potty on deck instead of grass...

[MissLucysMom]

My 13 week old flashy bridle Lucy has very quickly learned to use the bells on our back door to let us know when she has to go potty (best thing ever!). The problem we are having is that if we do not physically walk out the back door, across the deck and onto the grass with her (i.e. instead of letting her out on her own), she immediately poos or pees on the deck (more often she just pees) instead of going to the grass. The grass is only 3 feet away! Does anyone know how to get her to take those few extra steps, even unaccompanied?

 

[gmacleod]

Keep going out with her is the simple answer. There is just no way in the world you can expect a 13 week old baby to take responsibility for pottying in the place you'd like her to. By the time she's 6 months old or so, you can start to slacken off. But up until then, the responsibility is all yours

If you want her to learn where you prefer her to potty, you have to teach. Dogs don't have the great brains that humans do. But I don't think you'd expect a 2 year old human to understand without language Well, an ADULT dog (let alone a baby puppy) has only the learning ability of a 2-3 year old human, which means time a repetition before they understand things. That doesn't happen in weeks, it happens in months. So you need to continue training for quite some time yet before you can start to leave things to the dog.

 

[angleheart]

Harley did the same thing when he was a pup but over time, he would venture out further and further away from the back door and porch. I don't know if it was because he was getting more brave or just able to hold it in longer, or the instinct to mark his territory kicked in, but eventually, he had chosen some favorite spots out in the yard to use most of the time

 

[MattAndKay]

My 9 week old pup is doing the same thing. I wonder if this is an issue in pups of other breeds? My in laws have had boxers and said their pups did the same thing. Going potty on the cement driveway, sidewalks, and patio's. Almost preferring the concrete to the dirt or grass! I'm curious to know how many other boxer owners had this issue while potty training?

 

[MissLucysMom]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only parent whose little one does this. I'll keep ticking away at it until she figures it out. Thanks for the responses!

 

[LFletch]

haha my 13 week old pup used to do the same thing! the funny thing is though, she'd manage to go right threw the crack between the wood.

 

[hfeigel]

Make sure you're also rinsing the deck off with a compound designed to erase the smell of urine. If she's smelling the urine on the deck from the last time she went it'll encourage her to keep going there. Products do exist that you can place in the grass to encourage her to urinate there as well, but nothing beats the repetition of carrying or leading her to the grass.

 

[racerjimbo]

our max pees on the deck in the morning and I believe he doesn't like the dew on his feet, if he does get on the grass in the morning, it's a lick fest when he comes back in he also hates rain on his coat, look out dust ruffles when he comes in after a sprinkle

 

[vectraevo]

Ours are a nightmare to get out in the rain, maybe the grass is too wet? Just keep reinforcing where you would like the dog to potty and it will soon learn. May be worth giving a treat when they do it in the correct place?

 

[Groundhog]

Does anyone know if these things work?...or does it teach you how to teach him/her where to go?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+18+11109&pcatid=11109