Tips for Litter Box Training a Dog By Darrin Swain

Smaller dogs obviously have smaller bladders. That means that they have to go outside more often than their larger counterparts. One way to avoid frequent trips outside is to teach your small dog how to use a litter box much like a cat.

Be aware that your dog's won't have a cat's natural instincts when it comes to using a litter box or burying waste. Therefore, it will take a lot of patience when it comes to litter box training a dog. The following tips should help somewhat though.

Many people are surprised to learn that there are litter boxes designed especially for dogs. However, you can still use those designed for cats. Just make sure that it's one of the largest that you can find so that your dog doesn't have space issues.

Your little one won't just go running to the litter box whenever it's time for him to go to the bathroom. You will need to pick him up and take him there instead, at least until he gets used to the process. This means that you'll need to keep a watchful eye on your canine.

Dogs typically start walking in circles or sniffing the ground whenever they're about to go. Dogs also have to eliminate whenever they wake up in the morning, so take him to the box then too. A few minutes after he eats is another time that he needs to be taken to the litter box.

You may not want to go about litter box training a dog right from the start. The old method of using newspaper will help considerably. Once your dog gets used to going on the paper, you can just switch it out to a litter box.

As with any type of training, you will need to be patient with your dog. Whenever things go right, make sure that you praise him for it. Give him a nice treat or two whenever he successfully uses the litter box too.

Conversely, make sure that your dog gets the message whenever he messes up. Don't worry about scolding your dog if you find an accident at a later time, since doing so will do no good. Catch him in the act and reprimand him, just not physically.

When there are accidents, make sure that you're prepared. You will need to clean up messes thoroughly. Dogs have an amazing sense of smell, and will be drawn back to spots that they've eliminated on in the past.

Litter box training a dog isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. However, it will save you a lot of trouble if you can do it successfully. Good luck.