The decision to get a dog is a very responsible one. And those who are going to buy a puppy of a small breed will have no less trouble than the owners of a large dog. How is feeding small breed puppies different? Does a small dog need training? How to toilet train a puppy? If you have already decided what breed of dog you need, it's time to prepare for its appearance in the house.
Why accustom your puppy to a diaper or litter box?
It is better not to walk your dog outside until the post-vaccination quarantine is completed.
Otherwise, the puppy may contract a dangerous infection. It is better to allow him to relieve himself at home. If your pet learns to use a diaper or litter box, it will be easier for you to maintain cleanliness. A few New puppy FAQs / The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals weeks after the last vaccination, you will be able to remove your pet from the premises. Please note that until the age of four months, dogs have poor urge control. They will go to the toilet every 2-3 How to Train Your Puppy to Go on Potty Pads / The Spruce Pets hours.
Choosing an accessory and a place for it
The product is selected based on the size of the pet. It is imperative to monitor the presence of a special grid at the bottom of the product to collect animal waste. This element is perhaps the most important. The dog should not move it or pull it out. A variety of materials can be used as filler. In the vast majority of cases, dog lovers use special fillers.
Of course, this is one of the most correct from a hygienic and practical point of view. However, the cost of the filler can be very sensitive for many residents of our country. In this situation, you can offer other options, for example, grass, if the dog is also walked regularly, or sifted sand, without stones. Only the fillers need to be changed in a timely manner, otherwise you won’t get away with just the smell. The dog will stop going to the litter box, even if it used to do it regularly before.
Another important aspect that you must pay close attention to when choosing a dog litter box is the correct choice of the height of the sides. For large dogs this is not particularly important, but for small breeds it is extremely important. As practice shows, the optimal solution is low sides. You will have to change the filler much more often, but the animal will not accidentally turn the structure over and scatter the contents around the house or apartment.
As for the installation location of the tray. Most importantly, under no circumstances should the toilet be installed next to the food bowl. And the question here is not even about aesthetics. Firstly, bacteria from stool can easily travel through the air into food. They can cause many serious and not so serious diseases. With this approach, the dog may start eating feces literally on the street while walking, and this is a completely different level of danger that must be taken into account.
What to do before accustoming your puppy to a diaper or tray
Buy a diaper or tray in advance
There are two types of diapers: disposable and reusable. The bottom layer of the former consists of polyethylene, which does not allow moisture to pass through, the top layer is made of fabric resembling cotton wool. This product is thrown away after several uses. The average cost of a package of 10 pieces is 150 rubles. They are sold in pet stores, pharmacies, supermarkets and online platforms.
Keep in mind: the puppy may start playing and tear the disposable diaper into small pieces. This behavior will have to be stopped.
Reusable diapers also consist of several layers. The upper one is made of fabric that allows moisture to pass through and dries quickly. Next, a fabric is sewn in to absorb and hold a large volume of liquid. The lower part of the product is a waterproof membrane. After several uses, the diaper is washed, so there should be at least one more in stock. Products are sold in pet stores. The cost starts from 250 rubles.
If it is expected that the dog will relieve itself at home all the time, you can buy a tray for the diaper. This is a plastic container with small sides. The bedding is placed under the frame and fixed tightly. There are structures with columns or walls. These are usually taken for males.
Pet stores also sell trays with imitation lawn. As a rule, these are three-level structures. The top tier is artificial realistic grass, the middle tier is a lattice that allows liquid to pass through, the bottom tier is a container where urine accumulates. Such products are thoroughly washed under water.
The dimensions of the diapers and trays depend on how big the puppy is. For example, products measuring approximately 40 × 60 cm are suitable for dwarf breeds, and 60 × 60 or 60 × 80 for medium breeds.
What to buy
- Disposable absorbent diapers from “Clean Tail”, 30 pcs, 313 rubles →
- Reusable absorbent diaper from OSSO Fashion, 840 rubles →
- Toilet with sides and column from Homepet, 1,112 rubles →
- Toilet with sides from SAVIC, 1,540 rubles →
- Toilet with imitation lawn from Pet Park Potty Patch, 3,240 rubles →
- Toilet with a wall from ZooOne, 1,864 rubles →
Stock up on cleaning supplies
The puppy will not immediately learn to hit the diaper accurately. Therefore, it is better to prepare hand gloves, rags or paper towels, and cleaner in advance. The latter should not contain ammonia. This compound is found in animal urine. If you add the substance to the contaminated area, the smell will become even stronger. It is better to stock up on baking soda, vinegar or odor remover.
What to buy
- Hand gloves from Vileda, 379 rubles →
- Three viscose cleaning napkins from Celesta, 46 rubles →
- Spray-eliminator of animal odors Iv San Bernard, 1,200 rubles →
Prepare the house
Remove carpets, shoes, bags and other items from the floor. The dog may confuse them with a diaper or tray. If there is carpet in any of the rooms, it is better to temporarily not let the animal there. Wait until the dog learns to control his urges and relieve himself in the designated area.
