Guest Post by Ryan Laporte
A dog litter box is a useful tool in dog potty training. House trained dogs use potty boxes in case of accidental toilet needs, an added benefit to train your dog. Potty training can be hard if you are not using the correct technique. In order to successfully train a puppy or a dog you need to be determined and consistent. If you are not consistent your dog will feel confused as to what to do. Dog potty boxes are beneficial to potty training adult dogs. Dog owners who are living in highrise buildings and apartment must use potty pads inorder to train their dogs.
Training your dog to use a dog litter box is easy and it’s just like the old technique of using “paper training”. If you can still remember during the old times when there were hardly any dog supplies people would use paper inorder to potty train. Potty box training is the same idea as paper training. It is not easy but if you follow the correct steps, you will find out that potty training in a potty box is not a difficult thing to do. Here are the following steps that you can follow for effective litter box training.
- The first thing that you should do is select a place where you will permanently put the box. It is important that it has its own specific place. Your dog will be disoriented or confused trying to find the liter box every time he needs to go to the toilet.
- It should be stable place and difficult for your dog to drag and move around. Some manufacturers have trays to hold the dog box in place. It is ideal to have a potty tray or holder to avoid your dog from dragging it around. This will also help them identify the potty box from your carpet. The play area and toys should be on a different side as well as the resting area. Giving a different setting for every activity of your dog would help him understand the right place to do each thing.
- Observe your dog at this time. You can play with him if he wants to play. Wait for the time when he needs to go to the toilet for urination or defecation. Instruct him to go to the litter box and say something like “go potty”. In cases that he is not on the dog grass, bring him to it and say “go potty” again repeatedly. When he is already finished do not forget to say “good boy” or “good dog”. Praises and rewards is a form of motivation to do the same thing again next time. As a reward you can treat him with food or toys.
- Be consistent in training your dog for a couple of days. Continue the process until he can determine where he needs to potty. Consistency is very important so you need give more time in training them. In due time he will know that he needs to go to the potty pad whenever he needs to urinate and defecate. You will be surprised later on that he will quickly go to the area where the potty box is even his in on a different area of the house.
Following these simple steps will help you be an effective trainer. You also need to recognize the fact that every dog is different from each other and the length of the training varies from dog to dog. The duration of the training depends upon how immediate your dog’s response.
There are a lot of resources out there so I encourage you to do your homework prior to committing to potty training your adult dog. There are a lot of options availabe to you so I recommend you visit your local pet store and compare prices and quality between the different liter box options.