Patio area for puppy's outside toilet/run rather than up the stairs to the grass - is that ok?

[notimefortv]

Hi,

Am getting a Bichon Poo in 3 wks (Bichon Frise / Poodle cross) and we want to section off a safe play / toilet area in the garden - we have a patio area we were looking at using as no stairs involved and we can fence it off away from a shared path area with neightbours garden and kids play area on grass.

My questions are this....

Should I put paper down or anything to stimulate the puppy going to the loo here - really what I am asking is do they need a nice grassy area or is patio ok?

Of course when she is old enough to take out she will have walks in grassy areas.

Would also be nice to keep her toilet area separate from kids play area.

Dogs like to go to the loo on grass/mud etc as this absorbs the smell. They don't really like going on hard surfaces. Can you build in some sort of loo/sandpit?

Thanks - I had a feeling this would be the case - and that there may be something I should do to make it more appealing to her - am happy to have a loo area as such so will have a look into what we could do????/

Our 9 week old puppy has gravitated towards the rose bushes, mainly because we put fresh compost down just before we got him

I tried to get him to go in a corner of the patio, thinking I could hose it down, but he wasn't keen.

Could you section off a small area of the patio and put some soil in/on it?

Was very proud of Max this lunchtime - the back door was already open, he jumped down the step (big step for little pup), went over to the rose bushes and did a wee all by himself. I've been taking him out regularly up til now

It can be done, although it's true they prefer grass etc. Assistance dogs are trained as pups to go on a concreted area that can be hosed down.

thanks all - I think I do need to just go with the flow a bit as well as seem to getting more prepared and worried that we have everything in place for the puppy than I ever was with my babies!

Anymore suggestions of what I can put down for the the pup to pee on, on the patio welcome....

p.s. Well done Max!

I am still trying to picture what it will be like to have my new little girl here - looking at the space in the kitchen where her bed will be and wondering how it will go - hmmm, I seem to remember doing the same with a cot three times over!

I think I would encourage the concrete. It will be easier to clean than say sand or bark. If you don't let the pup onto the grass to start with and she once starts peeing on the concrete it will be easier for her. She will start to pee on the scent of the previous pee!

It is so exciting getting a new pup can I have a new one now pleasssssse!

Well done Max what a clever boy treat flying it's way over to you

Our puppy goes on concrete. We have an 8 yr old ds with severe ASD and Learning Difficulties and couldn't have mess all over the garden.

We have a concrete area that we have a plastic fence around - when he has "gone" we then open the grassed area of the garden up for him to play but only after he has been. Alfie much prefers grass but we need to be able to hose and disinfect.

It can be done but it isn't the easy option. For us it mattered. We have had the odd accident but very few. We put paper on the concrete initially but he never went on the paper. 4 weeks into life with a puppy Alfie has his own place on the concrete that he uses.

If it's doable then I'd definitely keep pushing the weeing/pooing on concrete, cos it's not much fun wrestling with plants hunting for little poos in the dark , getting shoes covered in (hopefully just) soil then trekking it back into the kitchen. Wish I'd stuck with my Patio Plan A toileting now

We trained both our puppies on a sectioned off patio area and no problems.

thanks for your comments on my 2 threads notjustapuppymum- I just keep looking up images of Bichon Poo puppies and training websites - my DH thinks am a little obsessed now! Only a couple of weeks to wait, hope I don't get cold feet!

My neighbour keeps Shih Tsus and a pug. They have two separate outdoor runs fenced off, with concrete bases for hosing down. They dont do it on the lawn. But they seem to spend most of the day out there and have little kennels too.