# Why can't we toilet-\[t\]rain dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066 "2013-09-05T11:59:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/21 "2013-09-05T15:11:01Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Absolutely. In our area, the watershed empties into the Chesapeake Bay, and it’s a matter of law to pick up after your pets. But we’d do it anyway – we don’t want the neighbors thinking of us every time they’re scraping something off their shoes. A few folks in the neighborhood do _not_ pick up after their dogs – this pisses me off mightily. I’ve even been blamed for it – a neighbor who was mad at us for other (imaginary) reasons told someone she’s seen me not pick up after our dogs. We have one neighbor (I think) who doesn’t. Once he let his dog poop in front of my mailbox. I of course was the one who stepped in it. I swear, if he had been there right then I might have punched him in the face. I always wonder - why don’t the other dog owners, the responsible ones, get together and beat the crap (ha!) out of him? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/22 "2013-09-05T16:10:22Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > But don’t you have to pick up the poop anyway? It seems like a catch-22 - poop if you do, poop if you don’t. Yes, but if you pick up poop in a yard, you can use a long-handled scoop for that. You don’t have to get your face close to the waste. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/23 "2013-09-05T19:26:40Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Currently, no. We have a huge yard, and the places where the dogs go are generally in the woods, so there’s very little chance of anyone stepping in it. > > I have had dogs in previous yards where I did clean it up, but picking up dried-up dog poop once very couple weeks is nowhere near as bad as cleaning out a litterbox every day. And picking up after a dog while walking isn’t bad, either. > > But yeah, the best situation is what we have now. Just open the door and forget about it. I guess you could do that with outdoor cats as well, but the life span of outdoor cats tends to be low. At least with dogs, they stay in the fenced yard. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I have cats, and cleaning the box is my job (El Hubbo refuses, but then he has to get up with them and feed them in the mornings, so it’s a trade-off) and it ain’t no big thang to me at all. I use the clumping stuff, clean the box every morning, and it’s all dried up and easy when I go to scooping - not even remotely gross to me. You don’t have to do it because of your woods, but the thought of picking up fresh, squishy, _immediate_ poop squicks me out something awful. Yeah, I know you’ve got a bag there over your hand (or some sort of tool or whatever) but ew. Just ew ew ew. And picking up the poop on walkies is a must do - this is totally _not_ optional. Not unless you’re walking your dogs way out in the boonies. Some peeps around my neighborhood have fenced in yards and let their dogs go wherever (especially during the winter months) and then have a big clean up in spring. This also seems inordinately gross to me. But to them, no big. Different strokes. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/24 "2013-09-05T20:14:13Z")
I agree about the size of the poop. I suppose cat poop can be left alone for a while, not dog poop and not inside. My dogs have always wanted to distribute their poop. A standard part of guide dog training is teaching the puppy to poop or pee on command. That, and a good bladder, makes a box unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/25 "2013-09-05T22:59:12Z")
My mom’s been trying to train her new puppy to go in a particular part of the yard, back where there isn’t much human traffic. I’m not sure how well it’s going, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/26 "2013-09-06T01:13:23Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > . . . So I’m going to guess that size plays the major role here. Why would someone train a shepard or lab to use a tiny box that would have to be cleaned out after each use. You can buy dog sized litter boxes. They don’t have an instinct to bury it, though, and unless you start as a puppy, it will be different enough from what they’re used to doing that the training won’t come easy. Also, they’ll be disappointed to have their claiming of territory reduced. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/27 "2013-09-06T02:03:03Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I agree about the size of the poop. I suppose cat poop can be left alone for a while, not dog poop and not inside. Not really. If you let the litter box get too dirty, a cat won’t use it. I try to scoop as soon as I see them go. The advantage I see is not having to take the dog out _just_ for the sake of pooping, and having to train said dog. Cats don’t have to be housebroken because the mother cat trains her kittens to use the litter box. Pretty neat, huh? ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/28 "2013-09-06T04:58:36Z")
Our dog does not marl a lot, goes somewhere in the wood to poop & does not com e in with other poop on him nor have we seen or smelled him messing with the cats ( 7 ) poop in the yard spots they like when out of their house & away from the littler boxes. For a 100# beast, he sure is good. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/29 "2013-09-06T09:54:15Z")
First thing I thought of was something like this [Best Indoor Dog Potty and Dog Toilet 2022 | Best3Reviews - We Help You Find The Best Products](http://best3reviews.com/776/best-indoor-dog-potty-and-dog-toilet) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066/30 "2013-09-06T13:04:25Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > First thing I thought of was something like this [日照缘缴装饰工程有限公司](http://best3reviews.com/776/best-indoor-dog-potty-and-dog-toilet) Thats what I use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-toilet-t-rain-dogs/668066.md?page=1)