Toilet Training

[Greytmate]

We adopted out a dog a couple of days ago, and we have a problem.

The dog was in a foster home with a concrete patio and a lawn area. The dog learnt to only wee on the grass.

Now we have matched this dog to a home where the toilet area is a large fenced concrete area off the back door. The lady has been taking Poppy outside of this area on lead to empty out, but doesn't know if she will be able to continue this three times a day, as she is suffering ill-health.

Ideally we want to teach Poppy that it is ok to use this concrete area. Two other dogs (Iggies) live there and have always used the concrete area for toileting.

At first I asked the lady to leave the area a little bit soiled, so that Poppy would get the idea, but it seems that Poppy would rather hold on all day and night than use this area.

Now I have suggested that she get a large square of turf and put it in this area in the hope that Poppy will use that at first while she gets used to the area.

Am I on the right track?

Does anyone know any good methods for training an adult female dog to empty in a concrete area? We really want this adoption to work as we think that this is the perfect home for Poppy. We just need to get this little problem sorted out quickly so that Poppy can stay in this home.

Thanks in advance.

[CBL]

I have no advice Greytmate - she could always borrow Patch to teach her - that boy will pee on everything! We have the opposite problem, trying to discourage him from pooping on the concrete.

[poodlefan]

A large piece of fake grass would have been my suggestion.. you could hose it off and use kennel disinfectant on it.

[tramissa]

I have the same problem CBL :rolleyes:

[Luke W]

A large piece of fake grass would have been my suggestion.. you could hose it off and use kennel disinfectant on it.

Good idea.

That or a piece of turf that you graudually reduce the size of until it's gone??

[Cosmolo]

Fake grass would be the best option as it can be very difficult to change such a definite surface preference.

[Greytmate]

Thanks for your help everyone.

Normally we only ever hear about dogs that have the opposite problem, so this one is a bit unique.

This dog has probably had really clean habits her whole life, so I think we have a bit of work ahead of us here. My concern is that if the dog holds on too much and wont go, she will end up with a UTI or something. Poor little girl.

The adoptor is going to try a big square of grass in the corner of the area tomorrow, so fingers crossed that Poppy will use it. It has been a really long and difficult task to get the right home for Poppy, so now that we have found it, we want to make it work.

[Miss Helena]

Good luck Greytmate....hope it works. A friend of mine successfully uses fake turf for her 2 chis when they are home alone and locked inside.

Unfortunately I have a similar problem to you, my girl has fake turf in the laundry when she's home alone, but she won't use it!! She waits (and waits) with crossed legs for me to come home so she can go outside on the "proper" lawn....

I asked the vet about it recently (re UTIs etc) and she thought no actual physical harm would result, as they can hold on for 8-10 hours overnight. I agree with you though, I don't like her holding on like that.

The vet suggested following Bonnie when she wees outside and rub the fake turf on that spot, to get the scent onto the turf....very tricky to do with a Chi - tiny wee spot!!

[Erny]

Use grass (clippings, or turf off-cuts). Have a piece outside (or cover a certain area size, if grass clippings). Over a period of time, gradually make that piece of grass (or the area the clippings cover) smaller and smaller. Eventually it is possible that the dog will include concrete as a substrate preference.

[Greytmate]

Thanks for those ideas. ;)

We have decided to manage the problem in a different way for now, until Poppy settles in. There is a large grassed dog run in the back garden just outside the fenced area where the owner will take Poppy out to two or three times a day for an empty out and a quick run. The owner is feeling much more optimistic about it now, I think she has really fallen in love with Poppy.

The new routine is a very typical racing greyhound routine. The only problem is that the owner has to take her out to the dog run on lead every single time and that is a big responsibility. One of the disadvantages of owning a greyhound is that they generally cannot be trusted outside of a fenced area, no matter how well trained. Poppy really enjoys the routine, and loves to spend the rest of her time in the house.

We did try the square of turf, and it worked once. Then the male iggie came over and weed on the same spot and Poppy then totally avoided the grass. She refused to wee or poo on the concrete or the turf for 18 hours until the owner gave in and put her in the dog run, where she did the biggest wee ever.

Then we decided that because Poppy was prone to anxiety and was going through a stressful enough time just trying to settle in, that we would manage the problem for now rather than try to change the behaviour.

In a few months we will try again with the piece of turf.