Hi everyone! I'm new to this site. I've been reading the posts and they have been very helpful. I just got my first Yorkie (and first dog) exactly one month ago. She is 4 months old. We bought (adopted) her from a pet store where she was used to going potty on paper. I never wanted the hassle of taking a dog out to go potty, and I knew I wanted to litterbox train her. Since she was used to paper, I started with that in a litterbox. There is a litterbox just for dogs. It is much easier to jump into. One of the sides is a little lower for entry into the box. I got mine from Petco. Petsmart also sells it. It is NOT in the cat litterbox section. Go to the dog section where the wee-wee pads etc. are. Anyway, I wanted to put it in the kitchen first b/c I figured it would be easier to clean up an accident in there. However, Sadie prefered another room to do her business. I never quite made it in time to bring her to the box. By the time she started circling and sniffing, she was already squatting & going! So, I put the box where she liked going. It was right in the way where we walk by, but I started there. Once she knew to go in there and had 90% success, I started to slowly move it to my desired location near the basement door. It must be moved SLOWLY. I first made the mistake to move it a little too quickly, and she had some accidents. It took about a week until I was able to start moving it slowly. Then within a couple weeks I had it where I wanted, and she was going in it! (it all depends on how far you need it moved.)
I also need to add that we even went on vacation for a week, and Sadie stayed at a friend's house during this training. When we all got back home, I put the box in the original position and was able to move it a little more quicker back to my desired location.
Also, I wanted to slowly shift from newspaper (which isn't absorbant or sanitary) to doggy litter (Yesterday's News). I just gave up on that today. She is too interested in the litter pellets as a treat than as her potty. She just eats it, then goes potty elsewhere in the house! So, I am now using wee-wee pads in the box with a few strips of newspaper on top to ease her into it. It is working great!
Sorry my (first) post is too long. ....as my husband just informed me... I'm too detail-oriented! |