DoggieLawn: Training 101

DoggieLawn is designed to be the most automatic dog potty solution. The natural smell of the real grass entices dogs to "go.” Many dogs just "get it" and use it right away! More often than not, dogs that don’t “get it” quickly just need a little dog potty training to get them used to it! Check out our training videos below for tips and tricks to set you up for potty training success!

If you still need help after watching the video and following the guide below, feel free to schedule a personal training call here!

Steps

1

Start your training when your dog has a full bladder (such as first thing in the morning).
2

Prepare for your training session by making sure you have a treat in your pocket ready to reward your dog with (make sure they don’t know it’s there since that’ll be distracting).
3

Physically place your dog on the DoggieLawn and say ”go potty.” If your dog does anything but pee or poo, then simply place them back in the same spot on the DoggieLawn and repeat your command phrase: ”go potty.” If your dog sits down on the grass, walks in a circle, etc., just simply place them back in the same spot on the grass and say “go potty” again. Do this 20-30 times.

Did Your Dog “Go?!”

When your dog starts to “go” wait patiently for them to finish their business and then immediately reward with a treat and praise. WELL DONE!!!! Feel free to go on a walk or do other things after you’ve had a successful training session. Be sure to follow up with more training sessions as soon as you can to solidify the good behavior. Once your dog fairly reliably “goes” on command in the mornings, you can consider phasing out these training sessions :)

Dog Didn’t “Go” Yet?

If your dog still does not “go,” put them in a place where they won’t have an accident such as their crate and wait 30 minutes to an hour. Once that time is up, repeat steps 1-3. If your dog has an accident during this waiting time, then you’ll want to wait to repeat steps 1-3 until later in the day or the next morning - when you know they have a full bladder again.

Marking With the Scent of Another Dog

As an option, you can mark the DoggieLawn with the scent of another dog. To do this take ten or so paper towels and quarter them, wet them thoroughly and place them in a plastic sandwich bag. Go to a spot where you know a dog has peed and sop up the urine (wet or dry) and place the paper towels back in the bag. Go to the DoggieLawn and wring the liquid out onto the grass.

NOTE: The dog’s scent should be unknown to your dog. Any familiarity, even casual, with the dog or its scent will make the marking less effective. Your goal is to make your dog think a strange dog has peed on the DoggieLawn. A known or even familiar dog will elicit less of an instinctual urge to mark over the scent.

Another option is to purchase a synthetic pheromone spray HERE (but the real thing works even better!)

My Dog Still Hasn’t Gone After Several Hours - How Long Is This Going to Take?

Let’s start with a bit of background on dog behavior. Dogs use their urine as a tool to mark their territory - so they don’t necessarily have to “go” in the same way you have to “go.” When they paw at the door and say, “take me out I have to go!” they are training you to take them on a walk. But you are the Alpha and you decide when and where they pee or poo.

Your dog can hold it for a long, long time. MUCH longer than you think. Because of this, it’s routine for dogs to hold it well into the evening on the first training day or even overnight! Don’t worry, your dog will have an accident before they hurt themselves by holding it.

In our experience, if your dog thinks they’re going to be taken on a walk they will hold it. Once they “give up” on waiting for a walk, the real training can occur. As you can imagine this may take many hours to happen. But, it will happen! Be the Alpha and be patient. One dog we trained finally peed at noon on the second day! This is extreme, but it goes to show you how dog’s pee works.