How to Litter Box Train Your Puppy
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I have personally done this, so what you’re about to read is my own experience. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, and dogs take to it really well. Why? Because they like having their own special place to potty – just watch the next time you see a dog outside. They have a tendency to poo in the same place each time.
What you need:
A litter box, or something larger, if you have a large breed. I have a medium-sized dog and went with a crate-like box. It was about 3 inches deep. The important thing is you use something the puppy can EASILY climb into. You don’t want to set them up for failure by asking them to use an insurmountable obstacle. But neither do you want something that’s going to make a mess of your kitchen, or wherever you put the box.
*** SAFE *** litter. Don't use the litter crystals you use for Garfield. Don't use clumping litter. Don't use any type of cat litter unless its 100% natural. Puppies eat everything, you don’t want him eating that. Go to the pet shop and get some Rabbit bedding, the compressed sawdust kind. It’s pellet shaped, and dissolves on contact with anything wet. That means if Fido eats this, it won’t harm him, nor will you have to worry about him choking on it. Also, don’t overfill the box. You only need a layer about 2 inches deep, maybe a bit less.
Newspaper Once he knows you want him to use the box, he will try – but he might not always make it. If he starts tinkling as he nears the box, you still want him going on anything other than your floors. And not just for aesthetic purposes – you don’t want him thinking it’s ok to potty on your tile or carpet. It’s ok, however, if he thinks newspaper is an acceptable alternative, because the newspaper will only be near the box.
Pet stain remover. I recommend this as opposed to your regular household cleaner because it really gets rid of the pet odor, and they won’t want to potty in the same place once you’ve cleaned it with something intended for that.
Some kind of plastic fencing. Fencing isn’t a good word, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I used plastic paneling I bought at a DIY place, and then formed a circle around the box. You don’t need this, but it helps to keep everything tidy. They held the newspaper in one place, and gave my dog a target area. And on the rare occasion litter went flying, it didn’t fly very far.
Lead your puppy to the box as often as possible. Put him inside of it. Let him feel the pellets under his feet – this is important, as he will begin to associate this feeling with pottying, and will realize tiles and carpet do NOT feel the same way as the area he’s expected to potty in.
What about boy puppies – won’t they lift their leg and pee all over the box? No, male puppies don’t start lifting their legs until they’re closer to a year, and some not until much later – and some never do. He’ll be potty trained before he starts to do this.
Tell him to “Go potty” or something similar, and when he does, praise him for it immediately. Meaning, while he's going potty, not after. Tell him, “Good boy, go potty” several times, and eventually he will learn that you like it when he potties in the box. You should also be doing this when he potties outside.
If he potties elsewhere, you need to consider the why. Was he on his way to the litter box and just couldn’t get there in time? In this case, I would just pick him up and put him in the box and praise him once he’s there. If he just squatted and tinkled on your carpet without even glancing at the box, I’d say “NO!” very firmly, and pick him up and take him to the box immediately. If he continues to potty IN the box, lots of praising should follow. If not, eh, you have to let it go. Do NOT hit him! I will get very mad at you if you do!
As he gets older, he may need a slightly bigger box. You can visit your local Home Depot and pick something up, it’s not hard to be creative in this area.
How will I make the transition from box to outside? Your dog should still be pottying outside when you walk him, but will probably be using the box more often than not. I weaned this habit by moving the box to the balcony. Once the dog realizes the box is outside, they learn to ask to be allowed out. When they are at the door, ask them, “Do you want to go potty?” or something along those lines. When they do go outside and use the box, praise, praise, praise. Doesn’t take long to make the transition at all. If you don’t have a balcony, you can do this by keeping an eye on Fido. When he heads for the box, intercept him and take him outside immediately, asking him the same thing I recommended above.
Can I use this as his primary means of pottying when he’s an adult? That should not be your goal. However, if you work all day this is a helpful backup so your dog doesn’t have to hold it forever. But I have to say, you really shouldn’t have a dog at all, if that’s the norm for you. That said, if your dog gets a lot of exercise before and after your job, I guess it would be a good solution for you.
Do not have ridiculous expectations! This is as much a physiological issue as it is training. He will not be able to hold it until his bladder muscles are fully developed. Generally, that’s 2 hours for every month – but that’s not a guarantee, by any means. Also, excitement plays a major role in this. My dog was potty trained very quickly, but still tinkled once in a while if really excited to see new people. It’s just something you have to deal with.
There you are: how to litter box train a puppy. It works, I promise. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer them.
xx Isabella
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Comments
You're welcome, Cgull!
