Potty training dogs can be frustrating! Many dog owners ask us their potty training questions such as “why wont my dog poop in my yard” or “why does my dog poop on the sidewalk”. We will try to answer some of these questions here.
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Many dog owners face situations where their furry friends do not want to poop in their yard and do the job inside the house. While some people are okay with it, we would suggest you train your dog to make the yard their poop ground, and this article will show you how to do it.
Potty training is a journey that requires constant effort and attention for four to six months. So, if you are someone whose dog doesn’t like going to the yard for doing its business, and you so desperately want them to, read on!
Why Doesn’t My Dog Poop in The Yard?
It is a big task to potty train your dog, especially when it refuses to go to the yard and runs inside to do its business. There can be several reasons why your dog won’t do it, and we have learned about a few below. Check them out and see if you can relate.
Your dog has no idea that pooping in the yard is a thing
One reason your pup doesn’t make the yard its preferential potty place is that they do not know they are supposed to go and do their business in the yard. It might also mean they are so used to pooping inside that they don’t know how to go to the yard to poop.
You should train them that the right place for this is outside. You can take them out hourly and wait for them to pee or poop in the same place every day. Once they become familiar with the place, they will automatically start going to the yard to poop.
Your dog thinks you don’t want them pooping in the yard
One reason why your pup won’t go in the yard can be because you have, unknowingly, given them an idea that you don’t like or support the idea of them going to do their business outside.
Since your pet doesn’t like the idea of displeasing you, it doesn’t consider going outside to poop. They might also think you are punishing them for some reason and thus, are being sent in the yard to poop instead of their usual place. All of this requires them to understand that yard is their new got-to-go place.
Your dog might feel uncomfortable in the yard
It can be due to several reasons. It may be because of the overgrown grass that either size-wise or texture-wise doesn’t comfort it, the coldness, rainy weather, too much sun, or simply the open area that your four-legged friend doesn’t want to go poop outside. Whatever might be the reason, we would suggest you train it hard and good so that you should not need you every time it wants to go out to do its business.
What Can You Do Better?
To teach your dog to poop outside there are some tricks that you can follow. We have listed them below:
Take your dog to the yard frequently
Please do not wait for long periods to take your friend out in the yard and make it familiar with the surroundings. If you wait for long hours to take your dog out for peeing or pooping, it might not wait for it and continue doing its business inside.
Reward your pup every time it poops in the yard
Whenever it can successfully do its business in the yard, give it a delicious treat to know that it did well. Bacon, sliced turkey, peanut butter, etc., are some of the suggestions that should be given as a reward to your dog for peeing and pooping.
Give him a cue word to move to the yard
Pick a word, any word to trigger your pup to run outside to complete its business. This will build a relationship of association and action between the chosen word and your dog’s cue to act on it. You can consult a professional to learn about the process.
Stay outside with your dog
In the initial training period, you need to stay with your dog to remain secure while pooping in the yard, especially if it is sensitive to the glares. When the owner is present, it becomes easier for the dog to do the business of peeing and pooping outside.
What Not To Do?
Your dog would require some training to work from inside to outside to poop. However, there are certain things that you must avoid doing to help your pup get better at its business.
Don’t punish them
If you get mad at your dog, it will most likely scare them and make them way too nervous even to pee, forget pooping. So, be patient while it is in its training period and focus more on getting the job done than worrying about how it will happen.
Don’t rush the process
It can be quite frustrating for you to train your dog to poop outside or in the yard, but it is not advisable to rush the process. Just continue taking them out in the yard, offering them high-value treats after they poop, stay with them in the backyard, etc, and so on; you will see good results.
Why Does My Dog Poop on the Sidewalk?
Because it’s the most comfortable place for it to do its business! You need to make it more comfortable for it in your yard
Comfort
The most basic reason your dog poops on the sidewalk is that it didn’t have the opportunity to do it anywhere else. To poop in a new place, that is, where they don’t usually poop, they need to be comfortable and feel safe in the area. Perhaps, this is why they like to find a good spot, roam around it, and relax in the space before they do their business.
Thus, they need their time with the place they are expected to do their business, which, if not given, leads them to poop where they are currently walking and without thinking.
Nervousness
Another reason your dog pooped on the sidewalk is that it was nervous to poop outside the house. When pooping, dogs are quite vulnerable, and if the place is changed, it makes them highly nervous, let alone it being outside, and thus, they can end up pooping in a place they aren’t supposed to; in this case,, it’s the pathway or sidewalk.
Medical Problems
If your dog is old and suffers from arthritis or other issues that may make it difficult for them to walk over bumps or in the grass, and thus, they end up pooping on the sidewalk (which is a plain surface),
If they have incontinence, they might do it wherever they are during the moment. The basic thing is that they get uncomfortable with moving around and reaching where pooping is ‘ideal.’
As we can see, there can be several reasons for your dog pooping on the sidewalk, and it is completely your responsibility to train them to poop in the yard or where you want them to.
How To Clean Up Dog Poop in the Yard After Winter?
Now that your hard work has finally paid off and your dog has learned to work its way to the yard to do its business, here comes the next great challenge – how to clean up the poop, especially after winter? And we are ready with the necessary steps.
- Use a glove to pick up the poop directly and shove it into a bag and dispose of the entire thing. There are many scented bags available in the market to pick up the outside poop that you can try.
- Another great option is to use a pooper scooper device. You can find these devices for cheap on amazon or in your local pet stores, but make sure to buy one that is appropriate for grass and not the metal ones.
- Once you pick up the poop, use the scrub brush in soapy water to scrub out the stain and clean the patch with a dry towel or paper towel. Once the moisture is absorbed, you can remove the odor using a neutralizer or eliminator.
- You can also call for cleaning services to do the job from time to time to take away the responsibility for a while. However, you cannot do the same every day and thus, will have to pick up your dog’s business regularly, or the whole yard would smell after winter.
- It is also advisable to pick your dog’s poop in the daylight during winter. The thing is that during winter nights, visibility is low, and it can be hard for you not to step on the poop.
How To Stop Dogs Pooping Outside My House?
The simple and the best solution to stop dogs from pooping outside your house is to use barriers to avoid their entry anywhere near your house. You can install sprinklers in your garden and turn them on the minute a dog enters the premises or comes around the house.
The water usually chases away stray dogs looking for access around your house to do their business. If not stopped soon, they become habitual to poop outside your house.
You can also use repellents to spray on the animals if and when they come to poop outside of your house. Remember to spray on them to chase them away, do not use any means by which they can get hurt, or their skin gets burnt – they are stray but still animals. Consult the services that help deal with stray dogs and remove them around your home.
Final Words
It can be difficult to train your little friend to switch its pooping place from inside to outside, especially if he is shy. However, pooping in the yard is quite beneficial for you as a dog owner, especially when you do not have to worry about your dog doing its business anywhere in the house.
So, start their training today and make it comfortable and safe to use the yard as their favorite place to poop. Thank you for reading this article, we hope we were able to help you out with this problem. If you have some suggestions or experiences to share, please write to us in the comments box.
We have also written about other peculiar dog habits related to pooping such as Dog won’t Poo Outside But Will Pee and several potty training guides for different breeds such as Bernese Mountain Dogs, Labradors, Chiweenies, Chorkies, and so on. Do read them, they might give you specific insights into your pup’s pooping patterns!