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litterbox training
by Jennifer
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
DISCUSSION:
Hi, I have heard of people liter box training with good results. Why not try wee-wee pad's? They are very sanitary and your pup will still be trained indoors and not have to be let outside. Just a thought to consider!
Angel
Jennifer, I tried to train my little boy to go in the littertray....he thought it was a great place to play and that was it! I hope you have better luck than I did. I purchased wee-wee mats which we found the best...until I found him one morning in the bathroom positioning himself perfectly over the drain in the bathroom floor! Once I saw this there were no more trips outside in the middle of the night. Good luck!
CMS
Jennifer,I use an industrial cookie sheet which is larger than a standard household sheet with a 1" lip on it all the way around it. Then I put newspaper or white unprinted paper on it and top with a hospital incontinent pad. My little ones step into the tray to go potty. I have a friend that use litter for her dogs ,but personaly have never tried it.
Cherie
Jennifer, If you go to Jay's home page - under Advertiser - you will see an ad for the PuppyJohn. I trained my Bailey with this and have found it to be just great. She is also trained to go outside but the fact that I work all day helps me feel better knowing that she doesn't have to wait until I get home to "go". It's a large plastic kind of tray that you put puppy wee wee pads (alot cleaner) or newspaper in and they will go in it. It's just terrific and a really helpful training tool. Good Luck.
Robin D.
Congratulations on your new baby! Love the name Tanner! I also understand the weather concerns, we are in the NW and it's so wet that I wasn't about to deal with a soggy & muddy pup. I nver thought that I would have a dog that pottied indoors, but darned if I am not delighted with the results. Since I got her at fourteen weeks, Phoebe has used Puppy Training pads - there are some who use a regular litter box (but I have a cat and that just would not do!) These pads are a thick batting with a plastic layer underneath - many people use the Puppy John as added protection underneath. The crate training willl go hand in hand with this method. Just by putting your pup on the pad when time to go potty will eventually get the idea across. I also have a pen that Phoebe uses as her 'room' and a pad stays in the corner of that pen. She did progress to the point that when she is romping all over hte place she will run to her pen and go potty on her paper! The pads are not cheap, I found the best source to be Foster & Smith where I can get a jumbo pack of 56 pads for only $16.99 (I tried cheaper pads and we got a lot of slatter and they just didn't work as well. Anyway, just use the pad as a substitue 'outdoors' and follow a standard housebreaking procedure. Good luck.
Leslie R
Hi! Many of us who have little Maltese have trained our guys to use a "PuppyJohn" which is advertised on this site. It is real easy to train - because the little doggy already has been going on newspapers.
You should get a paperback book on paper training or get one from the library. It is simple. It is not complicated. Your doggy will catch on to the idea sooner or later. Usually, with positive reinforcement they get the hang of it before you are thoroughly exasperated. Read up on it before you get Moose, so you start off right. He will be less confused if you are consistent. Good Luck and welcome!
valan
You might check the archives, as they have a lot of great suggestions, but - YES!- it is possible. I grew up in Colorado, and visit there regularly so I understand your concern. This is the same thing that prompted me to litter train. Avery is over a year old now and uses nothing but the litter box with regular clumping cat litter. I started out with a pan that was only about an inch high because she couldn't reach the litter box. She soon caught on after taking her to the litter box about every thirty minutes. Others recommend using wee-wee pads in the litter box. I personally like litter better. Good Luck!
Michelle
Jennifer, what a cute name... Tanner. I'll bet he's just as cute. Baxter and Rudy are paper trained. They don't go outside at all, unless it's to play. You might want to check into a puppy john. It's advertised sometimes in a banner at the top of this forum, or you can find it in the advertising section of this site. Are you crate training? This in conjunction with papers worked for us. I use unprinted newsprint. You can get it at moving companies (they use it to pack). Newspaper print tends to rub off on our white babies. You can also use wee wee pads, but they can get expensive (especially with two dogs). There is excellent information about housebreaking on the main page of this site. Good luck. Woof woof & high fives, Tanner, from Baxter & Rudy.
Marie
Jennifer...yes! After taking our first Maltese (Precious) outside for 14 years in pouring down rain, hail, sleet, snow, and dark and freezing cold of night, (plus the washing and cleaning up after we brought her back in), when we brought Mikee and Angel home, I vowed to train them to use litter pans. At first I used an oil drip pan with unprinted newsprint (to keep them white). Within a few weeks, the oil drip pans corroded, and began to smell horribly! [bad] THEN, I ordered two Puppy Johns (one for Mikee's side of the kitchen, and one for Angel's side - when I separate them from time to time!) THEY ARE WONDERFUL! [ggg][ggg] Lightweight, clean, inconspicuous as is possible and easy to clean. Mikee and Angel never knew I switched, BUT I DID! Good luck with your little one. One more very important thing. Mikee and Angel are now eight and nine months old. I realize they will go fewer times as they get older, but I never realized how many times they tinkle during the day since they are able to go whenever they want to, versus, how many hours our last little Maltese must have held wanting to tinkle so many times when we just didn't take her out but three or four times a day. It must be healthier for them to be able to go when they need too and not just when they are "scheduled". I'd hate to think I had to work my "tinkle time" in at the first, middle, and close of the day, wouldn't you? ha-ha. Annette, Mikee & Angel
Jennefer, I have not used a litter box, it seems to me you'd have litter all over the place with those hairy little feet. I use the type of pads that are used in hospitals under patients. You can buy them at most drug stores or super stores. They are MUCH cheaper than the puppy pads at the pet supply. If you need to scent them for awhile you can buy the scent by the can at most pet shops. I only used the sent for the first few weeks and now Diva uses them regularly. Clean and just roll them up to dispose of. Great when you go visiting too. She'll use it any where!
Mary P
When I got my pup, the weather was bad and I did not want her to get sick from being out in it so I put newspaper in her exercise pen and she used it. Then I read that that was a bad thing to do if I wanted to train her for outside, so I picked up the papers and put them in a kitty litter box that I had purchased to use for her. I intended to discard them but forgot about it and low and behold next time I went to take puppy outside I noticed a wet spot on the papers. I don't know how she got those little short legs over the top of that litter box all by herself but she did. I leave the news papers and littler box in her pen and if she needs to pee in there, she does. At one time I tried to use the pee pads, but she thought they were a toy and tore them all to pieces. I tried hiding them under the newspaper, she dug them out and tore them up, so that has been a waste of money. But I am glad that she uses the litter box as well as goes outside, because I can't take her out in the rain and get her all wet either.
suzi