How to Stop Your Dog Pooping in A Certain Area?
Shit happens! (Pun intended) But how to prevent it from happening at a particular spot? You will know the answer to this question after perusing this article. But firstly, you need to understand why dogs have a habit of going to the same spot to poop and pee.
As a dog owner, you might be familiar with your dog’s habit of going to the same spot for pooping and urination. This behavior is in your dog because he marks a particular spot in the house with his urine. The urine contains an enzyme that has a really strong smell, and this pungent smell marks the spot and therefore attracts the dog to urinate and pass stool at that particular spot.
There are several other reasons that are considered for this behavior among dogs. If your dog sees an open area, e.g., the living room, in the house, he might go and get the work done there! Suppose he never goes to the backyard to poop. In that case, that might be because something in the backyard has traumatized him, or because the backyard is the place where other pet animals of the house poop, or because he has associated the backyard with something obnoxious.
Now that we have looked at some of the reasons for dogs’ obsession to poop at one particular place, we can look into ways of sorting out this nuisance!
Ways To Get Rid of Your Dog’s Obsession with Pooping in A Particular Area
Try and See the Vinegar’s Magic!
Tried and tested for ages, vinegar is known to be really effective in preventing dogs from peeing in one place only. That is because dogs despise the pungent, acrid smell of vinegar, so spraying a few drops of vinegar at your dog’s favorite poop spot will get the work done immediately. Try and see for yourself.
Vinegar works best if your dog is a fan of pooping in a carpeted area. However, vinegar is potentially dangerous for plants, so if your dog loves to poop in the garden, avoid spraying vinegar only and instead use a mixture of white vinegar and biodegradable coffee filters. Firstly, dry white vinegar and the coffee filters in the sun then cut them into 0.2 cm thin strips and sprinkle these in the garden. The results of this magic trick are promising!
Use Cayenne Peppers
Cayenne peppers are also known to prevent dogs from pooping and peeing at one spot. This substance is harmless but can cause a little bit of irritation in your pup’s eyes, nose, and throat. You can also prepare a mixture of black pepper and cayenne pepper and sprinkle it in your dog’s favorite poop area. You can also use chili peppers to keep your dog miles away from that area!
Citrus Smells Disgusting to Your Dog, So Make Use of That
Citrus’ smell is known to be one of the dog’s offensive odors! The smell is so strong that it can irritate your dog’s respiratory tract. Here is a quick DIY solution that serves as a dog repellant: mix concentrated lemon juice with some water and transferred this solution to a spray bottle.
To make a really strong repellant, you can also use a mixture of citrus essential oils with water. Dogs are bothered even more by citrus essential oil because of its high concentration and intensity. But be mindful when spraying this highly concentrated solution more than required. Understand that you need to patiently deal with your pup’s habit of pooping in the same spot. Dogs love their poop areas, so you shouldn’t be harsh when distracting your dog away from those spots and thoughtfully train them to leave those areas.
Citrus to your canine friend may smell the same to them as a trash can smells to you; therefore, be patient with the process.
Your Actions Can Curb This Habit
When you see your dog is relieving himself somewhere that he shouldn’t, clap your hands, or loudly say “Aaah-haa” to startle him and grab his attention, then direct him outside of the house or towards the washroom where he should poop. If he doesn’t walk away himself, carry him, if you can, to the place where you want him to discharge his feces.
Mustard Oil Is an Option Too
Dogs hate the smell of mustard oil. You can spray it on areas that you want your dog to avoid. Works like a charm too!
Create A Potty Area!
You can select a small area from your backyard and reserve it as your dog’s potty area. The area should be wide and large enough to freely let your dog roam in the space. If there’s grass in that area, remove that with some grass killer, and add gravel along with cedar mulch to the grassless area. For a marking post, use a rock or tile, and finally, grab some of your dog’s feces and add them to the new potty area to make it attractive for your pup!
The new potty area will require you to observe your dog vigilantly. When you take him out to the backyard and notice him squatting and sniffing, direct him towards the new potty area to do his business there, and remember to be patient!
You can direct him just by hand gestures, e.g., pointing towards the potty area or shouting “go potty.” If you are successful in making your pup poop in his new area, that means you did a pretty good job at making the poop spot attractive. Reward your dog with a nice hug or treat and pat him on the back to encourage his good behavior.
Lastly, be consistent with this routine, and don’t let your canine buddy go to the backyard on his own until he is fully potty trained. Your supervision is extremely important during your dog’s training. It will also help in potty training if you tell your family members that you are trying to fix your dog’s potty spot, so nobody else spoils him by letting him poop wherever he wants to!
Final Thoughts
By and large, you now know that patience and consistency are key in ceasing your dog’s habit of peeing and pooping at one particular unwanted spot in the house. There are so many home remedies listed above that can facilitate you in achieving your goal of distracting your dog from one pooping spot. Dogs hate citrus and vinegar the most, so you can use both of them to distract dogs from one place for pooping they can’t forget about.
