Using a deck/porch as "potty" spot, instead of going "outside" to ground level of apartment?

[Jess & Stewart]

Hi all!

It's been a while since I posted anything on here, but good news-- I will finally be in a pet friendly apartment come June & will the dog will be ready to come home sometime in October. The best part is there are no pet fees at all, it is much bigger than what I'm currently in & is cheaper! It is such a relief to know that I really truly have a concrete place to live & can now just wait until I have my dog!

Now for my question, I will have a deck on my apartment & was wondering about using that as a "potty" spot & having a section of it covered with sections of sod/artificial grass, instead of going "outside". I will be living on the 3rd floor of a house & outside in front has mulch along the sidewalk instead of grass. I figured this would be ok, since if I ever move to a house with a yard, the dog will already know to go on grass. 

There are open grassy areas only a few blocks away & a big park about a 5 minute walk away, so I will definitely end up taking the puppy there once we start on longer walks. 

I do want to train the dog to go outside from the start & don't want to use pads at all; but I'm wondering if going out on the deck to go will not really be considered "outside" & I should just actually go outside of the house & onto the mulch along the sidewalks. 

I also want to try & train to go pee/poop on command, rather than having to walk the puppy miles before it will go. (My mom's dog does NOT go on command & has almost come to expect a long walk before she will even attempt to go. Needless to say it is very frustrating because we can never take her out & have her go quickly before we go out somewhere. We almost have to set aside time for long potty walks aside from exercise/training walks)

Thanks for any advice!

[nate]

I wouldn't really consider this for our 10lb yorkie.  The amount of pee and poop from our 75lb GoldenDoodle makes this sound insane. ( We live in the city on the 2nd floor, we used to live on a third. )

Aside from making a lot of excrement, doodles have a lot of energy.  Walking down a few flights of stairs, being outside for  a quick walk ( even if its only 100ft ), and then coming back up the stairs does a lot of good for their minds.  Your strategy is likely to result in a dog that is very bored and chews your house and belongings to shreds.

[Heather Martinez]

We have a brick patio outside our house (on the first floor) and when Teddy was too young to go on walks (before he was fully vaccinated) we did let him potty out there. We used potty pads inside during the day and when we were home we would take him out to the patio to go since it was more convenient then going all the way outside and quite a ways away to the nearest grass. We had him go on a potty pad and if he missed we hosed it down. As Teddy got older he preferred to potty on grass or a bush and never goes on concrete, brick or anything despite his early experience. We always say "go potty" and he did learn to go on command so that is definitely nice.

I think the grass potty patch sounds like a great idea and I wish I had known about it when Teddy was a puppy. Also, we learned that for house breaking you can do a puppy air lift which is where you pick up the puppy and run outside if you catch him having or about to have an accident. If you have your potty patch outside this would be much easier than running down 3 flights of stairs!

[Jess & Stewart]

Yes, it is more of a safety issue. I can definitely manage all other times outside (6 am until 10/11pm). Just thought it would be nice to use in a pinch, if needed, for any later times. Like I said, I may get far with housetraining with the 15/16 days I'll have off (weekend, 2 full weeks, then the weekend again). I get 2 days a month, so I'm hoping I can keep accumulating them & not have to take many until then! I may not even need to take many overnight potty breaks (here's hoping!). I'm not sure how long that phase of housebreaking usually lasts...

Even though its not for months, I'm already compiling my list of names...LOL! I'm thinking of something unique & literary. Gideon is a name I really like too (I don't think it's from any books..)

[Tina]

I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and have a wood patio as well. I lay puppy pads down on the patio and he goes on those. I'm diligent about changing them so there is no smell and it doesn't seep into the wood. It's been a lifesaver for me considering my puppy tested positive for giardia and coccidia so I have to clean the poops up thoroughly. Coccidia is gone but we are round two of meds for the giardia. Crossing our fingers ;) Roger adjusted well to the potty pads outside on the deck and it was super convenient for us plus I didn't want to risk walking him round the complex until he is fully vaccinated. Just make sure you get good puppy pads bc the cheaper ones tends to leak, I have found out. Good luck to getting your little bundle of joy. Oh and by the way, we have a mini goldendoodle and at 11 weeks, we are 8lbs so it's not very much of pee and poo that we have to deal with over here. Not sure I that helps or not.