Generally speaking, most dogs are fairly smart, easy to train, and eager to please. So is it possible to train a dog to use a litter-box? Has anyone out there tried it? If so, what were the results?
Thanks,
S.
I haven’t tried it, but i have heard of it. In fact, I’ve seen doggie litter boxes in pet supply stores, in different sizes depending on the size of your dog. I think there’s a special kind of dog litter to use as well.
you can probably find articles about it on Google or another search engine.
I’ve seen doggie litter boxes in stores as well. The thing is, cat litter boxes are bad enough. Dog doo smells ten times worse in my experience. No way do I want that in my house!
My doggie goes in a litter box - no problem whatsoever - you just train them the same way you would paper train a dog.
As to smell, I use clumping cat litter and remove the turds as they appear - no smell issues at all. I suppose if you left them festering in there for a while it might get kind of gross…
Depending on size, many things are possible. I recall a family of Great Dane people who trained their male dane to poop in the toilet, a fantastic convenience when you’re traveling to dog shows, as many dogs of all breeds have trouble settling down to eliminate in a strange - and strange smelling - place. Dunno if they trained him to flush, though it’s possible. AAMOF, they took a snapshot of him … ah … performing and sent it to the popular Dane magazine of the time (1970s). He was an obedience (as opposed to conformation) dog, but most Danes are both smart enough and large enough that someone who understands how to train dogs (patience and absolute consistency are the watchwords) could do it. Given the differences in the posture of male and female dogs when they are peeing, I doubt a female could be trained to go in the toilet. However, it shouldn’t be impossible with a male.
Caution: Many of the other “giant” breeds are either NOT as smart, or as trainable (sometimes both), as Danes. And a very few Danes aren’t all that trainable, either (occasionally because the dog is smarter than the owner).
My co-worker has trained both of her dogs to use a litter box. She uses shredded newspaper as her litter, and has a large, low box. (Her dogs have very short legs, so the sides have to be very small for them to get inside.) It’s large enough for both dogs to use at once, but she says she’s never witnessed them taking advantage of that fact.
I asked her about smell, too. She said she changes the litter after every bowel movement the dogs have, which means twice to three times a day. She keeps a giant trash can outside her back door for this purpose. She says that other than a whiff when she opens the can, she’s never noticed any odor.
Huh. I could be wrong about the smell issue, obviously.
I wouldn’t try this with our boys, though. Isaac the yellow lab loves kitty litterbox treats, and I bet he’d love doggie ones too. Ick. shudder
Question 2 - would it cause any problem with the dog also being able to “do its business” outside, or would it become litter-box dependent?
I work a 9-hour day, Monday-Friday. I’d like to be able to leave the dog in the house during the day rather than outside, and have it use the litter-box while we’re away. BUT I would also like to be able to have it do its thing outside whenever possible.
Thanks,
S.
Not exactly litterbox training, but some friends of ours put a doggy door into the door between their kitchen and their garage, and always have paper put down in the garage. When Muffin needs to go, and no one is home, she pops into the garage. Since their trash barrels are also in the garage, all they do is stuff the, um, used paper into the trash and put down more if necessary.
As for ‘habituating’ to the paper only, not with Muffin. If someone is home when the urge hits, she begs incessantly – and will even have an ‘accident’ in the house, rather than go to the garage.
I think walks are too important to dogs to give them up that easily.