How to Litter Box Train Your New Puppy

Litter box training can be a helpful alternative for people who need to give their dog the option to go inside the house. People who live in high-rise apartments or who don’t want to send their Chihuahua out into a snowstorm to do its business, for example, benefit from litter boxes. This article will assume you have a small dog: teaching a German Shepherd to use a litter box just seems kind of counter-intuitive.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Litter box
• Dog litter or newspaper

1. When you first get your puppy home, its bladder is probably the size of a peanut, and it will try to pee every time your back is turned. So the trick here is to watch your puppy constantly. It’s a pain, but the more you actually catch your puppy in the act of trying to go, the faster the whole process of housebreaking will be. It’s best to only let your dog roam around in a small area at first until they have the basics down. In this respect, crate training will be your best friend.

2. Every time you see your puppy start to sniff and circle, grab her and run to her litter box. Very young puppies especially almost always have to go after they’ve had a nap, so if you’re having trouble catching your puppy fast enough, try putting her in her box preemptively every time she wakes up.

3. If your are at work all day, or will be unable to let your puppy out of her crate every hour or so to let her use her litter box, an alternative method is to find either a small room or section off a small area in the house using a baby gate. Place your puppy’s crate, food, water, and litter box in a way so that there is as little floor space as possible. Your puppy will not want to go in its crate where she sleeps and plays, will not want to go where she eats and drinks, and so will hopefully come to the conclusion that she should use her litter box.

4. Positive reinforcement is the fastest method of training your puppy. Every time she successfully uses her box, act as if your puppy has just discovered the secret to world peace, preferably with lots of petting and talking in that ridiculously happy baby voice that all dog owners have. Treats are even more effective. Plain Cheerios make excellent treats as they are small enough for most little dogs to chew, they are cheap, and they probably won’t ruin your dog’s appetite.

5. As your dog gets older and has fewer accidents, you can increase the size of the area your dog is allowed to run around in. Each time you do this you will have to spend a couple days watching your dog vigilantly, catching her every time she makes a mistake and tries to go behind the potted plant, but if you do it slowly enough, with time your dog can roam the whole house or apartment and still know to go to her litter box when she has to.

Tips & Warnings

• Try not to move the litter box around too much- keep in one spot or you might have to retrain each time you move it.
• It’s good to put newspaper or a sheet of plastic under the box in case of accidents
• Don’t panic if it seems your dog suddenly forgot everything and keeps going on the floor: just shrink their roaming room and try to catch and correct their accidents until they are back on track.
• Don't use clumping kitty litter as it can hurt your dog if she eats it, and will probably make a mess anyway. Use dog litter, the kind that comes in pellet form.