# Lying on pee grass patch



## BrutusBuckeye (Apr 5, 2011)

So... We just got Brutus yesterday, so I know its early and my expectations are not high. But I bought him a grass potty patch to pee/poop on indoors until he is a little older and he seems to think of it as his rest area. Everytime I put him on it he lies down and whenever I tell him to go potty he lies down on it. How do I get him to understand that it is not a bed but his potty? Any suggestions would be awesome!!!!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

What was he used to going on at the breeders? If you can collect some of his poo try putting in on the grass. My Zoey uses a washable pad and when it is clean she will sometimes lay on it. If you can catch him in the act rush him on to the grass say potty or what ever you have chosen to say. If he goes get really excited and give a treat. I like deli turkey or home made turkey or chicken.


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

Yes, I would suggest too that you put some of his 'potty' on the grass patch so he can smell his scent there. :biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yes, when we switched Kodi from litter to a grass mat, he tried using it as a bed to start with. Ours came with some "attractant" spray (probably pre-packaged pee:biggrin1 and once he smelled that, he quickly figured out what the grass was for.

I have to say, though, we ended up switching back to litter because after a short time, I couldn't get the smell out of the grass mats. Maybe my nose is more sensitive than most, but I couldn't take it!


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## shimpli (Mar 24, 2010)

Yes, my Ache did the same thing. I sit on the floor in the expen or close by for long periods of time. When she peed, I repeated "pee" many times and move her to the correct spot really fast. Same thing with poo. This was repeated over and over agan and she got it. Don't forget to make a party for him when he goes in the grass patch by himself. Good luck.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

krandall said:


> Yes, when we switched Kodi from litter to a grass mat, he tried using it as a bed to start with. Ours came with some "attractant" spray* (probably pre-packaged pee*:biggrin1 and once he smelled that, he quickly figured out what the grass was for.
> 
> I have to say, though, we ended up switching back to litter because after a short time, I couldn't get the smell out of the grass mats. Maybe my nose is more sensitive than most, but I couldn't take it!


ound: I was wondering how you and Kodi were doing with the grassy mats. That is one thing I did not notice with the UgoDog tray. It was easy to keep clean and bleach.


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

I used a spray that helps them identify the grass as a place to potty...

The K-9 brand grass has some type of anti-microbial stuff in it that seems to help with odor. I have several mats and I rinse them, spray them with Simple Solution Spray and Odor Remover, and leave them outside for a couple of days. They usually get drenched in the rain (or the sprinklers) and the sun seems to kill any remaining odor. 

My two just don't use the dog potty that often. Its more of an insurance policy for my peace of mind. They WILL use it if they have to - - but prefer to ring the bell and go outside.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

motherslittlehelper said:


> ound: I was wondering how you and Kodi were doing with the grassy mats. That is one thing I did not notice with the UgoDog tray. It was easy to keep clean and bleach.


Our boxes have a grate like the UgoDog, but have a bigger space underneath, so I can use them with the litter underneath, and the grate in place or not. So his litter box in the kitchen, which he only has access to if we are around, is uncovered, but the one in his pen has the grate over the top. That way I don't have to worry that if he has another tummy problem, he'll start eating litter. It also means that we don't have to worry about litter rolling around in the trailer when it's moving!

So even though I tossed the grass, I'm glad I have the boxes. They're working well!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ls-indy said:


> I used a spray that helps them identify the grass as a place to potty...
> 
> The K-9 brand grass has some type of anti-microbial stuff in it that seems to help with odor. I have several mats and I rinse them, spray them with Simple Solution Spray and Odor Remover, and leave them outside for a couple of days. They usually get drenched in the rain (or the sprinklers) and the sun seems to kill any remaining odor.
> 
> My two just don't use the dog potty that often. Its more of an insurance policy for my peace of mind. They WILL use it if they have to - - but prefer to ring the bell and go outside.


Unfortunately, Kodi will only poop outside if there's a choice, but he's perfectly happy to use the box to pee. And it didn't seem to matter what I washed the grass in, I couldn't REALLY get rid of the smell.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

To the OP,
You asked about "how do you get him to understand?". He won't understand for maybe a year or two. At this age it's all habit. 

We used the same grass box that Karen uses with the last litter of puppies we had, in addition to our normal litter boxes. We have a 4 x16' piece of the same grass out on the dog porch, because we wanted the puppies to understand what it's for too. We've had a couple of owners who live on boats, and the litter is too much mess on rocking boats, so they've used different brands with the grass. That's the reason we put the synthetic grass on the porch. Once one of the adults uses it, the puppies will go to it straight away. I heavily bleach it when the porch gets bleached about once a week, but it's still outside all the time and does have some odor.

I called the manufacturer of several of the different grass boxes, from the high priced to the low priced, and all the grass is made by AstroTurf in Georgia from yarn from Canada, and backing from Australia. I asked AstroTurf if it was manufactureed in Canada and Australia, and not in China. Their answer was that the yarn CAME from Canada, and the backing CAME from Australia. AstroTurf has bought out all the grass carpet weavers except a few small ones that weave some special stuff for golf. It all has some antimicrobial stuff mixed in the yarn so it doesn't mildew. With our experience with several brands-It ALL gets to the point where the cholines in the yarn can no longer overcome the stink.

