over. But it's always clean.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear the thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

I don't understand why everyone is bashing on the OP, but I will say to the OP that if you aren't picking up after the dog, it stands to reason that she's going all over the yard. Lots of dogs don't like to get near dog poop, especially their own.


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## titiaamor (Nov 17, 2011)

"Everyone" isn't.



hamandeggs said:


> I don't understand why everyone is bashing on the OP, but I will say to the OP that if you aren't picking up after the dog, it stands to reason that she's going all over the yard. Lots of dogs don't like to get near dog poop, especially their own.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

hamandeggs said:


> I don't understand why everyone is bashing on the OP, but I will say to the OP that if you aren't picking up after the dog, it stands to reason that she's going all over the yard. Lots of dogs don't like to get near dog poop, especially their own.


That's what I was thinking. He didn't say anything about NOT wanting to pick up (other than he's not at home all day to do so, which is reasonable), just that he would prefer his dog use one area vs. the whole yard. Also reasonable. And I thought I was cranky this weekend from lack of sleep.....


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

He's just being freaky.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

If the "whole yard is like a landmine field", it stands to reason that _someone_ isn't picking up .

Bottom line: if you want to train a dog to use one section of the yard, you need to take the time to train this behavior. There is no magic for this kind of thing. You will need to clean this area frequently or the dog will go elsewhere. If you don't have time to train this behavior, a good way to prevent your yard from being a landmine field is to take 5 minutes every day after work to pick up that day's poop. Or just live with a stinky landmine yard. Those are really the only options.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

There are services where people will come clean up your yard for you. Rates I've seen have not been all that unreasonable. If it isn't something you fancy, then hire someone else to come scour your yard for poo!


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

Hambonez said:


> There are services where people will come clean up your yard for you. Rates I've seen have not been all that unreasonable. If it isn't something you fancy, then hire someone else to come scour your yard for poo!



Whatever. Might as well just train the dog to pick it up and throw it away himself while we're at it.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Does the dog sleep in the house at night? This assumes she does....First thing in the morning, leash the dog and take her to the area you want her to use for potty. Give her a chance to pee and poop in the right area, praise and treat as soon as she poops where you want her to. No poop, no treat. Pick up the poop before you go back inside. Easiest thing to do is to keep poop bags or a scooper and a small lined trash can with a lid in the area so you can just toss the waste there each time. Take her back inside for breakfast, then just before you leave, take her back outside on leash for another chance to pee and poop. Praise and treat any poop. Do this routine every day, no fail. This gives the dog two chances to poop in the right area while you're watching and to get a reward for it. Lessens the chance she'll go later elsewhere in the yard. When you get home, leash walk the dog to the potty area again, same routine as the morning. And do another leash walk to the area just before bed.

Morning and evening walks will stimulate her to go to the bathroom on the walk - you pick it up and dispose of it properly. Lessens the amount of poop in your yard.

Even if you're leaving the dog out in the yard all day, if you follow the morning and evening routine, and praise and treat for poops in the right place, it should eventually train her to go where you want her to go. Worked with our dog when we had a fenced yard - eventually, she just trotted over to her potty area without being leashed or told where to go. It became a routine for her.

I personally hate poop all over the yard, so I can sympathize. We don't have a fence now, so our dog is leash walked to potty every time, either in her designated potty area in our yard or on her daily walks. Now if I can just get my neighbor's dog and cats and the local deer to stop pooping in my yard.....


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

Elvis ... has left ... the building.

Or so it seems. Too bad. There have been good suggestions and tips presented.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I think Sassycat is right, this dog is probably an outside dog, at least while the owner is at work.


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## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

Niraya said:


> I'm sorry. My 50 pound dog poops once a day. If it's not me who picks it up - then someone that lives in the house who took her out will pick it up. And, my gosh, if no one does, I take a walk around the yard when I get home and pick it up. If it's dark when I get home - I walk around the next morning and pick it up.
> 
> Using your "full time" job as an excuse to not pick up your dogs waste..yeah. You don't have to do it every time she poops but to expect your dog to poop on a pile of her own waste because you "work full time"..not gonna work.
> 
> I am in fact taking this as you don't clean up your yard at all.


Wow! I never said that I don't pick up after my dog. In fact both my husband and I pick up as soon as we get home from work , which is twice a day and I always make sure to have it picked up before either of us takes her outside to play ball or play with the hose(which is her favorite thing to do!) or do training sessions because I don't want her or us to step in it. In fact even if it gets dark I just grab a flashlight rather then wait til morning. And I think that a 4'x4' patch of grass would be enough of an area that she wouldn't be pooping on top of poop. Its not an issue of me just not wanting to do it or not having enough time to do it at all! Even after the poop is picked I still feel like my yard is "icky" and I don't want to walk on it barefoot or let my nieces and nephew play in a yard thats saturated with dog pee. Thats why I posted this to get some ideas on how to get her to potty a "large enough" patch of grass on the side of the shed. But hey thanks for assuming that I am a lame ass dog owner! I'm all for constructive critisim but you're just mean!