I agree with you, and cheer you when you say "Don't hit him!" We were a 'dog' people, till my wife, who's a 'cat' woman, made us all 'cat' people. Our cat uses the human potty quite cleverly. Could take a photo and hub it, or youtube it, but I think we should not do to them what we would not do to humans.
Thanks for your tips!
What a Great hub for pet lovers. I'm a cat person myself, and I totally agree about the pet stain remover for neutralizing all that territorial behaviour ;-)
You're welcome Kenny!
And yeah, Guru, that territorial behavior can be annoying, lol!
Yeah I have a puppy and I have to agree hitting for missing the bathroom is kind of a bad idea. You never want your dog to pair you up with fear or pain
Thanks for this advice. My family is getting a bishon shihtzu mixed on the weekend and we already have a 5 month old cat who is perfectly trained and amazingly well behaved. Would it still be possible to litter train the new puppy, giving him a separate litter box from the cat?
NW - Exactly! :)
Dogs and Cats - Yes, the dog and cat need separate boxes. Put a hood on the box the cat uses, and leave the dogs box open. And then put the cats box somewhere the dog wont just walk into it. Even if you end up temporarily relocating the cats box, the cat will still find it. You dont want the dog thinking there is more than 1 appropriate place to potty. Good luck! :)
Question: I have two Miniature pinschers. (1 1/2 yrs. & 8 mon.) I have always litter box trained them ,so while at work, I don't have to worry about them holding it. Not to mention that we live in South Dakota where below zero temps are not unusual. Recently, I changed theirk litter from cat to dog. (Cat litter flies everywhere!) Also, when my older one was a pup, she would eat the dog litter. Anyhow, now my younger one won't go in the litter box at all. You put her in it and say the key phrase and she just looks at you. She used to do so well. Is it the litter change? I did do it gradual, so I thought it would be okay. My older one hasn't skipped a beat, she still goes without any accidents. Any advice?
Question: I started out using potty training pads. Now I want my puppy to potty outside, but she will walk on a leash 10-15 minutes and wait until she comes in the house to potty. What am I doing wrong?
hey! I just got a boston terrier puppy and we're trying to train her to a litter box, but she's not catching on. She jumps out of the litter box and pees on the floor. I have put puppy pads around the litter box, but she doesn't like peeing on those either. In fact, she would rather chew them up. Does paper work better than puppt pads anyway? Any suggestions for teaching her to use the litter box?
Thank you!
I am starting to litter box train my toy poodle. He's only 6 months and not completely house broken. Anyway when I think he needs to go potty I put him in the litter box and encourage him to pee but he just jumps out and holds it. Some days he has held it for 7 or 8 hours and then of course when he cant' hold it anymore he will start to pee and I will move him into the box where he will stop peeing. He will start to hold it again. I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.
We just bought an 8 wk old puppy about a week ago and have tried to train him on the puppy pads, he does very good with the peeing part but for some reason will not poop on anything but my carpet...thank goodness for Simple Solution Home Stain and Odor Remover scent clean cotton....We would like to train him in a litter box, but do I start right away or wait until he starts pooing on the puppy pads, any suggestions.
YEAH BUT I HAVE CATS....... HOW DO I KEEP HER OUT OF THEIRS AND KEEP THEM OUT OF HERS????
I just got a puppy yesterday and I'm going to try to potty train it. I also have a 7 year old cat. Puppy is a male Pom-Yorkie. Sweet fluffy baby. It said plastic fencing can card board be used?
deedee--> I learned this today. Puppy pads have something in them that helps puppy pee on them only. Unfortunatly only good old fashioned newspaper will help with the poopies.
PS Card board doesnèt work. Puppy will bowl rate through it. lol I tried.
I canot get my puppy to go potty outside at all She did the first few weeks I got her but now I can't get her to potty anywhere she just goes whererever she pleases. Ugh. I just bought a litter box and more puppy pads. I can't figure out how to get her to understand to use them.
Can you please email me because I don't exactly understand yet. You don't have to but my email is swangswimmer@gmail.com
Hey thanks soo much i'm getting a puppy tomorrow and i want to litter box train it
It was only born on August 1, 2008 and my grandma's giving one to me i can wait!!
Thanks! Our 11 week old malti-poo was trained in 1 day! She's been 90% accurate. We bought a low roasting pan for $5 and put clumping litter in it. We sprayed some urine marker in the litter and let her kick the litter around a bit. We keep her crate open so she can get up and go potty whenever she wants. We bought a large kitchen trashcan with a step pedal. We clean the litter box as soon as she goes. It's been great. She also goes when we take her outside, but we would never have been able to take her out every 2 hours. This works like a charm.
