Is my new puppy safe on the front yard?

[BUTTERS]

Ok so for those of you who have met me already, I finally got BUTTERS home wednesday night and he has been everything I could ask for and more! Anyways, I am a little concerned about using the front yard for potty training him. We have a 4 foot-ish high gate around our house that would keep most peoples dogs off our yard that are walking by. But what I am scared of is that I have seen cats from time to time on my front yard like wandering around. Now I haven't seen cat poop that I am aware of, but I do have another dog so I could be just mistaking her poop with a stray cats poop. Butters is only 8 weeks and only has his first shot, and my brother has been scaring me about using the front yard to potty train as Butters may pick up a disease. Should I be worried?

Heres a new pic of Butters

 

[mer55]

I know the theory is to wait for outside potty training until all the shots are completed, but, with the blessing of my vet, I started outdoor potty the day we brought him home at 8 weeks. I was very cautious about scanning our yard for strange poop, and he was limited to a small area in our front yard that I raked - it was set back from the road so I was confident no dogs would go there. I had no problems and it made training so much easier. I am just not a believer of potty training on wee wee pads, and then breaking THAT habit at 16 weeks( when the shots are complete), especially with the bulldog mentality! lol! Just be careful, watch for droppings, acorns, and anything your little guy might want to eat! He is beautiful by-the-way! Good luck!!

PS: I LOVE his name!!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Your brother sounds like a guy worthy of pet ownership! I do think we (as worrisome pawrents) take our job too seriously sometimes. [MENTION=7064]mer55[/MENTION] is right on all counts. Dogs tend to go in the same spot all the time anyway, so teach Butters where YOU want her/him to go. Choose a spot that's not near the front fence by using a leash. (You can introduce leash training while you're at it, see? hee hee)

I think the true cause of concern in young pups is places frequented by many dogs; parks, dog parks especially. Having to move a pup from potty pads to outdoors is a really unnecessary step for most and not done correctly, can create some confusion for the pup. Keep some high value treats in your pocket when you go out for bathroom breaks and praise/reward any bathroom activity. In no time, your pup will be sitting at the door, wanting to go make pee pee to earn that special treat!

 

[LariP]

I too am leery of training one way and then breaking that habit to train another. Plus we didn't even think about it right after we brought her home and put her down in the yard for pictures when we brought Amelia home this week.
We are lucky and have a fenced yard too. However, because we don't have a lawn and Amelia made it clear that mulch and the sedum ground cover she could get to were quite tasty and I didn't want to keep trying to pull it out of her mouth around those little shark teeth we set up a puppy pen on a patio area outside.

We would love it if both girls would just go on the paving stones so we could pick up and hose off. Because where Gracie goes, Nothing Grows.
I figure we will even hose down and scrub with a broom soaked with disinfectant then rinse weekly too. I don't know if you could come up with something similar in your yard or not.

We were lucky we already had the fencing because of an intended project we hadn't gotten around to just yet and we already have the paved areas. So this didn't cost us anything, but these stones aren't very expensive and the fencing is pretty reasonable too. One could be built for about $130.00 to $150.00.

 

[BUTTERS]

I agree with you guys that I did not want to train on wee wee pads and then start over later. What's great is Butters is actually doing great with the crate training. He has made a few mistakes inside which were my fault, but he cries in his crate when its appropriate, and gives signs like being ansey when he needs to go. When I take him outside he stays in the grass area closest to the front door, which makes it furthest from the fence. I watch him carefully that he doesn't eat anything, and he does not have time to play outside. It's potty time and then straight back inside for him. I will start using a leash to get him used to that.

I know in my situation I don't have to worry about stray dogs being on my lawn, but should I be worried about stray cats?

 

[mer55]

I am not sure about cats, but for the most part, they don't go out in the open- they bury their poop, so I doubt it would be an issue. They may not want to be where they smell a dog anyway! So let Butter pee and poop away to mark his territory!! I just love him! More pics please!!!

 

[linwhite]

Cats will prefer to go where there is loose soil so they can cover their "gifts", hence the kids sandbox covers you see. They'd be more likely to go in a plantings are or mulch. At least that's what my 5 cats told me when I asked.

 

[bluesteelapd]

You've gotten great advise from others. I just wanna say one thing: PLEASE do not leave him outside unattended *at all*. The heat can kill a bulldog in a flash and outside of that, someone could pick him up and take him.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi and welcome, Butters is beautiful and his name is precious. Love it. I don't know why, but I love the B names, I had a Peekapoo years ago and his name was Bandit, and my two EB's names are Bulldozer and Blossom. You got a lot of great advice above already. My two are 15 months old now, and when I brought them home at 10 weeks old, I was scared of them picking up diseases too, especially because I live behind a trail and river and we have a lot of wild life like raccoons, skunks, and rabbits, and I was scared about Leptovirus. I live in a complex of houses that are condo run, so we only have 32 houses here, and we know each other, and there are only 3 other dogs besides me in the complex. None of these dogs are off the leash in the complex, and don't go on other people's lawns, so I wasn't to worried about other dogs. I also didn't want to retrain my pups to go outside after training them on puppy pads, plus the first two days I did try it, they wouldn't use the pad, but wanted to tear it up and eat it. I asked my vet, and she said as long as I didn't take them to unknown areas and it was in our own front lawn and just for a short period and then back inside it would be okay. She said to let them poop and pee and then wipe their paws with a baby wipe after we brought them back in. I think if you have a fenced in yard, and you completely puppy proof it from items he may eat, and just scan the area for any stray poop, just let him go out for his duties and then wipe his paws with a baby wipe to make sure he doesn't bring anything in on his paws that he could lick. Once he has his second shots, my vet says its okay to start to slowly socialize with known dogs such as a family members pet or a neighbours, as long as you know the people and that they have all their dogs shots up to date. Keep them away from any unfamiliar animals, and from public parks or leash free parks until they've had all their vaccinations, and wait at least two weeks after they've had their shots to make sure they are fully protected.

 

[BUTTERS]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I have been keeping him on the leash and letting him potty in the first three feet of grass closest to the front door. The only other dog using the grass is our chihuahua who is current with all her vaccines. His second set of shots come up on 5/13. I will be giving him bordetella for kennel cough within the next day or two.

 

[ChrisRN]

Butters is adorable! I have nothing to add, except I would be worried about someone scooping him up and taking him!

 

[ModernFemme]

PS: I LOVE his name!!

I second this!!

 

[mc68mc]

great name and a very handsome fellow

 

[2BullyMama]

Love this baby and his name is awesome


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[cowsmom]

aw what a cute little guy and love the name to