Litter Box Training

by Charlotte
(New Jersey)

Hello, I have a 9 month old yorkie-pom named ella who is not fully house-trained. She is a very small dog and needs to go to the bathroom a lot, she goes to the bathroom on her walks and on her puppy pads.

She makes a lot of mistakes around the house. I would like to start litter box training her. I think that would be best because she has such a small bladder, she needs to be able to go whenever.

If we do start litter box training her should we use an open-litter box or a roofed one? Please tell me what you think!



Hi Charlotte
Litter box training is better than using pee pads, but the best alternative is to train her to go outdoors. That way you don't need to re-train her later on (not that easy!).

However, if you feel that training her to 'go' indoors is the best option for you, I's strongly suggest using a crate and crate training her. You can still use the litterbox as her 'potty spot', when you read the article just substitute 'litter box' for 'outside' :o)

Whether to use an open or lidded box is kind of a personal preference. There are advantages and disadvantages to both kinds. It will probably be easier to get her to use it at first if it's open. Being closed in may remind her of the crate (den) and be counterproductive. Later on, when she's learned to associate the box with her elimination habits you could try a lidded version.

Best of luck!