Pam, clumping litter is a very bad idea you don't want your dog ingesting that. You need natural pellet rabbit litter, or something simiiar.
this was really helpful! my mom said i could get this puggle ive been wanting only if we could litter train it. now that i no its possible and w/ ur great help, ill be able 2 get my dream puppy! thank u!
Very nice hub! Never ever considered litter box training a dog.
How messy is it?
Intellifax
thank you so much for this! i have a puppy, i got him about a month ago.. and i just switched houses (i now live in an apartment and we arent supposed to have animals). so it's been hard getting him in and out of the apartment to bring him to the bathroom without anyone seeing him. this litter box idea is awesome. is it easy to train a puppy to use the litter box at about 4 months old? i'm having a baby in a month and it's going to be hard enough changing diapers and having to worry abou my puppy having a lot of accidents.
I have a 7 week old Yorkie/Po. She is divine, but of course she is a baby. I'm noticing that she will tend towards the potty pad to urinate, but anything else is done on the carpet with no regard whatsoever for the potty pad or her mama (me...lol). I read a comment in this thread that states the same thing so I guess it's a normal thing, but how do I break it? Do I just carry her to the pad when I notice her circling and getting ready to go? She's a lovely dog and I love her dearly, but potty training is more work than I thought. But since she's a definite keeper, I would like any tips anyone has to share with me on this matter. Thanks.
I have a 3 month old miniature beagle and she goes for days on end with no accidents in the house at all....then suddenly she will have 4 or 5 in the same day. I am thinking about trying the litter box in her oversized crate just to have a place IN the house where she can go without my being displeased with her. Is this a feasible solution to her occasional potty problems.
ps.....I have a jingle bell hanging on the back door that she rings to let me know when she wants to go out....it works great but now my two cats have figured out that ringing the bell makes mama come running!!
hiya, im getting a puppy soon and i live in a apartment so i want to litter box train her. As i'm in most of the day i can easily take her out but how can i teach her to ask to go out when she needs to pee when shes used to goin in a litter box and also to continue using her litter box
My puppy is afraid of the outdoors. She is afraid of sounds and we live on a busy city street. She is good on puppy pads, but would like her to go outside. What can I do?
My parents have a Chihuahua that they have trained to use a box. It works out great for them since they are older and cannot always take her outside.
I have a 6 mos old puppy that I have been litter training for 3 mos. He was getting it earlier but now I let him in certain areas of my apt when I am home. He is confined in an area during the day with a litter box. And I have a litter box on the balcony. He uses the one in his confined area during the day but pees just outside of it. He ocasionally uses the one on the balcony, prefering to go right on the balcony rather than in the box. He is also going potty on the carpets and floors. I am at my wits end. and I don't know how to transition him to using the balcony box all the time and stop him going on the carpet and floor. and what do I do about the box in his confined area. I am gone during the day for 9 hours. Any advice would be wonderful.
is a puppy really expensive to look after?
All my border collies were litter box trained as puppies, as they lived in the house for their first few months. They are very smart dogs and training was very easy. All that had to be done was when they poo outside pick it up and put it in the litter box. Let them smell it and they know that is where they are to go from now on. Clean up quickly after them because they do not like the smell in their area and neither do I.
My Pomeranian is about 6 months now, and she has learned to pee in a box. But she just doesn't quite know that she has to poo in the box. She pees in the box all the time, but has never pooed in the box? How can i teach her to poo in the box?
Okay so i have a chihuahua puppy who is about 14 weeks old. I live in ohio which means cold winters. He's really into rolling in and eating his own poo. I'm currently trying to crate train him but the fact that he has no issues with being covered in his own poo isn't really helping the whole crate training part. I'm also not sure what to do for the colder seasons. Do you think the litter box method might be useful or to try another method?
Thanks so much for this! I just got a 3 month old Corgi and she has taken to the litter training pretty well. Still a mistake or two here and there but she's doing better. The tips you gave were great and I think really helping us better train her! So thanks again!
I just got a chihuahua and I am litter box training him! He is just a little over 8 weeks old and he is having some issues.. He goes in the liter box almost every time when i set him in there so he is fully aware that he is allowed to go in there, but when im not paying attention to him he just goes all over my room! Do I really have to follow his every step to make sure hes not going to the bathroom somewhere else? I give him a treat and praise him while hes peeing in the box everytime!
how long can a puppy hold its pee?
cgull8m says:
2 years ago
I don't have a pet yet, but this will come in handy, thanks again for sharing these tips.