I am new to the forums. My basenji is 1 yr old and this is our 1st dog. Rocky will not go pee or poop unless he is about 2 blocks from home. When we tie him in the backyard he does not do his business so when we get home we have to walk him to his favorite spots far away. This is ok unless there is a big time crunch. How do I get him to have a fav. spot or area in hte yard?
When my two were indoor dogs for 3 years in a condo community, we had to walk and poop everyday. I always had to have them poop in specific areas so that the other people living in the community wouldnt get mad.
Here are the things I did to get them to poop immediately on our walk. I fed them after work. So the routine when like this. I came home. Peed both in the back yard as soon as they were let out of the crate (gigantic). Then they immediately came in to eat. I do not free feed because of Beta's food aggression and my fat cat experiences. Once fed, we immediately went for our walk.
They both walked together on a splitter leash and I kept the leash short for the first half on the walk. If they pulled, I stopped and stood until they would both sit and look at me. Then we would continue. They recognized early on that walks required them not to be lunatics on the leash at first until they went potty. I didnt let them sniff the grass or pee everywhere. We just walked in the road until they got to the spot I wanted them to use. That was the first grass they touched. I usually could determine where the spot would be based on (please excuse my crassness here ) there ahole. I would call it the eye jokingly with my husband. I think the key with this was not letting them wander in the grass until it was time.
The rest of our walk (a circle) was long leash the whole way back to the condo. They understood that business came first, and then free range sniffing because I wouldnt have to worry about them going in someone's yard.
Plus! Coordinating poop pickup by yourself with two basenjis on a spliter leash should really be considered an art form!
Doing this with my kids made it much easier on me and I enjoyed our walks together.
Caesar always likes to walk it out a bit when he is preparing to go. I found early on that a slight tug when he is preparing will turn him around and change his direction. If I give him a slight tug each time he turns, he will poop closer to me than far away. Beta would just unleash her business when it was time without any need for pacing.
So what do you think about that? It was my routine. I never let them pee in our front yard because the other dogs in the neighborhood would try to mark their scents. I used stinky plants and flowers in our beds to keep animals away from the yard. What are those flowers called? The little yellow and orange hearty small round flowers contruction people use in landscaping? They are also used to line gardens to keep rabbits out? Anyone know what I am talking about? Chresanthemum? Is that it?