You may think that I am yanking your chain but as your little dogs are as small as a cat is it possible to have them crap in a litter tray? Or is it possible to have a small area with renewable kitty litter in it?

Speaking from practical experience, it is far easier to clean up after the little beasties on a hard surface like paving or concrete than it is on lawn or other plant material, even mulch. My dogs actually prefer it.

Many dogs are uncomfortable going on a hard surface and so are owners because it's easy for the dog to confuse hard surfaces inside and outside.

I'd put sod down, but if there's not much sun, you may end up with more moss and chickweed than grass. But, so what? Keep it mowed, stick a few large, attractive, matching pots of flowering plants on the paved area and don't worry about it. Keep the doggie land mines cleaned up every day so the dogs (and you) won't be afraid of the area.

You could plant a shade-tolerant ground cover, but I would advise against it because it will be hard to find the land mines among the ground cover.

Kelly Cassidy

Here's a link to a similar discussion on the Lawn forum: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/yarddoctor/msg0613335111620.html?3

If that doesn't seem feasible, the next step may be the product below.

Here is a link that might be useful: grass?

Dogs are perfectly capable of distinguishing hard surfaces, probably with a subtlety that humans could only dream about. Dogs are also extremely good at training their people to give them what they want. Mine does.

There are all kinds of reasons why it is better for a dog to go on a hard surface, including the dog's health.

Ask the people at any of the schools where dogs are trained for the blind. I will vouch for the fact that these schools love dogs in ways that are amazing. I mean they really care about the overall well-being of these animals. While your at it, you can ask them about how well a dog can distinguish not only a hard surface from a grassy one, but also one hard surface from another.

My point isn't to change your mind about a grassy or other "soft" potty area. Re-training dogs can be extremely difficult and both you and your dogs are trying to learn the routine of a new home.

Just didn't want anybody to lose sleep over whether their dog would pee on the floor because they couldn't tell it wasn't the concrete patio. Believe me, they know.

Wellspring

As several posters have said, a hard surface is more sanitary for the dog (and you). Much easier to cle4an, and since the urine from even a tiny dog will eventually kill the grass, much easier on your limited landscape. Wellspring is correct, the dog can be re-trained to use a new surface. What about buying a couple of those flat rectangle cement block stepping stones? Placed side by side, they should provide plenty of space for a Chihuahua to do it's thing, and would be easy to keep clean. If you were so inclined, you could occasionally pick them up and dunk them in a mild beach solution to disinfect them. Just let them air dry before putting them down for use again.

BTW, I love the idea of the mini landscaping; I can just see a fairy garden designed for tiny dogs.

Dunking a chihuaha in a beach, doesn't sound like a very mild solution to me! As for air drying, that sound cruel. I can see those poor little things pinned to a clothes line by the ears, shame on you little dog.

I agree with the suggestion above. Many breeders are now training their puppies (even large breed dogs) to go in "litter boxes" with compressed paper pellets (no problems with puppy ingestion, large enough not to be scattered around, and cheaper than kitty litter) to aid cleaning.

I think the litter scenario would make the patio a lot more usable in the long run then letting them do their thing and smelling urine (even if there's not a lot) when it gets hot.

I think bleach is alot better at disinfecting, but now that you mention it, taking the dog to the beach sounds like it might be fun.

Using a clothesline? Why, that's nothing. Our Mom did it all the time...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:12059}}

Very good. Which one is you? I'm going to send that to my daughter, she has two kids under three and is busy fixing velcro to their clothes so that she can stick them to the ceiling but this might work better.

Velcro?! What's this world coming to?

(Oh, um, the one on the far left.)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:12060}}

Um, I had a house dog once, a husky/shepherd cross. In his later years, I had to put him in a kennel for the first (and last) time while I went on a week-long camping trip. (He was too old to walk very far by then.)

I came back to hear that the kennel personnel, after 3 DAYS, realized he had not peed. He would NOT go on the concrete. Against their own policy, they took him for a walk in a grassy area, where he immediately went and went...with a lot of blood. The kennel owner, a vet, put him on antibiotics. He collapsed, in a bad reaction to the antibiotics. They put him inside in the vet hospital, with regular walks outside until I got back. He nearly died because he thought it was wrong to go on a hard surface.

