[Jadeofeye]

He is only 9 weeks old, he's a white gsd, and he understands that he is supposed to go outside, but every single time he squats right outside the door. Even with me right there, I push him along, tell him he's wonderful for going in the yard.

I've read that if they weren't kept out of their own feces at a young age (neglect) then they have trouble with potty training. He was rescued straight from a pool of his own feces so maybe that's it?

 

[JoeDogMan]

Perhaps he associates 'outside' to be once he goes through your outside door, rather than reaching the grass. There's also the possibility that he's been holding it for too long and needed to go out sooner.

I would use positive reinforcement whenever he goes poop in the desired area - with the reward being a puppy-safe, easily chewable, high-quality dog treat.

I had this problem with my dachshund and he got it correct after about a week.

 

[Laco]

Everything is relative. Your fortunate he goes outside the door, instead of inside the door. Since we live in a townhouse, only our patio is available for our dog, so we 'patio' trained her. She is perfect about going out, but when its raining, she will stay close to the door, under the overhang, so she doesn't get wet. If the weather is good, she will generally go further out, but as far as we are concerned she does exactly what we trained her to do, and her not wanting to get wet is perfectly fine with us. Since your puppy is only nine weeks, he is doing what he thinks you expect him to do, and no more. Give him time to get a little older, things will change as he becomes more interested in exploring the great outside.

 

[Jadeofeye]

he is so smart XD I didn't expect him to get it this fast. But he also has no issues walking through or laying in his own poop, which is a real pain because I'm always washing his paws.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[SeaBreezy]

I would do my best try to get him to the grass first, but if he poops on the porch, then I'd immediately pick him up, set him down in the grass and reward him. Lots of praise and reward in the grass, and he'll eventually associate going to the bathroom in the grass with happy reward time.

 

[heathen3017]

Dogs in general do not want to poop in what they perceive as their home/territory. That's why you often see dogs that are fenced in go the the far reaches of the yard to do their business. However, this is just a 9 week old puppy, so that level of maturity isn't quite there yet. However, you can help with that by putting several things outside the door that are both his and yours, especially items that might have scents on them (toys, towels, not in use but previously used dog bowls, etc...... in other words you are trying to expand your home boundaries beyond the house door. Also, as someone suggested, you might want to pick them up very quickly (maybe immediately prior to exiting) and put them in the grass.

Hope that this helps.