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Whilst some dogs find it easy to make the transition from real turf to artificial grass for both play and potty time, some dogs, as with the introduction of any new change in the home, may be more apprehensive to begin with. Introducing your dog to artificial grass gently and rewarding them with treats and praise for interacting with the grass as you instruct (i.e. for potty or play) is key to helping them overcome any initial apprehension. Read on to learn more about how to train your dog to use artificial grass.

You Will Need:

• Artificial Grass – Any offcut of artificial grass your dog can get familiar with
• Treats – Be sure to have your pup’s favourite treats to hand for rewards
• Leash – You will need a leash to keep your dog on the artificial grass
• Patience & Time – Training in any capacity takes time and patience to be successful, training should become a part of you and your pup’s daily routine

Step 1. The Perfect Potty Place

If your dog has yet to take a liking to your new artificial grass lawn, its often easier for them to get familiar with an offcut of artificial grass either outside or within the home. Finding the perfect space for your potty will vary depending on your dog’s preferences, puppies who are yet to be fully potty-trained will may train more easily indoors but if your dog is used to going to potty outside its best to train them outside too. Once you’ve decided on the right spot, lay the artificial grass either directly on the surface or on top of a plastic tray (to prevent any messes soaking through), and most importantly, don’t move it! This will only confuse your dog and make accidents more frequent.

Step 2. Understanding Unlearning

Before you begin training your dog it is important to understand exactly what it is you are teaching them and how this related to other behaviours they may already have learned. If your dog understands that the real grass outside is where he has been trained to go potty, chances are getting them to use a potty inside will be more difficult, because the new task you are training them for goes against a rule they have already been taught to obey. Giving your dogs lots of reassurance during training and heaps of praise for successful potty use is key.

Step 3. Train and Treat

This step will be familiar if you already have experience potty training puppies. Just as you would bring your puppy to the potty every half an hour, you will need to bring your dog to the artificial grass every half an hour too. Keep them leashed during this time to make sure they stay on the potty for at least 10minutes, so they can decide whether they feel comfortable going to the toilet. When your dog goes to the toilet, be sure to give them a treat and some tummy tickles so they associate the potty with positive behaviour.

Step 4. Let the Leash Go!

At this stage you should be able to take your dog off the leash to roam free across the lawn/house. Be sure to keep a close eye on them and watch to see if when they next need the toilet they choose to go to the artificial grass or try to go somewhere else. Remember to be patient, there’s bound to be accidents in these early stages. Whenever your dog uses the artificial grass to potty shower them with praise, if not then go back to step 3 and repeat until your dog is confident using the artificial grass.

We hope this blog has given you some useful tips on how to train your dog to use artificial grass. If you would like to use a potty to train your pup we sell artificial grass potties on our official eBay store. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch and a member of our dedicated team will be more than happy to assist you.