Can You Litter Box Train Your Puppy(s)?

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Have you ever thought that a puppy could be litter box trained like a cat and why would you want to litter box train a puppy?

I know clients who paper train their little dogs or use pee pads with them but until a couple years ago I never thought of litter box training my puppies that I bred. Up until about three weeks of age mom keeps the puppies really clean. The puppies reline on mom to make them poop and pee for the first two – three weeks of age. At about 2.5 weeks of age they start moving around more and pooping on their own. Mom still cleans up after them as she keeps the whelping box clean.

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At this time before I start introducing mush to start weaning them I place a litter box with a shallow pan in their whelping box for them to get used to and start using. I tried this for the first time last litter and I ended up taking it out and not using it because I felt they ate more of the litter then I thought they should be and I was worried it would upset their stomach. This litter I decided I was going to try it again and start earlier before they knew what real food was. What I used for litter was Yesterday’s New’s cat litter and compressed wood pellets used for horse bedding. I mix both bags together and put it in a shallow tray.

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The puppies thought this was some kind of bed. They didn’t mind walking on the litter or sleeping on the litter. When I would come into the room and they would wake up I would place them in the litter because once they wake up they have to pee. After some time they would go in there and pee and I would get so excited. I would also find little poop’s in there.

Poop happens!

Poop happens!

Of course when they were out of their whelping box poop happens! Even in the whelping box they would have pee and poop on the blankets and I would still need to change them twice a day but there would be pee and poop in the box too so to me any little bit that was done in the box was less I had to clean up.

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At 4.5 weeks of age I moved the puppies to the basement to their new digs. You see the wooden box in the picture that used to be Glory’s whelping box. I put it in their pen thinking they liked their new whelping box that they would want to go in there and sleep but no they would go in there and pee and poop so I figured I would put the litter boxes in there so when they kicked out the litter it wouldn’t be so messy it would be contained in one spot.

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Their potty area.

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Pee pad area.

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Just after I cleaned the box then one had to come in there and poop.

The litter box is easy to clean. I just use a kitty litter scoop to scoop out the poop and some of the pee. I change out the litter every couple of days to keep the smell down.

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This is what it looks like in the morning.

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The pee pad area in the morning.

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Easy to scoop out.

There was only one pile of poop on the blankets where they play, everyone else pooped in the boxes. This is a huge improvement for me over using just pee pads as once the puppies get bigger they like to shred them and make a big mess and the pads aren’t really environmentally safe as they have a plastic backing that I don’t think breaks down to well.

And sometimes even know they are using their potty area poop just happens where ever you are playing. I’m not sure why they like peeing and pooping in the sled as it’s not balanced at all. They wobble around in it so I guess they are working on their balance.

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So the answer to my first question if you can litter box train your puppy(s)…. Yes Yes you can! When you have 9 puppies peeing and pooping any little bit in the box helps!

I have been working on them going to the bathroom outside and they are doing really well with that too. Some will go to the patio doors and cry after playing inside for a while and when I open the door they go out and do their business. But then on the other hand they are small and have gerbil bladders so they do pee quite often when out and about playing so I always have a mop in my hands.

Barks And Bytes

We are joining Linda at 2browndawgs and Jodi at Heart Like A Dog for this great blog hop.

9 Replies to “Can You Litter Box Train Your Puppy(s)?”

  1. easyweimaraner

    I like this idea, it can be helpful in case of super bad weather or when we become sick and have no one who walks the dog….
    we tried it too once as Easy had to go out every night 87 times (not because he had to go just because he wanted). we used a kiddy pool what we filled with cat litter, we found everywhere in the house later. Then we used play sand (one bag 15 bucks, that’s daylight robbery!)… Easy liked it and dug holes while the sand flew through his crib. Then we stopped that project and I thought I can make a herbal bed from that pool… and two days later I’ve found a giant easy-pile between basil and thym… oh man :o(

  5. Jodi Stone

    That’s awesome. My sister’s dog never goes outside because she has trained him to use a box, except she puts a pad in there and changes it every time he goes. (That would make me nuts.)

    I love the idea of giving them different textures to use when they potty. For the longest time Sampson would only go on grass. Which is something I never thought of when we were training him.

    Thank you for joining the blog hop!!

  7. Jodi Stone

    So, nothing like formulating a lovely response, only to have the internet monsters eat it. 🙁

    Let me try again…LOL

    I love this idea of having them learn to use different textures for elimination purposes. When Sampson was a puppy we trained him on grass and so for the longest time he would only go on grass. He would spend an entire day at daycare but not use the gravel area they had for pottying. Instead, he would hold it all day.

    My sister has trained her little dog to use a box, but she lines it with a pad and changes it every time he goes.

    thank you for joining the blog hop and for sharing such a great idea.