Elimination in dog runs
I have three 5' x 20' concrete indoor/outdoor runs for my dogs and a roughly 15' equilateral triangle communal area the runs open onto, which is currently used as Gryphon's "run."
- Gojira usually holds it, but will go in her run if she needs to. She poops in an easy to clean corner and doesn't make a mess.
- Gryphon will not go potty in any of the runs for any reason, ever. I think she'd rather let her bladder or colon explode than go in the run.
- Mosura is the exact opposite. She prefers to go in her run to the exclusion of all else, holding out from eliminating in the yard until after she's put inside. She has a nasty habit of eating her own poop.
- Ghidora usually holds it, but its problematic when he doesn't. He is holding it less and less recently.
• He lifts his leg and pees on the chain link, which usually means he pees on another dog or at least the other dog's food and bedding. He currently has the back run against the wall, in the hopes that he'll pee on the wall (he does sometimes) instead of into another run. I'd like to be able to move him to the middle run however, as I want to make modifications to the back run for nursing moms.
• In the past few weeks since coming back from Japan, he has decided that the indoor part of his run is his own personal outhouse. He poops all over everything and its difficult to clean. We closed it off but he figured out how to get inside. We put a bed in there, hoping he would understand its like his crate; he ruined it. Now we've moved his food bowl and water in there. We'll see if that helps.
In an ideal world none of my dogs would eliminate in their runs. I'd much prefer that they hold it and go in the yard. But sometimes I need to keep them in there for a prolonged period of time, so I want them to know its okay to go if they have to. I don't want the dogs peeing on food bowls, eating their own waste, or making the inside of the kennel disgusting. Gojira is at the state I wish all the dogs were at. The question is, how do I get the other dogs to follow suit?
[Oh, and we've added a "nasty habit" supplement to Mosura's food that is supposed to stop her from eating her poop but its not working. That's a tangential issue however - I'd rather she not poop in her run to begin with. Its easy to avoid letting her eat it in the yard or on walks.]
During the week, the dogs will generally be in their runs for 3-6 hours during the middle of my work day. In the morning and late afternoon they have free run of the yard or house by taking turns. In the evening they go back into their runs for about an hour for dinner. On the weekends they play in the yard or house in shifts. Sometimes we go out for 7-10 hours and have to put the dogs in their runs while we are gone.
- Gojira usually holds it, but will go in her run if she needs to. She poops in an easy to clean corner and doesn't make a mess.
- Gryphon will not go potty in any of the runs for any reason, ever. I think she'd rather let her bladder or colon explode than go in the run.
- Mosura is the exact opposite. She prefers to go in her run to the exclusion of all else, holding out from eliminating in the yard until after she's put inside. She has a nasty habit of eating her own poop.
- Ghidora usually holds it, but its problematic when he doesn't. He is holding it less and less recently.
• He lifts his leg and pees on the chain link, which usually means he pees on another dog or at least the other dog's food and bedding. He currently has the back run against the wall, in the hopes that he'll pee on the wall (he does sometimes) instead of into another run. I'd like to be able to move him to the middle run however, as I want to make modifications to the back run for nursing moms.
• In the past few weeks since coming back from Japan, he has decided that the indoor part of his run is his own personal outhouse. He poops all over everything and its difficult to clean. We closed it off but he figured out how to get inside. We put a bed in there, hoping he would understand its like his crate; he ruined it. Now we've moved his food bowl and water in there. We'll see if that helps.
In an ideal world none of my dogs would eliminate in their runs. I'd much prefer that they hold it and go in the yard. But sometimes I need to keep them in there for a prolonged period of time, so I want them to know its okay to go if they have to. I don't want the dogs peeing on food bowls, eating their own waste, or making the inside of the kennel disgusting. Gojira is at the state I wish all the dogs were at. The question is, how do I get the other dogs to follow suit?
[Oh, and we've added a "nasty habit" supplement to Mosura's food that is supposed to stop her from eating her poop but its not working. That's a tangential issue however - I'd rather she not poop in her run to begin with. Its easy to avoid letting her eat it in the yard or on walks.]
During the week, the dogs will generally be in their runs for 3-6 hours during the middle of my work day. In the morning and late afternoon they have free run of the yard or house by taking turns. In the evening they go back into their runs for about an hour for dinner. On the weekends they play in the yard or house in shifts. Sometimes we go out for 7-10 hours and have to put the dogs in their runs while we are gone.
Comments
One of my friends assembled a giant wooden frame (maybe 3' wide x 9' long x 4" tall) with a thick upright branch in the center. Her kennels were 10'x10' so she had room to have this. She filled the frame with some sort of shaving/sawdust that can be replaced. She scoops everyday but replaces the shavings less frequently.
At my agility class, where dogs are not allowed to pee/eliminate inside the agility field, the instructor put up a styrofoam fire hydrant outside the field as a target for the males. After time even the females would pee near them. At agility competitions, I've seen some stakes specially make for peeing targets. You should be able to find them online.
If you anticipate a week or two vacation from work, that would be a good time to re kennel train them with potty breaks every hour and really reduced space. I used ex pens to limit the kennel run space at first, and gradually expanded space as they got the idea. Once the habit is started with the males for marking, it's not likely to break.
The poo eating, you can try matching the dog in the yard on a regular schedule, reduce the free space in the kennel, don't free feed so as to help give the dog a bowel schedule, and give frequent breaks.
My uncle made a litter box for his Tibetans and Shar pei. They use scoopable kitty litter from costco in a 5x5 frame of 2x4s with visquine lining. They really find it helpful!
Good luck!
Vinegar is very good for cleaning the urine and feces stains/spots. Mix it with water in a spray bottle and spray it on the places and let it sit for a few minutes then spray with a nozzle on the water hose to rinse the run.
Hope this helps!!!
Bleach will kill the viruses and the bacteria as well but I heard the combination of bleach and dog urine will speed up the corrosion of kennel wire.