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Training your dog to go potty outside is hard enough, but what if you need to leave your pup alone at home for hours at a time. You can't leave him kenneled for this long on a daily basis as it is not healthy. Your pup will not pee or poop in his kennel unless he has no choice, just as a wolf will not defecate or urinate in his den. One way to deal with this is to train your dog to use fake grass both indoors and out.
By doing this, you can teach your pup to do his business on a small piece of fake grass that is placed in a specific place in your home. Not only will this keep any messes he might make all in one place, it will allow him to be free in your home instead of caged up for hours at a time. The same concepts can be applied to help your dog adapt to using artificial turf outside in your yard, if necessary.
The concept is to teach your pup that it is only okay for him to relieve himself in your home when he does so on the fake grass. The only real problem with this is that if you have already trained him to go outside to go potty it can be hard to train him to do so in the house. This is a big change for both of you, who have worked so hard to get him to go outside.
The best way to make this training stick is to pick one location in your home to place the fake grass and leave it there. Moving it around will only confuse your pup and make it that much harder to successfully train your pup. Be aware that it can take your pup a few weeks to master this skill and not forget how to do his business outside when appropriate.
Start training your pup during a time when your house is nice and quiet. It is so much easier to train when there aren't any distractions. Be sure to choose a spot in your home with a hard floor, not carpet. It is possible, at least in the beginning, that your pup might miss the fake grass from time to time and his urine may soak through onto the floor. You will also need a few supplies, including:
- Treats: You need
a way to reward your pup.
- Leash: To lead
your dog to the fake grass and hold him there until he goes potty.
- The fake grass: You need a large piece of fake grass that can be cut to size as needed.
- Patience: This type
of training takes plenty of patience if you want it to be successful.
- Time: Be prepared,
it will take your pup some time to master this new "skill."
Once you have all supplies gathered, the only thing left for you is to commit to the time needed to work with your pup several times a day until he masters this skill. The good news is your pup is very smart and loves learning new things, make use of this along with plenty of treats and he will soon know where to go potty when he can't get outside.
The Pick a Spot Method
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Choose your spot or rather, his
Pick a spot in your home for your pup's fake grass potty. It should be on linoleum, tiles, hardwood, anything but carpet. If you don't have a spot like this, you can put plastic or a tray under the fake grass to protect the floor beneath. Once you have chosen a spot, stick to it, as moving it around will only confuse him.
Never trust your dog
Just because your pup understands that the real grass outside is where he is supposed to go potty, don't assume he will automatically start using the "fake grass" on the inside. Chances are he won't want to, especially now that you have worked so hard to get him to go outside.
Back to potty training 101
Remember taking your puppy outside every half hour whether he looked like he needed to go or not? Well, training him to use the fake grass on the inside will be a lot like doing this all over again. Keep your pup on a leash at the beginning and walk him over to the fake grass every 30 minutes or so. When he goes potty, be sure to reward him and give him lots of praise.
Take the leash off
Now you should be able to take his leash off and let him roam free. Keep a close eye on him and watch to see if he goes to the fake grass or tries to go somewhere else. If he goes on the fake grass, give him a treat, if not go back to working with him on a leash until he does.
Repeat this step
Repeat this until your pup will go over to the mat on his own without the leash on. Each time he goes potty on the fake grass successfully, be sure to praise him and give him a treat.
The Dogs Love Routine Method
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Pick a spot
Find a safe place in your home to place the fake grass, one that you can leave it in place and that your dog will be able to find easily that is not near his kennel if you use one.
Take it to the mat
Just like in the early days of potty training your dog, you will need to take him to the mat (fake grass) frequently during the day, when you first get up, just before bedtime, and after meals or when he drinks a lot of water.
Stand in place
Once you have your dog standing on the fake grass, make him stand there for ten minutes. The idea is to give him enough time to decide he needs to go potty. If he finally goes, be sure to praise him and give him a treat.
When he won't go
If he hasn't gone potty after ten minutes, release him and keep a close eye on him. If he shows any indication that he might need to go potty, usher him over to the fake grass. This may take a while, but you need to watch him closely or you may end up with messes to clean up.
Keep trying
Once your pup has decided that it's okay to use the fake grass as his potty, the rest involves plenty of practice, but in time he will get the message and you will no longer have messes to clean up.
The Getting Smaller Method
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Pick a room
Find a room in your house that has a solid floor such as the kitchen or bathroom, one that you can confine your dog in during the training process. It should be a room in which you can cover the bulk of the floor with fake grass.