For the puppies, we quickly got rid of the grass because of the trouble cleaning and descenting, but once they had gotten used to going in the box, they still would go in and use the grate. We kept a piddle pad under the grate and it worked fine. If anyone is looking to buy one, I'd get the 100 buck Rascal instead of the several hundred buck anything else.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> We used the same grass box that Karen uses with the last litter of puppies we had, in addition to our normal litter boxes. We have a 4 x16' piece of the same grass out on the dog porch, because we wanted the puppies to understand what it's for too. We've had a couple of owners who live on boats, and the litter is too much mess on rocking boats, so they've used different brands with the grass. That's the reason we put the synthetic grass on the porch. Once one of the adults uses it, the puppies will go to it straight away. I heavily bleach it when the porch gets bleached about once a week, but it's still outside all the time and does have some odor.
> 
> I called the manufacturer of several of the different grass boxes, from the high priced to the low priced, and all the grass is made by AstroTurf in Georgia from yarn from Canada, and backing from Australia. I asked AstroTurf if it was manufactureed in Canada and Australia, and not in China. Their answer was that the yarn CAME from Canada, and the backing CAME from Australia. AstroTurf has bought out all the grass carpet weavers except a few small ones that weave some special stuff for golf. It all has some antimicrobial stuff mixed in the yarn so it doesn't mildew. With our experience with several brands-It ALL gets to the point where the cholines in the yarn can no longer overcome the stink.
> 
> For the puppies, we quickly got rid of the grass because of the trouble cleaning and descenting, but once they had gotten used to going in the box, they still would go in and use the grate. We kept a piddle pad under the grate and it worked fine. If anyone is looking to buy one, I'd get the 100 buck Rascal instead of the several hundred buck anything else.


Interesting that they all claim to have "the best" grass when it's all the same.

Interestingly, Kodi, who of course has grown up with the wood pellets, steadfastly REFUSED to use the grate with a pee pad (without the grass). As soon as I switched to a thin layer of wood pellets under the grate, he was willing to pee on the grate. He still won't poop on the grate, but that's not a problem really, as he's always preferred pooping outside, and he never pooped in the litter box in his pen unless it was an emergency. I suspect that if he is having a problem and HAS to go when we're not around and he's in his pen, he'll choose the grate rather than the floor.


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## BrutusBuckeye (Apr 5, 2011)

The funny thing is, is that he has peed on it twice but after that he just lays on it like its his bed. I think I'm just gonna have to take him in my front yard. I think the problem is that he wants to walk around and sniff before he goes and the grass patch is too small to do that, I keep having to pick him up and put him back on it.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

If you're in good weather most of the time, I'd go for outside, too. We started that with McGee right away and although we have plenty of accidents still, he seems to be catching on that he needs to go outside. The last few puddles were beside the back door. Now, I'm showing him the bells to ring.


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

krandall said:


> Yes, when we switched Kodi from litter to a grass mat, he tried using it as a bed to start with. Ours came with some "attractant" spray (probably pre-packaged pee:biggrin1 and once he smelled that, he quickly figured out what the grass was for.
> 
> I have to say, though, we ended up switching back to litter because after a short time, I couldn't get the smell out of the grass mats. Maybe my nose is more sensitive than most, but I couldn't take it!


Krandall, does the litter really work for Kodi? I just switched to a grass mat because Ceylon just wasn't using the pee pads. He is 99% potty trained when we are home - in fact, I can't remember the last time he had an accident, yay! - but he needs a place to go on the 3 days a week he is home alone for 5-6 hours, and he just wouldn't use the pee pads. Unfortunately, the one I bought is really pretty small. I *think* he is using it because I haven't found any pee spots anywhere in the kitchen in the last week AND it smells like pee, more pee than I wiped on it the first day, but nothing seeps through underneath so I am not sure if he is really using it, or if he is just getting better at 'holding' it. Regardless, I want to find a solution which he can figure out to regularly use when he is alone, because then he can be allowed access to the living room as well as to the kitchen when we are out. He does _very _well alone when we are out (no crying, can you believe it?! He has his crate and food and water and toys and I always give him a sweet potato chew and a treat when I leave, and he actually just sleeps most of the time), but he is no longer a 3lb 8-week old baby, and is an almost 7-lb, 19 week old adolescent, and I think at this point he would be much more comfortable having access to the larger living room as well as to our tiny kitchen...

His sitter suggested getting a larger mat, one which he is comfortable turning around on, so maybe I will try that next, but I'd like to hear your opinion on the litter box. It is hard I think because he is (finally!!!) so well potty-trained when we are home, and we always take him outside, so I think he just doesn't know what to do when we are gone and he is confined, so he just finds the most reasonable spot (in his mind) and goes...


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

Kathie said:


> If you're in good weather most of the time, I'd go for outside, too. We started that with McGee right away and although we have plenty of accidents still, he seems to be catching on that he needs to go outside. The last few puddles were beside the back door. Now, I'm showing him the bells to ring.


We have used the bell system too since almost day one (his sitter introduced us to it, and asked that we use the same system as she did), and now Ceylon, at 19 weeks (just over 4 months) is pretty much fully potty trained when we are home. We need something for when he is alone though, something that he will use regularly when he is home alone, so that we can start letting him into the living room when we are gone...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yes, the litter box works great for Kodi, but remember, he's been using a litter box since he was 3 weeks old. Kodi does not have full run of the place when were not home. That's partly because he was a HORRIBLE chew monster when he was younger, and neither our stuff or he were safe unsupervised. 

But he just LIKES his crate/pen arrangement. When we've gone out a couple of times without putting him in his pen, that's where we find him when we get home anyway. Even when we've stayed in a hotel room and offered to let him sleep with us, he'll cuddle for a couple of minutes, but then whines to get down and goes to sleep in his crate.

Kodi would much rather go outside if we're around to let him out, (or if the weather isn't too bad to TAKE him out!) but will happily use his box at other times.


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