Potty training small dogs is, sometimes, a long and tedious process. Small dog breeds such as toy and teacup varieties of many breeds are often very difficult to potty train. With consistency and persistence, just about any dog can be potty trained but sometimes the small breeds take longer. They seem to catch on a bit better once they have matured a bit, but what do you do in the meantime? Is it better to keep toughing it out and cleaning up messes until they get it, or can it be beneficial to both dog and dog lover to let the dog mature a bit before going down that road?
This article is simply my experiences with my own dogs, I am not saying one should or should not litter box train a dog. I am just providing you with my experiences and thoughts on the subject.
Potty training a small breed dog before they are mature enough can be very frustrating for you and for the dog. Frustration and tension between person and dog during the critical developmental stages of your puppy’s psychological growth can cause you possible problems later on. Your puppy needs to bond with you and feel safe with you first and foremost during the early months in order to grow into a loyal and happy companion. If there is too much strife between you and your new best friend in those early stages of growth, your dog may not be as close to you as they should be, or may not learn from you later on as well as you would like.
You should, of course, start potty training early to get the dog used to it early but how you go about it can be a big factor in how your relationship with your dog turns out in the end. I do recommend regularly taking your dog out to potty and encourage them to go potty using keywords such as: Do your business; Go Potty; Do your duty; Finish, etc. but always make it a positive experience if possible, they will take to it much more readily. Sometimes though, they just don’t get it. In the meantime your dog is going to have accidents in the house from time to time and if your dog is small enough, litter box training can offer you relief from cleaning up and them a place to go potty safely until they are mature enough to catch on to letting you know they need to go outside.
How do you litter box train a dog? This may sound absolutely crazy but it can be done and can provide both of you some stress relief.
The first thing to do is to give them a potty pad as early as possible. The commercial puppy pads are scented to attract dogs and they tend to know by scent what they are supposed to do with it. They also love to destroy them sometimes too so be patient at first, you just want your puppy to make the connection. If they go potty on the pad praise them and take them outside. Don’t expect them to go potty outside if they just went, but going outside right afterwards will help them make the connection between potty and outside. You may find your dog catching on to going outside before you have them litter box trained, this is excellent. The litter box training is just a temporary measure to relieve tension and help make the proper connections until mature enough.
Next, get yourself the biggest litter box you can find or you can make one by getting two shallow plastic tubs of the right size and cutting the bottom out of one. A commercial cat box that works well is the one with the small snap on rim to keep the cat litter in. You will place the potty pad in the bottom of the litter box, and place the snap on border in upside down so it sets inside the box securing the pad in place, tape can also help. Securing the pad in this way will make it easier for your dog to use it and keep them from destroying it. If using the two tub method, place the pad into the solid tub and place the cut out tub inside the solid one securing the pad between the two. Taping the pad to the bottomless tub before placing it inside the solid one can help also.
Place the box in an easily accessible place. Place your dog into the box and use your command word to go potty. Make sure they know that is what the box is for. You may be thinking, “Wouldn’t this just confuse the poor dog?” Well, that really depends on the dog and your situation. It did not confuse my dog. I have a chihuahua that I got when she was about 6 weeks old. She would not go potty outside to save her life, she just looked at me like I was an idiot. Litter box training for her came naturally and all I did to get her to do it was tell her to go use her box when I noticed her sniffing around. Once she matured a bit, around 8 months old, she took to going outside like it was natural and I was able to throw the litter box away.
Change the pad in the litter box every day, if it gets too dirty your dog won’t use it, causing them to pick another spot witch opens up a whole new can of confusion for them. Don’t worry, the box itself will let you know when it needs to be changed, just remember if you can smell it, your puppy is probably horrified by it.
Reward and praise your puppy when they use the litter box. Milkbone type dog biscuits work really well as a reward. I broke them into small pieces so I could give them to her as often as needed.
Take them outside to potty once in a while to see if they are figuring it out yet. Praise and reward them when they go outside, and once they have figured things out enough to let you know when they need to go outside, take the litter box away. Be very diligent at first to take them out anytime they seem to be looking for the litter box. If you catch them looking for it, taking them out right at that moment will help solidify in their minds that the litter box is gone and they need to communicate with you when they feel the urge.
As I said before, these are just my experiences with my dogs. I was at my wits end with my chihuahua and litter box training her provided us a huge sigh of relief until she grew to understand what outside was for. Now she is perfectly house broken and scratches the door and begs to go outside and knows exactly what to do when she gets there. Litter box training is definitely not for every dog or every person, I really only recommend it when your small puppy just isn’t getting the whole outside thing and you need something else to save your sanity until they do, or if you are normally away from the house for many hours at a time.
These techniques will obviously be more effective with small female dogs than larger breeds or male dogs. Male dogs can be difficult to housebreak in general and trying to get a male dog to hit a litter box with a hiked up leg would literally be “hit and miss”. Every dog is an individual so these techniques will naturally be more effective for some than others. If you decide to try any of this, I hope it works for you and provides you with the time your dog needs to adjust and figure things out.
For more dog litter box training tips or if you want to use a litter box permanently for your small dog check this out.
