Tips on Puppy Litter Training
Litter training your puppy is great for those of you who work long hours and are not able to walk your dog frequently. Litter training your puppy can also be great for those of you who are alone and housebound. It is not too difficult to litter train your puppy, but for those of you with larger dogs should walk them twice a day so they get their exercise. There are several steps in litter training your puppy.
1) Building your dog’s litter box is the first step. The litter box should be built according to the size of your dog. In building your dog’s litter box, you should find a large plastic tray that is deep enough to hold enough granules to absorb your dog’s urine and poop, but yet low enough to allow your puppy to comfortably climb into the litter box and big enough for your dog to maneuver around to be able to do his business.
2) The litter for your dog’s litter box can be a wide variety of different things ranging from shredded newspaper to kitty litter granules. Some people even use green turf mats which simulate the grass on the lawn, but these turf mats can be difficult to clean. The best and easiest to clean, in my view, are the kitty litter granules which are specially designed to clump up when they come into contact with urine. This makes cleanup easy. Simply take a slatted scooper and scoop out the solid clumps with the poop and the loose granules that never got wet will go back into the litter box. Then simply bag the poop and urine clumps and throw away.
3) Maintaining a litter box with granules is the easiest and does not take much effort. All you need to do is to occasionally rake the granules and scoop out the poop and urine clumps and from time to time replace lost granules.
4) Litter training your puppy can be a bit more tricky than setting up the litter box. Your puppy is like a small child and he will need to learn that the appropriate place to do his business in the house is in his litter box. To do this, the best thing to do is to crate train your puppy. Crate training should be done in the first initial months of your puppy’s life to get him accustomed to the rules of the house. Dogs are social animals and do not like to be confined. For this reason, you use the reward-punishment method to train your puppy how to use the litter box. Certain steps to follow to litter train your puppy are as follows:
A. Direct your puppy to the litter box when you see him about to do his business elsewhere in the house. This is very tricky. You will have to spend time and watch him and you need to catch him in the act early. As you see your puppy start to squat, tell him “NO” and direct him to the litter box and keep him in the litter box until he does his business. After doing his business, praise your puppy and offer him a treat.
B. If you see a mess elsewhere in the house besides the litter box, put your puppy’s nose into it and tell him “NO!” Do not yell at your puppy. Simply be firm and show him who’s boss. Place your puppy in the training crate for a period of time. Then let him out again. Continue to have your puppy near you so you can watch him. As he tries to do his business and you catch him in the act, repeat step A.
C. Keep your puppy’s litter box clean at all times. Check for poop and urine clumps and scoop out on a regular basis. Rake all the granules evenly when cleaning. Replace granules every week.
Litter training can be especially convenient for those of you who have long jobs and don’t want to keep your dog confined in a training crate for a long time. This way, your puppy will realize that his litter box is his toilet and you will not have to worry about coming home to a mess.