Have any of you litter-trained your doggy? I have read that quite a few people here use those piddle pads, but I was thinking of litter-training my pup when I get him.
If you have litter-trained your pup, how did it go? Or if you have heard anything about litter-training (good, bad, or indifferent!) let me know!
I bought a litter pan and litter pellet things that are made for dogs. The litter pan works great but the litter pellets were uncomfortable on the dogs feet and he didn't want to get in it.. so we use these pads things in the litter pan, and he has been really good with that..
if you are going to use something in the litter box try to find something that is good on their feet in my opinion, and make sure its not like a surface that feels similar to something else in the house... lol. i have heard that they will relate the feelings. ... /??? anyways.. i hope this was helpful
Puck reacted similarly to the litter. It wasn't precisely uncomfortable, he just didn't seem to like how it shifted under his feet. So then he would start eating it. *sigh* I used the pad in the tray for a while, but he wouldn't climb in as much. So I've gone back to the pad. When he becomes more consistent, I will put it back in the litter box and encourage him to use it. After that, I may try to get him used to the litter again.
I use litter trays, area with towels on and garden, in the litter trays i put kitchen towels like bounty paper towels and the girls use that when in their cot.
I use litter trays for all my chis(5). They seem to adjust well to them. I don't use the "dog" litter because it is expensive. I use kitty litter-have used the recylable pellets and clay, they do not seem to mind. I scoop every day. They seemed to train naturally, even my youngest puppy (10weeks) adjusted to using the litter tray in about three days. The instructions on the litter suggests not pouring when the dog is around, because it sounds like food. Sometimes when they first start they will chew on pieces, but puppies chew on everything. But my chis have not continued to eat the pellets, but I was careful, in the beginning, not to pour when they were around. It is nice since I work and they must be alone for up to 4 hours at a time.
What kind of kitty litter? Isn't it toxic or indigestible to dogs? I liked the dog litter because it was basically newspaper pellets. They make it for rodent cages too...
We have actually been having a problem with Sandy eating the kitty litter. We have 4 cats so I can't get rid of the kitty pottys LOL.
It gives Sandy bloody diarhea (sp?) I have to really keep up with keeping the litter off of the floor.
I guess if your chis will go potty in it and don't eat it, you should be ok. Just be careful and if they do develop mucusy bloody stool it could very well be the litter.
I use Yesterdays News from Purina (cat litter pellets) which is available at my local grocery store. It is made from recycled newspapers and is non-toxic. The pellets are much smaller than the ones for dogs, and my dog likes it much better. Quikdog has a great tip not to pour it in the tray when the dog is around. I wish I had thought of that as my dog initially tried to sneak an occasional pellet back to his crate, probably because it sounded like dog food being poured, lol.
I tried the doggie litter and my dogs just ate the pellets, never thought of kitty litter, I may have to give that a try as my dogs are paper trained and i hate having to pick up wet papers and mop all the time. :lol:
I asked my vet about the cat litter. He said that most brands weren't toxic, but there were some that would be. He said that if your dogs ate the litter and had negative effects--bleeding, constipation, diaherrea, whatever, it would be a good idea to switch. But he didn't act like he'd ever seen a dog badly hurt by it, so it must not be as bad as I thought.
I tried both Purina dog litter and Yesterday's News litter which is a lot smaller. In both cases, Scooter didn't like the way the pellets shifted under her feet. I think chis are much more prone to go potty on something like a carpet surface. She took to the piddle pads immediately, and now I don't feel the need to use litter or to even move the pad into a litter box. She's always good about getting her potty right on the pad and doesn't track it around or anything.
Whatever you do, don't use clumping cat litter. Dogs sometimes eat it, it clumps in their stomach and causes impaction. Really bad for them.
We have a patio doggie door that goes onto the balcony....and a tub with dirt and a piece of sod on top. Sadie loves going on grass and we were never able to paper train her so this seemed like the best way. It's really easy...you just have to change the sod every couple weeks!
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