Firstly if you want your dog to have a private area where they can do their thing and play, put up fencing in one area of your yard, a side yard might work really well too, or put up some tall bushes. Make your fence about four to six feet tall. If you are using bushes make sure they are at least the four to six feet tall but you can make them even taller if you'd like. This makes sure that you don't see the mess everyday or that your neighbors won't see it if they walk by your yard. They might be able to see a sectioned off part of the yard but not what's it really being used for. You can put a gate on one end to help it form to the rest of your house. Just take a look at your house and decide what sort of design goes best with it. Making sure you have the right dog run for you will help you keep it clean.

Using other materials besides grass or dirt can help you keep it clean. If you use cement or some other hard surface, you will have to spray it down often to keep the area clean. If you don't it will leave stains and will make it look extremely dirty and unkempt. Using small rocks or gravel will help you keep it clean but will still allow for the area to look nice. This will let you easily scoop up the messes because you will be able to see them but yet you won't be staring at them every time you look out at the dog run. You can even put a few plants in the area to keep it looking even better, but only plants that are tough and will be able to stand up to your pet.

You can also use an indoor or outdoor carpeting. Either Astroturf or the real carpet with small loops will work. This way you can actually disinfect it, unlike grass or other materials. You can always buy kits from your local hardware stores. Shop around because they are hard enough to put up the first time and you don't want to have to worry about changing it every couple of years especially if the one you have doesn't work for you and your lifestyle.

Once you have your dog run set up you also have to worry about keeping it smelling good. There are all sorts of air fresheners and air purifiers at the stores. But one of the most important things in making sure that your dog run smells good is keeping it clean. You can't have a clean dog run if there are little messes all over it. The next thing to do is to disinfect it if you can. If you can sanitize your Astroturf or other material then it will get rid of the odor causing bacteria. Using simple household tricks like baking soda also help. They help to neutralize the odor and keep it smelling good.