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Kathye


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Garden training
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Hi


This isn't really a problem as such, just that I'm starting to work out what sort of pattern we would like to work towards.


When Daz first arrived he was already 'clean in his kennel' we were told and this continued with him tending to keep his own space clean.  I'm home most of the time so I pop him out to the garden pretty regularly in between walks (our garden is not next to the house so we have to go right out).


He's only had a few pees in the house, not in his own area mind, but in the rest of the house.


So his pattern when he first arrived was to seek out verges when we went out walking.  He didn't go in the woods or fields, just waited till we got back on the road and looked for a verge.  Guess that's what he's been trained in the past.  As time has gone on and he's got much more used to regularly walking through fields and woods he's making that his habit now and only going in the garden occasionally.


So, currently, he is choosing where and when to go and we're left walking around with bags of poo in our hands.  I'm starting to feel a bit like the Queen thinking everywhere smells of fresh paint but with me it's that everywhere I go there's a faint tinge of dog **** (I'm probably not very good at bagging it neatly yet). 


Also the environmental issue is at the forefront of my mind that here we are, bagging up a biodegradeable substance in plastic bags and putting it in the bin.  Rather than buy biodegradeable bags we're thinking we'll install one of those things you bury in the garden and mix the **** with something to speed up it's breakdown.  Can't remember their names but seen them in the Dog's Trust catalogue.


This is all a very long and windy way of asking for how to get him trained to use our garden rather than hanging on to it till we're out in the woods.  One trick I got him with this morning was to not put on any of my walking gear till we'd first paid a visit to the garden so that he might think he was not going for a walk yet and use the garden.  He did do one pile but really, we've started to joke that this dog's main hobby is crapping.  He puts so much effort into finding the perfect spot and aiming himself it looks like the highlight of his walks!  He does at least three and todays strategy only saved me one bag of poo on the walk (Peter and I make up little songs for such events and today I adapted 'Me and you and a bag of poo' to the tune of 'Me and You and a Dog named Boo').


I don't know  much about dog bowel habits.  If he starts to show a sign of needing to go again in the field when I know he's just been once in the garden can I assume it's not 'urgent' and get him to move on?  Any suggestions for strategies to actually get him to go in the garden.  Peter and I both try using the command 'hurry up' whenever he goes but it doesn't seem to be sinking in or else he's not willing to crap on command.


As I said, he's already very good regarding house training so I'm kind of embarassed to nitpick about his habits but just wanting to improve things a little bit if we can.  Peter used to be on the local community council and dog **** was nearly always first item on the agenda so I'm clearly a bit obsessed with it by now ;)



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Steve


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We landscaped our garden with dogs in mind - they have a bark patch at the end of the garden and they do all their stuff there. When they are sent out they get "go pee pee" and they do it. They are let out at intervals so that I'm sure they will need to go - and they do. Dogs love routine. They used to get a biscuit for doing it in the right place. Now they get a fuss made of them. They soon learned - don;t let them in until they do it - can be a battle of wills at the start - really quite funny at times.


As for outside - you can train a dog to pee or poo poo on command but I've not tried that - although it could be handy if you fell out with neighbours! You tend to get used to knowing where your dogs like to go (after a while) and then either carry poo bags with pride (part and parcel of having a dog really) or try to start your walk near a bin.


Good luck


 


 


 


 



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Why do I always have poo bags in every pocket?
emma


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I have noticed something really strange about Tiger. If he has his dinner and I walk him later he will poo over and over again until all that comes out in the last couple of attempts is liquid.


 If I walk him on an empty stomach and he has been (like first thing in the morning) he will either not go or go just once. He does not keep trying. It is quite strange and appears to be some kind of marking behaviour, you can end up with four bags to carry!!!


 You can also tell where Tiger will go, it is as if he looks for nettles (strange) we joke that he will sting his bum but it never stops him! We see nettles and say 'oh look a poo spot' It is so funny!


As for going at home he never goes over and over at home but knows the command 'Get Busy' from the kennels, both of mine know what is expected. Chad always goes on the bamboo (nice for the poor bamboo) I think it is the grass they like because he too goes in the verges!


Em, Tig and Chad X 



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Kathye


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Thanks Steve...  maybe we need a stronger reinforcement for getting it 'right' in the garden, a treat or something.  I admit I'm rather understated about all of this because we live above a sort of corner shop in our village that means our garden is overlooked by everyone popping out for their paper and pint of milk!  Silly I know but I just couldn't quite overcome my bashfulness about getting excited in public about a pile of poo.


Emma, that's just how Daz is only with us it's thistles and tall spiky twigs.  He goes to them so his face is in the spiky bits and I can never figure what the objective is in getting his eyes poked out while having a crap.


Funniest episode I thought might help us on the way with this was the time when he was all down in that very difficult to reach crouch and a rabbit shot out right under his chin and ran across the field.  I honestly thought he'd never want to be caught short again like that   But no, he's definitely chosen that field as favourite place.


Four bags...  no no, not a new idea for a competition   Peter tends to go on linear walks at night time so he leaves the outgoing pile to pick up on the way back.  The other day he commented that he wasn't sure he'd picked up the right pile but guessed it didn't matter, it was all one big poo exchange system and if Daz's was a bit runny he'd swap it for a solid one ...  dear me...  you can tell, since the arrival of the dog our household has degenerated to the sense of humour of a couple of nine year old kids ;)



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CAROLE ROBINSON


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I shouldn't laugh I know, but this thread gave me a real giggle. I have been awake all night, bored out of my skull, tired of tidying cupboards, and so I logged into the forum! It reminded me of my youngest's early training days (Rosie). She came to us in February as a 16 week old pup who had had 2 homings so she was a bit confused. I made things worse by trying to get her to go on command, quick, because of the cold, wet weather. Eventually, the poor wee thing thought her name was "Peepee". Thanks for brightening a long night!

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emma


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Kathy,


       Love the bit about the rabbit! I laughed too, Carole I am a total insomniac so I can really identify. Em X



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Kathye


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Glad it made you smile too.  We've certainly had a few laughs out of the whole thing. 


 


Just wanted to report relative success.  It took time and determination, particularly that last week I decided THIS was the week we were going to make it happen.  Peter had a fluey sort of thing so I was in charge of most of Daz's activities so we set about training in earnest.  I needed to set aside a fair bit of time because the plan was this:


Take him in the garden as soon as I get up.  He usually pees but won't poo because he expects a walk with Peter.


An hour later take him in the garden and offer him another chance to poo.  He wouldn't take it.


Set off on a short (five minute) trip round the block that takes in a grassy path by the scrapyard.  This is always enough to trigger him to want to poo because he just homes in on grassy verges and paths.  Don't let him stop because _I_ know we're going to be back in the garden in five mins and am confident he can hold on.  Daz walks with his buttocks clenched and an earnest look on his face, we get back in two minutes rather than five at that speed and he poos.  He gets a clicker and piece of cheese reward.


He actually got the gist of the morning bit pretty soon and does that.  He still takes every opportunity to crap out on the walks but at least it's not quite such a high volume to be carrying around.  We don't give any praise when he poos out on walks.  We do still say 'hurry up' in a desperate attempt to get him to have a word command that might speed the whole process up.


He clearly expects cheese after he's pooed in the garden now but we're not totally sure he understands which action gets the cheese because sometimes he sneaks a squatting pee and rushes over as if expecting cheese and I sometimes wonder if he's pulling a fast one and whether he's really capable of being that crafty or just hasn't got the hang of what exactly he gets rewarded for.


Anyway... it's progress and I'm pleased with it :)



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