Problems with dog pooping everywhere. Help!

Question
I have a problem with our dogs pooping all over our big backyard. Right now we have four Great Danes. One is the mother: more than two years old, lives with us for about one year.  The three other ones are her puppies: three months old. I want to know if it is still possible to teach all of them where to poop in the right place, not all over the place. It is very tiring to always clean after them, and after that, the smell is all over the place: it stinks real bad. If you can help we would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Answer
Dear Alex,
Thanks for writing. Dogs tend to use the same places that they used before. If we allow them to defecate anywhere, then they will not form a preference for a particular location.

Look to see which area they use most often. This will be your designated area. Take each dog, on a leash, to the area every time they go outside to eliminate. Give them a treat immediately after they eliminate. Over time, they will form associations with that particular area. Hopefully they will be motivated to use that area more often.

Good luck. Thanks for writing.

Alan J Turner
http://howsbentley.com