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Dog peeing

10 years ago

How do you keep a dog from 'watering the bushes'? I'm trying desperately to fill my backyard with various trees, flowers, and shrubs, to create a park-like environment where I can ' spend my later years', but DD(dear dog)is preventing this from happening. Can anyone offer tips, suggestions, or ideas short of putting a fence around every plant? Thank you very much!!

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Comments (7)

mulchmama
10 years ago
Training, training, training. And even then, there are no guarantees. Place a sacrificial shrub somewhere and reward him for peeing on it. A boulder that suits him size-wise would be even better. Leash him and encourage him to go on your target item, not his. Dogs are such creatures of routine, this shouldn't take too long.

We have an 8-month old Aussie mix puppy who hasn't begun to hike his leg yet, but I am already picking out things to train him on. It took forever to housetrain him, so I'm just glad he isn't doing it on our floors anymore.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
talk to your vet..

get one of the products like bitter apple ....

go out and spritz all the bushes on the grass side ... just one spritz per plant ...

put the dog on the leash ... inside the back door.. spray them a mouthful ... i did it to myself first.. its safe.. they will go thru the peanut butter on the palette thingee.... its hilarious,.,.

then walk him to every bush ... and watch him shy away from each.. and give them a stern .... and loudish NO ... and a slight tug on the collar ....

next time out.. spritz the mouth again.. and say no ...

etc.. ad nauseum ...

soon enough.. you wave the container at the dog.. his ears go down.. he looks at you sheepishly .. and puts his head down .. you say NO ... and let him out.. then watch from the window... and i bet my shiny nickle.. he wont go near any scented bush ... if he does.. back tot eh leash ... and walk him around.. until he does his biz.. where you allow .... perhaps.. leave a mature tree unsprayed.. so he can do it there ...

lets be clear.. you are the problem in the equation... he is doing.. what dogs do... its your job to train him ... using the product.. and voice ...

and if you are watching from the back door... and he looks back ... as he is lifting a leg ... yell your NO.. and wave the bottle.. and he will scoot away ...

its the pavlovian system ... but as avoidance..

good luck ...

a well trained dog.. is a shear joy.. it is a bonding experience.... he will relish the time spent with you.. and come to respond to voice alone ....

just dont give up .. i mean really it took the kids almost 3 years to stop peeing in their pants... but i bet you can train a dog inside 30 days ....

