Toilet training an outside dog

Question
Hi Chris,
I have a question about toilet training our 8 month Rottiweiler, Samson.  We originally lived on a farm where he relived himself out in the paddock, not inside the house yard.  We have since had to move into town, where he is now confined to just a house house yard.  I was wondering how to train him to relive himself in one particular spot in the yard as opposed to where ever he happens to be when he needs to go.  I was considering a particular corner of the yard or a maybe a sand pit.  The problem is that he is an outside dog, and my partner and I work full time, so there is no one home to watch him 24 hrs a day. So he is at his own discretion when he's home alone.  Any help you can offer would be excellent.

Cheers Dave


Answer
Hi, Dave,

As far as training him to relieve himself in only one spot in the yard, I personally would be skeptical about how reliable he would be when left alone in the yard.  If you're with him, you can of course direct him to the desired area, but as the saying goes, "when the cat's away, the mice will play."  It would be unlikely that he would NEVER go in any other area of the yard if left to his own devices while he's alone.

It's also my personal feeling that dogs are not safe when left out in the yard unsupervised for long periods of time.  I would respectfully ask that you consider the possibility of making him an inside dog.  I've included several pieces of information to support my feeling:

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/Inout-dog.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/confine-dog.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/crate-train.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pup-housetrain.pdf