So, yeah, you can probably retrain most house-broken dogs to use a hard surface...but not all.

If the smell of urine on grass is a problem, you could water the grass every day.

An older dog, particularly with health issues, is a special case. Frankly, when my last Guide Dog was dying, I didn't care where he went to the bathroom as long as he was comfortable. One of his last pleasures was laying down on the concrete back patio after it had been well warmed by the sun. In October (2004) his back legs were pretty much shot and we had one of our last truly warm days. I sat out on the porch with his head in my lap for hours, stroking his body, and letting him feel the sun. Several weeks later his balance was completely gone again and this time the vet recommended we put him down. Again, with his head in my lap, we said "Good-bye."

Dogs are psychological and emotional beings and they do "feel" shame. Old dogs can learn new tricks, but learning new potty behaviors is the trickiest trick of all. It is difficult because where to go potty is something that is best learned as a pup or young dog. So, you can teach an older dog to do something new in terms of their work, play or service, but just as with humans, the potty thing is something the "pack" teaches at a very early age. It can throw dogs for a loop to try and reinforce a new behavior. ButÂif an old dog's health is reasonably good, and if an owner can work with the dog and wait out his bladder, then a well-affirmed production of output on the new surface will put even an old dog well on the way to a new potty behavior.

I am very sorry to hear about what happened to your dog, Kelly, but it is still true that in most situations training a dog to go on a hard surface is best for the dog. Teaching an old dog what to do in unusual circumstances, for a short term situation, is a special case. Dogs, like people, have geriatric problems that go far beyond potty surfaces--dementia, depression, anxiety about being away from familiar surroundings, not to mention specific physiological conditions.

The OP is the only one who can truly assess all the factors with his dogs in mind. My offering was simply to assert that dogs can and do differentiate surfaces with a high degree of sophistication and inteligence.

Wellspring, whose current Guide Dog sometimes has her own ideas about where to goÂ

Chihuahuas just don't have a lot of output--less than a cat. We're not talking a Great Dane here. I wouldn't be really concerned about where they go, it won't be much. Something soft like grass would be nice for them, but if the area is shady that is going to be a problem. Dare I suggest synthetic grass for a 9x9 area? No mowing, no watering, if it is in shade it's not going to get beastly hot. The new synthetic stuff is pretty attractive, and no maintenance is always attractive.

Synthetic lawn is a good optionÂthe higher quality synthetic lawns donÂt look too bad and they can be hosed off and disinfected as needed. I recommend making sure the soil under the lawn area is well-drained so it won't stay wet. One can even install a small sprinkler system to flush the urine through the grass automatically. In some cities one can hire a company to maintain a portable patch of sod or synthetic lawn.

My little dogs (miniature pinschers) donÂt like to go out in the rain, and getting them to go out to pee on stormy nights can be a challenge. If you can situate the lawn area where at least part of it is under cover, your dogs will appreciate it!

To add to the garden look you could add a little dog house dressed up to look like a garden shed and a few boulders along the lawn edge for your little pups to mark on. One of my dogs favorite things in our garden is a frog spitting water into a small pool of water, its their drinking fountain.

Here is a link that might be useful: Doggy Duty

Like someone mentioned above a litter box can definetly be used for minuature sized dogs like Chihuahuas. I have a friend who trained her Pomeranian to use one. And you don't even have to use it outdoors, it can be placed in a bathroom or on a balcony.

We live in an apartment and have a male Bichon Frise. We decided to use a platform that is covered with turf and allows the pee to drains into a container below. Because he is a male and lifts his leg to pee we also put a cute mini fire hydrant on top for him to mark on. It's very cute.

We leave the platform on the balcony and it's his bathroom spot. Definetly a big help since we don't have to take him out of the building as often and also on rainy and snowy days. This article might give you some ideas: A Dog Fire Hydrant Potty Is Your Lawn's Best Friend