ken
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When I was trying to keep the deer off my roses planted in the front yard I bought five of the motion activiated scarecrows. They actually worked well for the deer, but hearing the water go on and off during the night would sometimes wake us up, plus the sprinklers overlapped the sidewalk in a couple of places and if we didn't get up early enough to turn off the water the squeals of early morning joggers would wake us for sure ... LOL. Kids would keep running back and forth setting them off numerous times making it impossible to sleep late on week ends. A timer was needed. Finally it got to be too much and I gave up, sold the deer scarers, and moved all the roses and other deer treats to the back yard. There are lots of nice things you can plant in front that the deer don't like. As mentioned above I've found spraying diluted pine-sol cleaner stopped the dogs from peeing on tires and cats from spraying around such places as the front porch. Good luck!
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Thanks for reposting Ryan. For those of you who don't know, Ryan posted to both the lawn forum and to the Ask the Yard Doctor forum. There is something hinky about the ATYD forum which turns off the ability to comment. So we saw it but could not reply to him. I found one of his posts on another forum which did allow comments and dropped the hint to repost only to the lawn forum. Since the dog pees in the same spot all the time, you can start to flush away the excess urine with the hose. Then the sugar should help. I would not do anything else. What you have already done should not hurt. My St Aug is going crazy this year. We had the weirdest spring ever with 1 day of summer and 1 day of winter guaranteed every week. We also got 3-4 inches of rain every month until May when it stopped. My St Aug in the back has grown in thick for about 15 feet. Normally it grows in thin for 10 feet and thickens the following year. Where do you live? Are the pee spots in the shade or full sun?
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Ida- Here you go. ASK REAL ESTATE Can My Dog Poop on Someone’s Lawn if There’s No Sidewalk? Even conscientiousness dog owners sometimes find themselves in stinky situations. By Ronda Kaysen Q: When I take my dog for a walk in my suburban New Jersey neighborhood, I t to encourage him to do his business on the berm between the sidewalk and the curb. But on some blocks, lawns run right up to the curb, leaving no sidewalk. A homeowner recently yelled at me for letting my dog go on her lawn, even though I had picked it up. She has since posted a sign telling dogs to stay off her grass. I was taken aback. I’m a courteous dog owner, but what else am I supposed to do? My dog needs to go. A: Your neighbor’s lawn is not your dog’s bathroom, regardless of the design. The nitrogen content in the urine could damage her grass or plants. If she has children, she may not want them playing on a soiled lawn, especially because your dog’s waste could potentially carry harmful diseases. And if she has a dog of her own, another canine marking his territory might stress her pet. For all these reasons, train your dog to defecate closer to home. “Why would you walk your dog to my property when you have a yard?” said Jean Owen, the owner of NJ Fix My Dog in Morristown. “Frankly, it’s gross.” Ms. Owen suggests that you instead designate a place on your property where your dog can relieve himself. To train him, stand near the spot until he goes and reward him with a treat, and then a walk. “It is very easy to teach,” saidAndrea Arden, a Manhattan dog trainer, “especially with puppies. On the second or third trip, they’re going to go to the bathroom where you teach them.” This will benefit everyone involved. If you walk your dog with the goal that he might eventually pee or poop along the way, expect distractions to drag out the process. “When it’s pouring rain, you are going to have to walk half a mile” before the dog relieves himself, Ms. Owen said. Consider the sign and the earlier conversation with you as polite ways to make a point. (You’re probably not the only offender.) Other frustrated homeowners have resorted to sprinkling the ground with cayenne pepper or ginger, which can cause nasal irritation, or set sprinklers to motion detectors to spray pets on their property. By contrast, your neighbor chose a clear, direct and safe tactic to get your attention. In return, heed her request, and stay off her grass.
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Embothrium
10 years ago
Put in posts, rocks etc. for him to use instead - it doesn't have to be a living shrub. Or fence off the new plantings, same as if you had a deer or rabbit problem.
Tim
10 years ago
I don't have any pets, so my knee-jerk reaction is to tell you to get rid of the dog. :-) But on a more sympathetic note, I would have to agree with Mulchmamma. Train him to urinate on one permanent object. Also, it sounds like you have a high-energy dog. Make sure you take him out on frequent walks and give him LOTS of exercise. Letting him run free in the backyard is not a good substitute for spending time running and walking your dog. If you don't, he will make up his own fun by destroying your plants and gardens.
But if that doesn't work...get rid of the dog.
mulchmama
10 years ago
I am SO missing the two dogs we lost near the end of last year. Jimmy and Hallie were 13 and 14 years old and died within two months of each other. They were just amazing -- pottied on command, and only on mulched areas. At our previous home, we made a mulched potty area, about 300 sq. ft., and as soon as they would do their business, they would look at me for the "free" command to run onto the lawn. Then when we moved to Kansas, they were so used to peeing on mulch, they just did it in the flower beds, and that was fine with me. It never killed anything.

The two we have now though...8 months and 18 months now. They wouldn't do it on mulch if their lives depended on it.
mulchmama
10 years ago
Delete dupe.

This post was edited by MulchMama on Tue, Sep 17, 13 at 18:00
mulchmama
10 years ago
I am SO missing the two dogs we lost near the end of last year. Jimmy and Hallie were 13 and 14 years old and died within two months of each other. They were just amazing -- pottied on command, and only on mulched areas. At our previous home, we made a mulched potty area, about 300 sq. ft., and as soon as they would do their business, they would look at me for the "free" command to run onto the lawn. Then when we moved to Kansas, they were so used to peeing on mulch, they just did it in the flower beds, and that was fine with me. It never killed anything.

The two we have now though...8 months and 18 months now. They wouldn't do it on mulch if their lives depended on it.

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