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Hi Judy, Welcome to the forums, Lovely deck! It would be important preventing rehearsal of the weeing behavior on the deck or indoors. Going potty is intrinsically reinforcing and therefore, the more the puppy goes on an undesirable surface, the more he'll want to keep going on it. If this happens too often, we risk that he develops a substrate preference for going potty on these surfaces rather than the dirt area. Since you mention that going on the front strip is not practical for the future and your pup hasn't finished yet his vaccinations, I would therefore suggest sticking to the dirt areas if that's where you're planning for him to always go in his future. So if you want your puppy to learn to potty on dirt, you need to make it happen as much as possible on those surfaces, praising and rewarding so to create positive associations. Make sure the dirt areas are easy to access. While you're there, aim to train him to go potty on command. With time and consistency, if you take him out when the urge is strong, you should be able to establish a routine where he'll go potty right away once outside because of a strong reinforcement history. Here's how to train it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ Keeping him on lead when you expect him to need to go would be important to prevent him from wandering back to the deck area. Maybe he's also going to the deck because he's trying to re-unite with you. I would therefore suggest literally walking him back and forth on leash on the dirt area (so you are with him) if you can and wait to see if he goes. When he does, praise/reward (hand feed a treat) and let him have some fun after ward in the yard. If he doesn't go, you can take him back inside, but watch him like a hawk in case he gives signs of needing to go. Keep him leashed to you or in a crate or small area nearby the door with unobstructed views and be ready to take him back outside on leash to try again in the next 10-15 minutes. Keep it up until he goes. Praise/reward when he does, and then unleash him and let him have some free fun, especially if he did number one and number two on the dirt areas. A few tips that come to mind: -Strategically placing some of his waste initially in the dirt area can help tell your pup the area is his "new bathroom." If your dog had an earlier accident in the house or on the patio, collect it if it was poop (or paper towels you used to soak up urine) and place it in the area. Your dog might smell it and learn to use this area from now on. -Make sure to clean messes on the deck and indoors with a good enzyme-based cleaner to prevent future accidents there due to lingering smells. With time, he should learn to go potty in the area without the need of the leash because it has become so rewarding to go there (he should follow you there first thing when you go outside with him, then he should gradually learn to go there with you at a distance when you tell him to go potty. However, something to consider is that things may eventually regress if you keep your pup outside eventually on his own unsupervised. When Nature calls, should he happen one day go on the patio or other area by mistake (like he got distracted or couldn't hold it anymore), this may cause a bad habit to establish. It goes without saying therefore, that it's best to accompany him to his designated area as needed, tell him to potty, and a praise and reward when you can, so to maintain the behavior strong. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions! Best, Adrienne