What is important to know before teaching your puppy to go to the toilet in a diaper?
In addition to buying food and care items, you need to take care of the toilet issue. Find out from the breeder whether the puppy is diaper trained or not. If yes, then everything is quite simple, you need to purchase the same ones. If the baby is not yet familiar with the features of the toilet, then all the responsible work will fall on your shoulders.
You need to choose disposable absorbent diapers or reusable ones that can be washed. There is no big difference for the dog, it is about the convenience of the owner. If you have a pet of a miniature breed and in the future you do not plan to walk it outside to relieve itself, then, for example, you can immediately accustom a Yorkie puppy to a special tray for dogs.
To make the learning process easier, you can purchase special products in the form of a spray for toilet training and a separate one for places where shitting is not allowed at a veterinary pharmacy or pet store. Such solutions are produced by different manufacturers: 8 in 1, Mr. Fresh, Smart Spray, Kiss and others.
Means and spray for training a puppy to a diaper are selected individually. You may have to buy products from different manufacturers and choose the most suitable one. Some owners note an unpleasant smell of the spray or a lack of effectiveness in their particular case, while others are satisfied with everything.
Using the solution is simple: you need to spray a small amount onto a diaper twice a day and let your puppy sniff. Treat the diaper regularly; this will help in the future when accustoming him to the street. It will be enough to spray the product in the right place, and the puppy’s reflex to the familiar smell will work.
It is important to note that at different ages the bladder filling rate of dogs differs:
- At 3-4 weeks in 45 minutes.
- At 2 months for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- At 3 months 1.5 hours.
- At 4-5 months 2 hours.
- After 6 months the interval becomes even longer.
If you urinate more often than once every 45 minutes, then this is a reason to visit a veterinarian to rule out cystitis.
How to accustom a puppy to a diaper or litter box
The training may take some time. The timing depends on the age, breed and individual characteristics of the animal. It is important to be consistent and be patient. Here are some How to Train Your Dog to Use a Pee Pad/Bond Vet tips to help you.
Choose an angle for the diaper or tray
The toilet must be in the same place. Surfaces that are easy to clean work well. For example, tiles, laminate or linoleum. If you have chosen bedding and are afraid that the dog will miss, you can put several pieces next to each other.
The point of the training is to show the dog a specific place in the house to defecate. Therefore, you shouldn’t put a lot of diapers in different rooms. This will confuse the puppy. As a result, the animal will think that the toilet is almost everywhere.
Watch your pet's urges
Most often, puppies want to How to Train Your Puppy to Go on Potty Pads / The Spruce Pets to go to the toilet within 15 minutes of eating, drinking, sleeping and playing. At this time, it is better to be close to the dog to observe its behavior. The dog may begin to fuss, whine, sit down, or sniff the floor. When these signs appear, take the animal to a diaper or to a tray and patiently wait for the right moment.
Reward good behavior
Don't forget to praise your pet if he uses the tray or diaper as intended. You can affectionately say that the puppy is doing well and pet him. Some owners give their dogs treats. This also reinforces the positive reaction.
Buy a puppy? First prepare the house
When you get a dog, it is vital to make your home and garden safe before he arrives home. Puppies explore the world around them, tasting it, they need to chew, so anything left on the floor, be it shoes, clothes or books, is most likely to be bitten. Therefore, it is very wise to put anything that your puppy might chew on out of his reach.
Particularly attractive are children's toys , which are usually not designed to be persistently nibbled and chewed. If left unattended, they will be hopelessly damaged and can also harm the pet: a dog may swallow or inhale a small part while playing, and in some cases surgical intervention may be required. Therefore, keep puppies out of the nursery and make sure that toys are not scattered around the house.
Make sure that your garden fence does not allow your puppy to escape and that there are no dangerous plants in your garden (lists of dangerous species are easy to find on the Internet). It also makes sense to limit your puppy's access to certain parts of the house at first. Child safety gates can help with this. Everything you might need to care for your puppy, feed your puppy, and train your dog is on this list.
What to do if you can’t accustom your puppy to a diaper or litter tray
Gently discourage misbehavior
If you notice that the puppy is relieving itself past the diaper or tray, interrupt the process. For example, softly clap House Training Your Dog or Puppy / American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Try not to scare the animal. After this, take your pet to the place that he should consider the restroom.
Do not shout or poke your dog's nose into a puddle or excrement. Even if you did not find traces of the crime immediately, you are tired or very angry. The dog will not understand why he is being punished. In the worst case, the puppy will be afraid of you and will begin to defecate in hard-to-reach places.
Change the place for diapers or tray
Observe the puppy to see what the problem is. If the dog simply does not have time to get to his toilet, move the litter box or lay out diapers closer to the place where the animal plays, eats or drinks. This method can also work when your pet persistently relieves itself in the same place.
Content
1. Choosing an accessory and a place for it 2. Some tips for training a dog to use the litter box 3. Why did the dog stop going to the litter box?