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## NRB (Sep 19, 2009)

yes you can get them to poop in one area. One trick is to put down mulch in that one area, so the dog can see/feel a difference in the ground. Then leash your dog every time it goes outside. Walk to the potty spot, wait for the dog to poo, give it a treat, release it off the leash and let it go sniff and play in the yard while you pick up the poop. 

But I am confused about your past post. You said that you thought that a 4' by 4' area of grass was large enough so that she wouldn't be pooping on top of poop. Maybe that was a typo? b/c 4x4 isn't large enough for a potty spot. Unless you have a tiny 5 lb dog. I'm sitting in a 12x12 room as I type this and my dogs potty area is larger. I use the front side yard. so maybe a 10 by 20 foot area? My dogs are 33lb and 24 lb (but the small one is a puppy and growing) they poop 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day.


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## ibfreaky (Feb 12, 2012)

I do pick it up!!! The yard gets picked up at least 2-3 times a day. In fact I even go out after it gets dark with a flashlight to pick it up because I don't want her or us to step in it when we go out to play ball or do training sessions which is done by both my husband and I everyday. Its just my issue with feeling like even after the poop is picked up its still saturated with pee I feel like my yard is "icky" and I don't want to walk barefoot on it or let my nieces or nephew play on it. Thats why I was wanting her to go potty on a patch of grass (4'x4') on the side of the shed. But I did get a few good ideas amongst all the bashing.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

I feel the same way you do about poop in the yard. 4x4 might be a bit small. Our dog's area is about 12x12. She'll still try to roam onto the grass some times, but she clearly knows the mulched area is the place to go. When she starts wandering is when I know it's time to change out the mulch for clean stuff.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Ugh poop. I have 6 large dogs, and 9 puppies. Like 40 piles of poo a day. My scooper is wearing out lol.


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## Nev Allen (Feb 17, 2010)

ibfreaky, you left yourself open to the bashing because your original post did not make it clear that you did pick up. Quite the opposite because your heading screams piles of poop everywhere.
Be that as it may, glad you have found some gems in the piles but do not jump into using a method and switch next day because it did not work. Try methods for up to 2 weeks to see if they are effective or not.
Oh, and in the meantime, why not buy a pair of those five toe shoes that fit like a second skin. Gives the impression of walking bare foot but you will not step in the p&p.


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## Zaphod (May 22, 2012)

my dogs naturally pick the perimeter of the yard in a dirt area to go poop mostly. But my female pees all over. and poops on the grass every 3rd poop about. lol I just pick it up right away and i water the lawn as much as I can to dilute the pee. i find watering the lawn plenty keeps it from smelling like a toilet outside and then all the nitrates from the pee actually can act as fertilizer for the grass! 
Sometimes i go as far as taking a little bucket of water and watering down the area where she just went so it dilutes the pee while it soaks into the soil. 

My lawn never ever smells or seems icky with this regiment. 

For you, working full time, do you have yard sprinklers on a timer? If not maybe just hose it down at night every night? That should help.


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## Crazy Daisy (Apr 16, 2012)

wow, you guys are brutal today  If the question OP needs answered is "can you teach a dog to potty in one spot?" then hopefully people can answer that. I have seen and read how you can try, taking them on a leash, making that area smell like poo, etc, but I am thinking it just is a tough thing to do unless you can commit a ton of time to it, and if you are working, probably not going to happen.there are other threads on here about "pee posts" and other contraptions that really seem not to work. So yeah, if you want to do a dog run. I have wondered this myself, why a cat or rabbit or rat can be trained to go in one spot, but not our puppies! I have kids and I generally let the dog out in the morning, she does her thing after waking up and eating breakfast, then I go out, pick up 2-3 poops and generally it is safe for little bare feet the rest of the day, til after dinner. it is a habit you can get into, it is probably best. Maybe get up 15 min earlier and walk the dog and get the poo out somewhere else, bag it and you are good to go. Set feeding times may also help, if you are free feeding. good luck!


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I use a leash to take my dogs out on. It is a 4 foot leash and I stand in the area I want my dogs to potty. I remain stubborn and steadfast and do not move ... they will have to go eventually .... even if I must stand still in that one spot for 30 minutes. They have gotten the idea and now go potty at the edge of the woods leaving my yard a much more pleasant place to be.  It can be done if when you are home you practice this. 

My only issue is getting everyone else on the same page ........


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## kitley2001 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yes, working full time is a poor excuse. Most of the country works full time, and have dogs. If you don't have a few minutes a day to scoop...how do you have time for your dog? Our backyard is amost a half acre. I have a scooper that you use standing up. It takes me maybe five minutes a day to keep clean. If I didn't clean up my dog would run through it while chasing a squirrel and track it through the house on her paws....that is just plain gross.


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