Using a Leash for Potty Trips
Unless your dog is a rescue dog adopted from a shelter as an adult and absolutely will not go on a leash, it is a good idea to use a leash to take your dog to the potty spot. The leash should be about six feet long. You should stand in one spot; don't follow the dog all over the yard. Let the dog sniff in a circle around you and praise the heck out of her if she goes. Try not to get her into the habit of walking the neighborhood unless you want to do that in freezing cold weather or pouring rain.
The trick to walking your dog on a leash is to get her to go to the bathroom quickly without too much distraction so that your dog will perform her potty duties quickly and on demand regardless of the weather. The leash acts as a way for you to communicate to your dog that you are not outside to play but to take care of the business at hand.
Label It
Dogs that are taught to go to the bathroom on cue are a pleasure to walk. Even in bad weather, they go out and do their business, and their owners don't freeze to death waiting for them. Putting the act of eliminating on a cue by calling it something will help speed up the whole ordeal. The common labels for potty behavior are Go, Hurry Up, or Get Busy.
Through training, you can have each function labeled and your dog will go on command whenever you ask. This is really convenient if you're about to take her inside a store, a friend's house, or the hospital you're visiting as a therapy dog team. Since you know your dog has gone and will last until you leave, you can relax and enjoy your visit.
To label the potty behavior, say whatever your command is going to be as your dog is in the process of going. You can even click and treat as she is going to give her the idea that doing her business outside is a good thing. It takes a lot of repetitions for the dog to understand that the command means to “go,” so be patient and make sure everyone in the family knows what commands are being used.
A good rule of thumb for potty trips for unhousebroken dogs is to stay out for one to two minutes, tops. If she goes, praise and give her freedom. If she doesn't go, either confine her to a crate or gated area or keep her with you for twenty minutes or so and try again later. The message to the dog is “if you go, you get freedom; if you don't, you don't.”
Make a Potty Spot in Your Yard
You may also want to consider creating a potty spot in your yard, a designated place where your dog can do his business without interfering with the beauty of the rest of your yard. Creating one area that clearly says “bathroom” to your dog will help you housebreak her, and it will also keep her from using the whole yard as her toilet. That way if you'd like to have barbecues or let your children play in the yard, you won't have to worry about scooping the whole yard.
To build the potty spot, you'll want to use materials that offer good drainage and the ability to disinfect. Here are some potty spot recommendations:
Make a square or rectangular box out of garden timbers cut to the dimensions you wish. Large dogs probably need an 8' × 8' area, whereas smaller dogs could probably live with a 4' × 4' space.
Cover the bottom with several bags of sand.
Cover the sand with a variety of sizes of crushed stone. Some people prefer the tiny size often called “pea stone;” others prefer the 1 inch diameter.
Designated potty spots will allow you to scoop easily and disinfect with a bleach solution regularly. A weed sprayer with a 30:70 solution of bleach and water works well as a disinfectant. Even in tight quarters, this arrangement eliminates excessive odors and unsanitary conditions. A metal rake may also help you to redistribute the stone and sand.