When choosing a dog and planning to purchase it, carefully study its habits, habits and characteristics of the breed. If it is small in size, then it is likely that you will have to train the dog to use the tray. This process is difficult and painstaking, but fundamentally important. With a competent and adequate approach, it will not take much time, and the result will be guaranteed.
Tray filler
It is better to buy fillers made from natural materials. For example, from sawdust. You can try different options so that your pet can choose the one that suits him best. If the dog doesn’t like the litter, it will hardly be possible to accustom it to the tray.
The filler needs to be changed a little more often than indicated on the package. You can wash the litter box only with laundry soap or a special detergent for dog litter boxes.
Necessary home preparation
Install a “toilet” in a pre-prepared place in the apartment for the new family member. The following options are suitable as a toilet for a puppy:
- dry newspapers;
- disposable diapers;
- unnecessary clean cloth;
- tray.
What to make a toilet for a puppy from?
If you have purchased an enclosure for your puppy, then one toilet is enough, since the space for movement in the enclosure is limited. If the puppy runs around the whole house, then it is necessary to install 2 - 3 toilets so that the pet has time to reach them.
Having decided on a place for the toilet, remove the carpets in the apartment or block the puppy’s access to them. At first, the baby marks everything and easily gets used to doing this on the carpet, mistaking it for a toilet. Don't give him a reason to do this.
It doesn't matter what kind of toilet your pet will have. The main thing is that the place chosen for this purpose cannot be changed so as not to confuse the puppy.
If you have a large house and had to install several toilets, they also cannot be moved from their places. Over time, reduce their number, eventually leaving only one, standing in the most suitable place.
Do not change the chosen location for the toilet.
Basic puppy skills after birth
After birth, puppies are usually kept in a playpen with their mother. After a while, they begin to crawl out of their first home and try to explore their new environment. In the first days, they mark the territory anywhere until they find a diaper or toilet where their mother relieves herself.
A specific smell and some amenities, such as a warm and soft diaper, tell babies where it is best to do this, awakening in them the natural instinct of cleanliness. When a puppy is taken to a new home, the baby may become confused and begin to chaotically mark the territory again. Your task is to toilet train the puppy again.
In a new home, the puppy will have to be toilet trained all over again.
Training a puppy
When advising on how to train a puppy to use the litter box, dog experts recommend starting training immediately after acquiring the baby. It should be remembered that this process can take quite a long time, so you should be patient.
If you are planning to buy a puppy, you need to prepare a comfortable tray for it. In the apartment, you need to minimize the number of secluded places that the puppy can use to relieve itself.
It is necessary to put the puppy in the tray immediately after sleep. During the day, you need to carefully monitor your pet: when he starts to show anxiety, look for a secluded place and put him in a tray. A small piece of newspaper or other paper, moistened with urine and placed in a tray, will help the dog find its way.
When the puppy moves freely throughout the apartment, it is better to place 3 or 4 trays for him in different corners. He himself will determine where he will be more comfortable. You need to carefully transfer the puppy into the tray, without pressing him close to you, without sudden movements. After placing the baby in the tray, you need to say: “Toilet!”
Then you need to pet him a little to calm him down, talk to him, periodically repeating the command. Until he does his business, stay close, gently holding him in the tray. Brutal violence is unacceptable: the puppy will get scared and will not go into the litter box again.
If puppies see their mother using the litter box from birth, it will be easier to train the babies. Especially if they are kept indoors and not in the courtyard of a private house. The ideal option is to purchase a puppy that is already potty trained. Then the problem of how to toilet train a dog will disappear by itself. It will be enough to buy a tray of the same model and put the puppy’s usual litter in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_pqfrrDAU0
The puppy can perform natural needs 20-30 times a day. Therefore, you need to constantly work with him, teaching him to use the toilet. In the first days after acquisition, it is advisable to monitor the puppy around the clock. This will speed up the addiction process.
Every time after the puppy has made a pile or peed in the right place, you need to praise him, stroke him, and caress him. Newspapers and diapers need to be changed periodically, gradually reducing their number. As a result, the usual bedding should remain only in the toilet.
Features of training at 3 months
Ideally, a puppy should be taken from the breeder to a new home no earlier than three months, after routine vaccinations. There is also a chance that the previous owner has already introduced the baby to the diaper and you will not need to put in much effort.
At this age, the puppy is already more conscious about the process of urination and defecation. But you should still diaper your puppy every time after feeding and sleeping.
If the baby makes a puddle in the wrong place, then blot it with a diaper. Treat this area with antigasin. Place the puppy on the diaper so that he understands that it is necessary to urinate on it.
Do not use physical force, do not poke your nose or hit him with a newspaper. There will only be fear, and there will be no understanding of why the owner is punishing for a normal physiological process. To prepare your dog for upcoming walks outside, you can carry him for short walks in your arms. At home, begin introducing the leash and collar.
Read a useful article on the topic: “Teaching your pet to go to the toilet in the right place or on a walk.”
