Training your dog to use Indoor grass

 

For dogs using the grass toilet is often a natural relief, but like us sometimes they need some encouragement and direction. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you on the way. 

 

Routine

The first tip is observation and routine. If you're bestie likes to go at a certain time for example when you get home cause he's excited take him straight to the grass. When Fido Pees then give him lots of extra sprinkles of love even if it's just a dribble.  Same thing when he wakes up or comes home from a walk etc.  The more you practise this with Fido the better they'll understand till one day it'll click.

Observation

Try not to let your dog use it as a bed. No one wants to pee where they sleep, at least I hope not. Monitor them when they first get it to ensure they know it's not a chew toy or a place to hold a grassfetii party. We do have aids for this if they're persistent but sometimes it just takes some redirection.   

All the Smells

Dogs like to mark the territory on things that they consider theirs. Their home is just that, it's theirs. It is often helpful to use something with another dogs uhh scent to help encourage a dog to then cover their scent with their own. If you can't get another dog to go directly on it don't worry. Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors (odorant receptors) in their noses, compared to about six million in us. (Now you know they love you when you blame the dog!) If you can't get it direct from the sauce if you head down to a local dog park where a dog has left his scent on a stick or leaf etc you can grab the object (with gloves or bag or something cause eww) and leave it on the grass at home. The dog will still recognise the scent and will have the instinct to cover it up with its own blend. 

Verbal Commands

Try and use verbal commands too. If your dog goes outside on walkies then try saying something along the lines of "good toilet Fido" whenever he pees on the grass. If we do this frequently enough they can associate the word toilet with well going to the toilet. Then when you get home and there on the toilet you can try and say "toilet" or when they go on the toilet say "good toilet" with a sprinkle of extra love. It sounds silly but the average dog can learn up to 165 words, so when you're wondering if they can understand you they just might!

Transfering from Environmentally harmful to an Environment High Paw

If your bestie is going from puppy pads or smelly synthetics try using them over or under the grass. Gradually decrease the size of the puppy pad until the dog understands that the grass is there and the actual target and of course ensuring lots of extra sprinkles of love each time along the way.  

In Dog We Trust

Sometimes especially with older dogs, going inside feels like a trap if they've been told toilets are outside! In this case you can try putting the grass on a balcony or outside and allowing the dog to use it and then giving love. I know what you're thinking, "If I wanted to do that I would just take the dog outside" but it's temporary. Once the dog knows that it is a good thing to pee on the Paw-ta-Potty you can then transition it to inside. This may help relieve the feeling for your bestie from there not supposed to go inside to hey that's my toilet over there.