Lay out the grass
Lay the roll of fake grass out flat, leaving as little open floor as possible for your dog to use instead of the grass.
Enter the pup
Place your pup in the room and barricade him in it. When he does his business on the fake grass, be sure to give him treats and a heap of praise.
Reduction time
Start cutting the fake grass, making it smaller by about one foot all around every three days. If he keeps going on the fake grass, give him plenty of treats. If not, put the fake grass you cut out back in place and work with him until you can start removing sections again.
Work your way down
Keep repeating this process until you have cut the piece of fake grass down to the size you plan to use. Keep working with your pup using treats until he never misses the fake grass and voila! Your pup will always use the fake grass in the house to go potty.
Written by PB Getz
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 11/10/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
My husband works overnight on the weekend and I have young kids. I can't take dog outside because I have no one to supervise while I'm gone. I'm trying to use a diy grass pad on my porch but only for the weekend. Will she get confused using the grass pad and going outside?
Sept. 28, 2021
Reign's Owner
Alisha Smith - Alisha S., Dog Trainer
253 Dog owners recommended
Hello! Dogs typically do not struggle when you use a potty spot, and a regular grassy area outdoors. This should not cause you any problems.
Sept. 29, 2021
We bring our puppy to a fresh grass patch on our balcony every hour and he still manages to only go indoors (and in his crate). Any advice?
Aug. 17, 2021
Bagel's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Michelle, First, if pup doesn't go potty when you take him to the balcony, I recommend crating pup for thirty to forty-five minutes, then trying again, so pup isn't free in your home until their bladder is empty. Check out the crate training method from the article I have linked below, except instead of taking pup potty outside, you will take them to the balcony. I also recommend purchasing a potty encouraging spray to spray on your grass pad before you take pup there each time temporarily. If your grass pad area is pretty small, I would add additional grass temporarily until pup has improved with going on there. In the crate, if there is anything absorbent in the crate, including a towel or soft bed, remove that. If you want to provide some padding in there, use something like www.primopads.com or k9ballistics crate mats that are non-absorbent until pup is fully potty trained. Also, make sure the crate is only big enough for pup to stand up, turn around, and lie down. If too big, pup won't be motivated to hold it in there. If you have a wire crate that's too big, you can use a wire crate divider to temporarily make yours smaller instead of needing a new crate. At this age pup will only be able to hold their bladder for a maximum of 2-3 hours during the day. Ideally pup should be taken out every hour like you are doing though. If any of the accidents are happening during longer stays in the crate, that could be why. Thoroughly clean your crate with a cleaner that contains enzymes to remove the potty smells, to discourage pup from going in there again too. Other cleaners won't be thorough enough, even bleach, to remove the smell to the level a dog needs. Read pet cleaner bottles for the word enzyme or enzymatic somewhere on the bottle, about half of pet cleaners contain it. Depending on where you adopted pup from, some puppies can loose the natural desire to keep a confined space clean. This often happens when pee pads are put in crates or puppies are in pet shop type environments where they are peeing and pooping where they sleep in the cage. If that's the case with pup, you will need to use an exercise pen with a grass pad inside also, and have pup stay in the exercise pen near the pad until they go potty at night and when you can't supervise pup, then when you have pup free in the home, supervising, keep pup tethered to yourself with a hands free leash so you will notice when pup needs to go potty to take them to the balcony. Pup should still be able to use the balcony and phase out the indoor exercise pen, but it will just take a lot longer to train that than it would with a crate. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Aug. 18, 2021
I am trying to housetrain my dog to pee on concrete and I had a response from wag telling me to use grass sod and then start slowly cutting away at it so that eventually all that is left is concrete. Do I purchase real grass sod or artificial grass?
July 11, 2021
Remy's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Lucia, I would purchase real grass sod. You can either try to locate somewhere like a tractor supply or garden store to sell you a small amount, or you can just use a disposable real grass pad (which is still real grass), online. Disposable real grass pad brands: www.doggielawn.com www.freshpatch.com www.porchpotty.com (their replacement grass pieces, opposed to the entire system. Doggielawn and freshpatch are often sold on Amazon. I would avoid the fake grass because it's essentially made out of plastic, doesn't smell like real grass, is less comfortable on pup's paws, and isn't as absorbent - so pup's not as likely to want to go potty on it, as they are on real grass. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
July 12, 2021