YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Anyone else use the litterbox... I need help!

Nico29 · 12-10-2009, 06:59 PM

All these suggestions are really good. Chase uses a kitty litter box with very high sides so that when he occasionally lifts his leg it stays inside. This is not an issue with you because you have a girl. We put paper towels inside (no litter) on top we put a metal type grate thingy that holds it down so he can't chew it up. It works really great and when he goes potty I switch the towels, chlorox it and replace the towels. Once a day or every other, we scrub it out in the bathtub using Scrubbing Bubbles. I think that it is important that your husband has a lot of patience and understands that she is just a little baby. She is going to have accidents. When Chase had an accident if I saw him doing it I would say, "No" in a stern voice. It's hard cause he's so darn cute! I found he is extremely food driven and I focused on LOTS OF PRAISE and gave treats EVERY time he went in the litter box. It got to the point that I swear he would force tiny bits of pee out of him so he could get a treat. In my opinion, positive feedback really produces better results then focusing on showing them that they did something wrong. I was his little cheerleader and my husband would laugh at me but it worked! Oh, and when he was peeing I would in a very cheerful voice keep repeating, "Good boy goes pee pee/potty for Mommy!" Baby gates worked great and we used ex pens to keep him put of rooms until he was about 10 months old. Now he roams around but we keep the bedroom and bathroom doors closed. The kitchen is gated as well. Oh--to keep from over treating him, we measure out his meals and give treats from that. Cheerios are super too! Our trainer said that once we were 99% sure he was trained that we could alternate between treats and praise and just verbal praise. By the way, if the smell is "irritating" to your husband it can be taken care of by using the Chlorox Anywhere Spray every time and the daily scrubbing. Either keep several boxes around your home or be vigilant about bringing the one box to whatever room Alice is in. I hope this helps. This information is just what worked for us. I am by no means saying that it is the best/only way but that it worked wonderfully for us. Keep me posted!

12-10-2009, 06:59 PM	#10
Nico29 YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Posts: 734	Positive reinforcement works much better!! All these suggestions are really good. Chase uses a kitty litter box with very high sides so that when he occasionally lifts his leg it stays inside. This is not an issue with you because you have a girl. We put paper towels inside (no litter) on top we put a metal type grate thingy that holds it down so he can't chew it up. It works really great and when he goes potty I switch the towels, chlorox it and replace the towels. Once a day or every other, we scrub it out in the bathtub using Scrubbing Bubbles. I think that it is important that your husband has a lot of patience and understands that she is just a little baby. She is going to have accidents. When Chase had an accident if I saw him doing it I would say, "No" in a stern voice. It's hard cause he's so darn cute! I found he is extremely food driven and I focused on LOTS OF PRAISE and gave treats EVERY time he went in the litter box. It got to the point that I swear he would force tiny bits of pee out of him so he could get a treat. In my opinion, positive feedback really produces better results then focusing on showing them that they did something wrong. I was his little cheerleader and my husband would laugh at me but it worked! Oh, and when he was peeing I would in a very cheerful voice keep repeating, "Good boy goes pee pee/potty for Mommy!" Baby gates worked great and we used ex pens to keep him put of rooms until he was about 10 months old. Now he roams around but we keep the bedroom and bathroom doors closed. The kitchen is gated as well. Oh--to keep from over treating him, we measure out his meals and give treats from that. Cheerios are super too! Our trainer said that once we were 99% sure he was trained that we could alternate between treats and praise and just verbal praise. By the way, if the smell is "irritating" to your husband it can be taken care of by using the Chlorox Anywhere Spray every time and the daily scrubbing. Either keep several boxes around your home or be vigilant about bringing the one box to whatever room Alice is in. I hope this helps. This information is just what worked for us. I am by no means saying that it is the best/only way but that it worked wonderfully for us. Keep me posted!