Thread: How do I teach my dog to go potty in one spot?

We used to live in a house with no fence, so we always took the dog out on a leash. Now we've moved and have a huge fenced-in yard. We've designated one area as the dog potty spot, but we're still taking her out on a leash to make sure she uses it. She seems to know what it's for, and usually heads for it first thing, leash or not, bit if she's running around the yard, she will go other places as well. How do I teach her NOT to just poop wherever she is? We play in the yard and garden and can't have landmines all over the place.

why can't you pick up the poop after she goes? seems that'd be alot less hassle than training her to go in one spot.

my dog always goes in the same spot but I didn't train her to do it :lol:

I would imagine that using a leash like you are is probably the only way to train for it.

why can't you pick up the poop after she goes?

That would mean following her out so I can see where she goes. On almost 2 acres it's not easy to keep track of and I don't want Morganna finding a pile before I do. Also, it's impossible to get every bit. Even if we clean it up right away, there's still a little bit on the grass. I've been to a lot of houses where the dog only went in one spot, so it must be possible.

How old is she? Dogs are puppies until about 18m - 2yo. Just like a child, they may have accidents while playing or running around, or just forget until it's too late to get there. The best thing I'd advise is to make sure that she is praised when going in the potty spot, and reminded of where the potty spot is when she's gone somewhere else. Even if it sounds silly, tell her "this is your potty" and "this is not, it's over here" - then you could walk her to the sspot and say again "this is your potty, every time". Or whatever language works for you. I think that, again like babies, they understand tone more than actual words. It will take time, but yes eventually she'll be able to go in her designated spot every time. I know it's hard to be patient with pets, but we gotta try, yk?
Oh and make sure there's no food or water for her in the same area. They will not go where they eat/drink/sleep during their outside time.

HTH!