Dog Trains Kat

Our lawn looks better than it has ever looked and that would be “no thanks” to Duncandog. It would be “yes thanks” to ChemLawn…or EXCUSE ME, now TruGreen. Same company, more environmentally friendly sounding name.

Anyway, after 10 years with Organicare, our lawn was starting to look like it needed help…the kind you can’t get with a wimpy fertilizer. What was needed was something bad ass…that would be…weed killer and chemically engineered products. Wow…what a difference a few chemicals can make.

Plus, what a difference keeping your dog from peeing and crapping on your lawn can make. This summer we were away for a month and when we returned, our lawn looked like a turf builder commercial….thick, green, lush. People were stopping to take pictures. Promise. Chemlawn/Trugreen did its part and Duncandog’s absence… did its part.

Now my mission…keep the damn Duncandog from burning out our lawn. I decided to train Duncan to do his dirty business in the woods. So in the mornings I would put a leash on him…walk him across the backyard lawn and tell him to “go in the woods.” At first when we walked across the lawn, he tried to stop and “do it” right there. But I would tug him by the leash always saying……. “Duncan, go in the woods.” This is one smart dog and I could tell by the smart ass look he gave me…he knew exactly what I was insisting.

After reaching success in just a week of using this method…I decided to graduate Duncandog…no more leash. So now I would follow him outside…just to make sure. As we walked toward the woods, he would try to stop and “do it” on our beautiful chem lawn. He’d look at me, “Thanks Kat for such a nice lawn for me to pee and crap on.” I would insist, “No Duncandog…go in the woods.” For a few more weeks, I continued to follow his rear end to the woods.

Problem: Now the mornings are getting colder…I don’t want to follow his ass outside through the cold wet grass. I know he’s a smart dog and has been well trained….so I decide to hang back on the top step and watch…let my pupil go alone. I yell to him as he heads out by himself… “go in the woods Duncan.” I am so pleased with my training as I watch him trot towards the woods. Wait, he is stopping … in the middle of the lawn. He turns his head back to me…then looks forward toward the woods…and then pees right there. I run down the steps and chase him through the yard, yelling, “go in the woods.”

Okay….I got it…it just took me a while. Our dog knows how to train a Kat.