# What material to use in potty area?



## CarolinaCasey

Why not just use grass and limit her to that specific section of grass? That might be easier.


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## Bender

I would do bark mulch, a thick layer that's well drained. It hides the poop well so you can't notice if it's been cleaned or not, will break down in time or you can burn it, toss some out each time you pick up (it can be hard to pick the poop out anyway) and smells nice. 

Gravel works but I found it got just as stinky in time and was harder on the lawnmower to deal with (the mulch would just break up and work into the lawn).

Lana


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## Nicole74

I used the side yard until Annie came to live with us. Annie automatically goes into the backyard and right in the woods. It's a very nice spot for them to go, it's thick wooded and no one walks through there.

I didn't use anything to keep the side yard nice. I do pick up the poop everyday when Bailey did use that spot for the bathroom. If I had to pick a substance to throw down, it would be the pea gravel. I have a lot of land and very few neighbors, so keeping an area for the dog was not a problem.

The sand will get inbetween their paws and track into the house, the mulch is poisonious if they ingest it into their stomachs. However, my first choice would be the grass.


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## Our3dogs

I much prefer the side of the house that has the pea-gravel in the run area over the other side of the house that has the bark/mulch. I think they are both equal as far as holding onto any bacteria. The mulch/bark side stays much wetter for a long time after the rain and does start to smell.


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## K9 Passion

xray328 said:


> I'm going to build Reilly a 5' circle to go potty in to try to save the yard....


That is a novel idea & I've thought about doing something similar as well. But, if it's sectioned off, would you have to open a door or something for Reilly to get inside that circle every single time she has to potty?


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## xray328

K9 Passion said:


> That is a novel idea & I've thought about doing something similar as well. But, if it's sectioned off, would you have to open a door or something for Reilly to get inside that circle every single time she has to potty?


 
No. I'm just using 4" landscape edging to keep the material confined to that area, no door necessary. I'm building it tomorrow and I will attach a picture. 

I'm not sure how successful it's going to be with her. If nothing else it will turn into a garden area for my 7 year old daughter.


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## xray328

Here it is:


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## turtle66

We had the same idea - We build a specific area with pea gravel a year ago. But what can I say, Lilly really prefers the lawn!! We made SEVERAL unsuccessful efforts to train her to use that area, but she only loves to chew on the gravel :doh: and then goes to the grass to do her thing :... So I think CarolinaCasey's advice is not a bad one at all.

Good luck


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## xray328

I'm not having much luck so far. We walk right over to the spot, she sniffs then just sits. On the walk back to the house she just pees in the grass. :doh:


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## Rhapsody in Gold

We have three Golden Retrievers - so thats a lot of pottying. We fenced in the area just off our patio and attached garage. So our pups can go out thru the patio door or the garage entry way door. It also allows me to stand in the garage entry way door while they go, which helps in the cold winter months and wipe wet feet before they enter the house. The fence is a white four foot picket with an arbor to the gate - so to look at it from the outside, you would never know there are three Goldens going there - but we did it this way to keep the rest of the landscape in our yard looking nice, to keep them within our view, and because the area is like an extension of our home. We also planted three Magnolia trees outside the fence - so it looks pretty in the spring and the flowers have a fragrant smell. In the center of their potty area is an Eastern Redbud. It provides some shade and isn't too big being so close to the house. We also had a stone bird bath thinking we could have some flowers around the fountain - but had to move it from the area because the pups liked to drink from the bird bath.

Within the fenced in area we have a large concrete patio for the pups to sit or play or for us to play with them or just look at the moon at night : ) - and just off that area is where they go potty. That area is about 30 feet by 40 feet. We first put down landscape fabric to keep weeds out. Then we installed oakwood chips. We also created a path of about 12 stepping stones so we could walk through the chipped area and pick up waste. We have had this set-up for one year now - and yesterday we actually put in 4 more yards of fresh oakwood mulch. So I think we're good for another year.

It does not smell. It looks a lot better than burned grass. We've had no problems with mud. They don't seem to care to dig in the chips. 

I do clean up after them every day - we never leave it out there - because they could step it in when we play with them on the patio right next to it - and the patio is for us, too : ) There is no odor at all. But again, we clean it every day and I do hose the chips down. 

So thats our solution - it was after putting in new sod twice, trying a supplement in their diet that was supposed to keep the grass from burning, and using a fine landscape mulch. The sod did not hold up and the fine lanscape mulch was in their coats and very dirty. 

The wood chips are tempting for puppies to chew on at first - we had to really watch our youngest. However, the other two who were older than a year, left the chips alone. Now a year later, the puppy who is just over a year does not put the chips in her mouth either. 

It works really well. The key is to clean up their area every day - and we do : )


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## gardengirl

grass is destroyed..so I need something to put down that wont hurt the dog in her potty area....maybe natural bark,without chemicals or coloring??


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## CAROLINA MOM

You could get some artificial grass/turf. If you've got a pup, your pup might eat the bark and could have digestive issues or have a blockage. 

A few members have artificial grass, it's easy to clean up, just hose it off.


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