Pet Dog Poo in the Garden

I love whippets! My last dog was a whippet lurcher who did joyful zoomies that made a path straight down and up the garden. That path has now healed since she died.

I did actually dig in slightly buried chicken wire next to my fences when I had my digging lurcher. Together with 6 foot fences it served to stop her escaping.

I had thought of combining pea gravel with grass, which is what I have in the large front garden that is used as a car park. The gravel looks like a longish lawn but is a solid enough foundation for parked cars, and is nicely drained and safe to walk on in the frost. The dog never gets out there to do his ball games. Gravel+ grass might work in a back garden too, especially on a slight slope that may be slippery if it's paved in solid concrete or bricks.

I had a terrible growth of moss on the concrete part of the dog area last winter. I’ve put moss killer down that is supposed to be pet safe and lasts for months but some of it is coming back. It was really dangerous. My big worry with my dog is that she runs back into the house at speed. I know of a couple of sighthounds that did that and slipped with tragic consequences. I have Hugh mats down everywhere. Much as I love sighthounds I can’t relax with them. When she does run off lead in a safe area I close my eyes. A relative of hers took off after a deer into woodland, again with tragic consequences.

Caleo, great to plan ahead and sone good suggestions here. I have a giant two year old lab. I confess, if I’d ever thought mr i wouldn’t be here, I’d still have got another dog but probably a small rescue rather than giant lab - who won’t mature for another couple of years.
So our lives changed totally in the spring. The happy long walks went. The big dog had to use the garden as his toilet. Our lives simply weren’t compatible with re-training to use a patch with gravel. Sometimes, it’s needs must rather than smug perfection.
My last Bog Dog refused to toilet in any way in the garden. My current spaniel uses the paved area, as she was trained as a pup. The giant youngster sees the world as his domaine. I plan to attempt to retrain hi to paved area or gravel. If I fail, that won’t be the end of the world
My suggestion is do what you can, you’ve shared your life with dogs 40 years. Whatever you achieve will be fabulous x

MayBee, my whippet lurcher was a rescue and two years old when I got her. She had the most beautiful temperament as you can imagine and she was a terrible worry off lead when I first got her . She was either doing a zoomie straight at me(she once knocked me over) or she was dancing about in other peoples front gardens, or galloping after her most favourite other dog, an Airedale.

Thank you IAm64. There is an implication of some big life change in your story and I hope you are okay.

Ali23

My dog is old and some days she struggles with the steps up to the lawns quickly enough but she hates peeing or pooing on slabs, so I've made holes in a paddling pool and lined it with stones then turf! If the turf gets ruined I plan to lift it and replace it.

When we first get our dogs/puppies we never think of them getting old. Just like you Ali23 the lawned area if our back garden is up quite a lot of steps and the problem my old dog had was getting up there in time before he had an accident. Unfortunately he had begun to wee in the courtyard so we began to take him out the front door so he could wee on the lawn as it was quicker to get there and no steps to manoeuvre.
Very sadly we had to have him pts just before Christmas, he was 16 3/4.🥲

When we got the dogs it never occurred to us that one day the garden would be a problem. I used to think that it would have been so nice if we’d had a garden where we could just open the back door and out they’d go.

Caleo

I have kept dogs for about forty years. My dogs always preferred to poo on turf and refused to poo on concrete.

I am think of moving house to a small garden where any turf would soon become mud. So I would like to ask what sort of surface in the garden is best for the dog's toilet?

Walking a few times a day and picking up /disposing poo.