Darla wants to poop on the lawn!

[Chinchi]

Since we got Darla at 9 weeks old, we attempted to train her to go potty in one chosen place. For the first 6 months of her life she only had access to that part of the garden and we would stand outside with her and praise her when she went potty. All was well!

As she got older, we trusted her more with the rest of the garden. However, she decided to start pooping in another place, a gravel passage next to the house which isn't used much. We thought perhaps she wanted somewhere more private and we were happy with that, so let her get on with it.

Since coming back from the vets ( a week ago) after an xray and subsequent upset stomach from the anaesthetic, she has chosen to poop on the lawn. I checked down the passageway where she used to go and that was poop free.

I have pet rabbits who I let out on the lawn so I don't want Darla pooping on it. Even after I clean up the poop, I'm worried the grass is still contaminated and the buns will catch something. Is this possible? I'm worried about letting the buns out now

Do dogs regularly change where they potty or do we just need to give her a little reminder training of where to poop? We keep the area clean and poop free, are we cleaning it up too much? Should we leave some down to remind her of where to go?

 

[celloyogi]

I would be ecstatic if Olive wanted to poop on the lawn! Even at a year old, she still wants to poop in a particular place in our kitchen.

If you're worried about your bunny, I'd suggest talking to your vet. Take in a fecal sample of Darla's so the vet's office can check for parasites. Beyond that, I think you are probably less likely to have any issues with Darla's poop than any of the critters that might pass through your yard (birds, squirrels, etc.).

All of our shelties have had a few places they prefer to potty. Every so often the place of the moment ceased to be interesting and they would pick another spot. It has always been easier to avoid walking in their areas than trying to teach them to only go in a specific place. It is funny that on walks, both Pavi (Rainbow Bridge) and our current sheltie Olive have only been able to poop in a few specific places. It's almost like their bodies wouldn't let them go anywhere else.

 

[Shelby+Julie]

We taught Shelby when he was a puppy to run out to the tall grass behind our house before going poo. He does #1 wherever, but always needs tall grass to 'do #2'... It is nice at our house and when we go hiking out in the woods, cause he won't poo on the path or in the yard, but we visited NJ and the dirt was so sandy that the grass was not very tall. He took forever to figure out he was allowed to poop on the leaves in the woods behind the house even though there was no grass...! I'd say maybe you can put your dog on a leash when it is poo time and run to where she is supposed to go wait till she goes, have a party there then leave and take the leash off. Shelby quickly figured out that running to a certain place when he had to go was a good thing.

Have fun training the habit! I'm not an expert, but I don't think the bunnies would be harmed by one or two stray doggy poos.

 

[sable]

In my yard I have dog poop, deer visit and they poop on the lawn. The raccoons do too. I know there are other critters that do the same.

I don't think your bunnies will get sick from the dog poo. If you are concerned then I would buy an area fence for the bunnies to play in.