Litter Pan Training

Many people have been led to believe that the only ways to potty train a puppy is through the use of pee pads, newspapers or going directly outside. The thing is though, many smaller breeds can greatly benefit from being trained to go inside a litter box or litter pan.

In addition, since small breeds have tiny bladders, they are able to relieve themselves much more often than if they had to wait to be let outside. And yes, this is something similar to what a cat might use but it is going to be a little different.

There are already made litter pans for dogs or you can create your own by taking a cat litter box with a lid and cutting off the roof of it. This way, your little dog will have some privacy with the three walls and have the extra head room to make it easier to use and easier for you to clean. There are dog litter products on the market that clump around the waste making it easy to clean out the dog waste. There have been people concerned about puppies that might eat their waste and eat the litter though. Because of this concern, many people will use pee pads or newspapers on the bottom of the litter pan.

You will train your small puppy to use the litter pan as his bathroom, just as you would with training him to use newspapers on the floor. You want to make sure that you are keeping a very close eye on your puppy in the beginning of the training. This will ensure that you can catch your little puppy before accidents happen. In order to help make sure that your puppy’s potty training experience is successful, you want to help him out a little.

Make sure that your puppy does not have free run of the house. When you are not able to keep a close eye on the puppy, you want to make sure that he is confined to the room where the litter pan is. This might be the kitchen or a large bathroom or utility room. You can restrict the puppy’s access to other rooms by closing doors or installing baby gates.

You will want to make sure that you clean up the litter mess each time your puppy goes. Dogs do not cover their urine or stools like cats do. You do not want to deal with the smell or your puppy walking through the mess and then dragging it through the house. Keep cleaning supplies such as paper towels, bleach and water mixture in a spray bottle, a broom, garbage bags, and a garbage can nearby. In the beginning, it is very likely that your puppy will make a little bit of a mess with the litter. Once he gets the hang of it, he will be fine.