Expert: Patti - 7/6/2009

Question
we adopted a 10 yr old female lab who is a great dog. She always urinates at the bottom of the outside steps or the bottom of the deck steps. I have tried everything i can think of to make her go further down in the yard. It seems like the first spot of dirt she finds that is where she is going. We have even dug up our dirt pathway and replaced it with stone because she kept going there. I don't know what else to do to make her stop going in inappropriate spots outside. She has never gone inside the house which i am totally grateful for and always uses the doggy door. Your help is greatly appreciated as i am running out of ideas.

Answer
Hi Debra,

You can try using a dog repellent on your deck steps, or other areas you don't want your dog using. Brands to look for are: Boundary Cat & Dog repellent granules, Farnam B'have dog repellent, or Repel II Cat & Dog Repellent.

To help your dog learn where she should relieve herself, you have to show her. With your dog on her leash, take her outside in your yard to the area you want her to use. The moment she's done relieving herself offer plenty of praise and even a tasty treat of some kind. Let her know that she's wonderful, and that her actions have pleased you. It will take a few weeks, but your dog will learn. Until she learns this lesson, your needs to be supervised when she's outside. If you aren't there to show her where to "go", you have no way to prevent her from going in areas you want to protect.

Best of luck,

Patti