# Outdoor potty area



## blueroan (Dec 28, 2015)

Hi,

Once all the snow melts here, our puppy should be home!  Since we are getting a girl, we thought it'd be a lot easier to make a potty area since we have a loooot of decorative rocks near the door and the grass is pretty far away. Plus it'd be great for her to have ONE area to do her business.

For those of you who have made theirs, what did you make it out of? We were thinking creating something like a sandbox would work. But open to suggestions. Nothing too fancy though!  

To tell the truth, since we had a little guy on the rocks, we simply held a bag under him for when he pooped. Then it didn't smear on the rocks! But now that we're having a female, that isn't going to work!!! Lol


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

My dogs potty on the grass in my backyard. So I cannot give you other suggestions.

I do not think that sand would be the best medium, though. Your dog will love to dig a hole in the sand and it could coat her feet when the weather is wet. 

She might try to eat small peddles. So I am not sure what medium for their potty area would be best.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

A boxed patch of dirt or fake grass would be fine. Oh, and boys and girls poop the same way LOL


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

My toy poops and pees in the backyard. It hasn't ruined the grass in the two years we have her.


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## blueroan (Dec 28, 2015)

Zooey's mom - yes...I realize that but they pee in different ways! So if we tried the bag trick likely we'd get a bag of pee more often than not lol. 

mom2Zoe - our last one did sometimes too but the grass is all the way at the bottom of the yard as the top half is paver stones or large river rock. And completely inaccessible during winter. 

Lots to think about in puppy planning!


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

I'm sorry, but I cannot imagine actually holding a bag by a dog's butt to catch pee or poop unless I was doing so for the vet to examine such. You have WAY more time and energy than I do if you did this all the time.

You might want to put up some internal fencing where you want them to potty and take them there on a leash until they learn that is where they are supposed to go.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

We used a Midwest folding dog pen. It has 8 24" hinged sections so you can shape it the way you want, move it where you want or fold it up. It was a godsend potty training Molly last year with all the snow. The first pen we bought for Callie five years ago was so perfect indoor and outdoors that we purchased 2 more pens and connected them for a larger area when we got Molly. They hold up in any kind of weather, winter or summer. We take one section with us when we go camping. Instant potty yard. I love it! The pens come in 24", 30" and 48" heights.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

MiniPoo said:


> I'm sorry, but I cannot imagine actually holding a bag by a dog's butt to catch pee or poop unless I was doing so for the vet to examine such. You have WAY more time and energy than I do if you did this all the time.


ROFL I have known people who do it for poop. If you walk your dog, it isn't more difficult than picking it up after they've gone. However, if you're lucky and can let your dog outside to potty in your yard throughout the day, it would be pretty time consuming. 

*still chuckling*


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I don't like the idea of salt. It's sticky when wet, it can get in their eyes, and it's attracting to dig in it. Grass is the best.


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## blueroan (Dec 28, 2015)

MiniPoo - Too funny!!!! hahaha...I never thought about it. We've done it for years for picking up Dusty's poop, because we have a lot of rocks and it's a pain having to hose off every time. We'd just watch until he squatted to poop. But then we realized oops girls squat to do both! Um. Plan B.  

But we had to have him ALWAYS on a leash as he went crazy when he saw another dog. We have 2 SPoos in one yard, a large mixed breed in the other, and a mini schnauzer in the back. So having to wait for him wasn't a big deal.

Although it'd be nice if this one is able to go by herself!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

blueroan said:


> MiniPoo - Too funny!!!! hahaha...I never thought about it. We've done it for years for picking up Dusty's poop, because we have a lot of rocks and it's a pain having to hose off every time. We'd just watch until he squatted to poop. But then we realized oops girls squat to do both! Um. Plan B.
> 
> But we had to have him ALWAYS on a leash as he went crazy when he saw another dog. We have 2 SPoos in one yard, a large mixed breed in the other, and a mini schnauzer in the back. So having to wait for him wasn't a big deal.
> 
> Although it'd be nice if this one is able to go by herself!


You can keep plan A if you want. Girls squats are very different for pee and poop. Pooping by a girl or a boy are the same : arched back, on your toes. Peeing is not the same at all, and very easy to distinguish. And they don't do both at once. They'll poop, and then they'll pee. So yes, you can still do it.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Dechi said:


> You can keep plan A if you want. Girls squats are very different for pee and poop. Pooping by a girl or a boy are the same : arched back, on your toes. Peeing is not the same at all, and very easy to distinguish. And they don't do both at once. They'll poop, and then they'll pee. So yes, you can still do it.


Unless you have an oddball like Zooey--she actually does poop and pee at the same time, starting in an arched back poop posture, and then as it's coming out, she squats and the pee comes out at the same time. I have never known another dog like her!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

zooeysmom, Lily does that every once in a while, but mostly she is like most girls arching her back to poop and a flat back or sometimes lifting her leg to pee.

For the OP definitely the point though is you can tell whether a girl is going to do a poo or a pee by watching them as they get ready. They will usually circle more when looking for a poo spot in addition to how they squat.

I think grass is the best substrate. Sand is just an invite for a mess not only for what the dog does (most dogs do some amount of scratching with their hind legs after a poop), but for feral cats to use as a litter box too.


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