litterbox training?
 

Who here has a Yorkie that's litterbox trained and how (and why) did you do it? What kind of box and what do you put in it? How do they like it? How's the cleanup?

we do the litterbox thing. we have the plastic doggy litter box and we put a wee wee pad in it. i spray it with a spray from petsmart that makes him want to pee in it. the litter it came with was a no go. romeo hated the litter. it's been good. he goes inside and outside too. it's great for rainy/snowy days.

We do the litterbox and love it. Our maltese Emma took to it in about a week. Lyric is still getting the hang of it, but we found that he likes a bigger box so now he has the same size as Emma. I love it. Clean up is a BREEZE. When they poop we flush it, and we change the boxes as needed. It's pretty easy to tell when they need to be changed. I tried the pee pad thing but mostly I felt my pup got really lazy with it and half the time missed. We use the litter sold at Petsmart, it's a yellow bag with a pic of a yorkie on it. It smells so good.

Don't be discouraged if your pup wants to eat it at first. Like anything that smells good, they want to put it in their mouths. Like anything else, it takes training and a little time. We live on the third floor of an apt so for us, it just makes sense. There are several threads about it, so you may want to search to find some other opinions. Good luck!! :)

litter trained Maya
 

We litter trained Maya since she was a puppy, she is 3 years old now. We love it. At the time we lived in a condo that was on the second floor and I have health problems and would have had a hard time taking her out all the time with going up and down the stairs. Maya took to the litter right away and didn't want to go potty outside when we took her for walks, she would go and stand at the door to go inside to go to litter box. We solved that by taking her on a dog trail and after she picked up the smell from all the other dogs she couldn't help herself and had to go potty (outside) we praised her, told her she was a good girl. (I think this surprised her) Now she goes in the litter box in the house and outside when we are out for our walks. It's great! We use the Second Nature dog litter and the med size second nature litter box, it's bigger than they say she needs for a 3 pound dog, but I thought the small size seem too small. They sell it at Pet Smart, Pet Supply Plus and Petco. Since we started this a couple of people we know are doing the same and all of them love it too. It's easy to clean and easy to take along when we travel.

Maya's Mom

Has anyone here tried litter box training an older yorkie? If so how sucessful were you? :aimeeyork

I have a 10 month old yorkie and I started litter box training him when he was 6 months old. I bought the dog litter and he ate it :( Unfortunately, he still doesn't want to use it. I never tried the spray though. I will have to try that. He is good about doing his stuff outside but when the winter comes around again I would like him to learn how to use the box so I don't have to take him out when the weather is bad.

I'm going to have to try this cause I'm at my wits in with her pottying in the house, she knows she is suppose to go outside and when she is out there she goes, but if your not watching her she will go in the house and she knows she done wrong cause she goes and hides in her crate.
I will have to try the litter box with the pee pads and get that stuff you said, what is it called?

Dudley and Mitchell both use the litterbox from Petsmart and the new smaller litter. We live in a RV so makes sense to use a box. Clean up is so easy. As they wet on the litter it swells and softens in the box making it easy to see. I clean it out into a trash can with a lid and keep all messes out of the box. That way they will use it. I found if I don't keep it clean, Dudley wont get in the box. He will go pee outside the box. Mitchell started to use the box only after a week. I just took him every time I had to go (my litterbox is in the bathroom) and he got the idea in no time. Please don't stress over them eating the litter, just trade it with something else they like and say NO and soon they will get the idea.

How did you exactly train him? I too am at my wits end with holly. she will just go anywhere. i bought the litter box yesterday at petsmart. PLease anyone give me step-by-step details. She will pick up the doggie litter and run around the house with the pieces in her mouth.

litter box training
 

It was easy for me with Maya, we trained her with the litter box from the very start of potty training, instead of taking her outside when she woke up from a nap, or after she eat we took her to the litter box and made her stay in there until she went. We probably took her to the litter box often in the beginning and praised her when she went potty. I think it took a week or less to train her. She did put pieces of the litter in her mouth, but that stopped after she caught on that we did not like that. My daughter's yorkie did the same thing and he sometimes still does when he comes over to visit Maya, (must like to see if her litter taste better then his). There again we tell Casey, no, take it out of his mouth and he stops. I know it's looks gross to see them put it in their mouths, but it doesn't harm them. Like some one else wrote you must keep the litter box clean. On the bag of Second Nature Dog Litter it tells you how to use and they have a web site, www.doglitter.com. I guess what ever way you choose to trained your dog, it takes time and lots of love. You have to keep an eye on a puppy all the time, and when you can't the puppy should be in a crate. When they do have accidents you have to take the time and show them where they should have gone. With some dogs it just takes longer to train, but don't give up, they do want to please you.

Maya's mom

Reminder.
 

Make sure you clean the areas were your pups have gone with Simple Nature or something like it because your pups have left their scent on that spot and will continue going in the wrong spot.

I tried litter training and found it too messy (I have two dogs - Simon and Nigel - 1 1/2 years old). I now use pee pads and really like it. I found it helped to keep them confined in an x-pen with their pee pad, food bowl and toys when I couldn't watch their every move. I didn't spray the peed pads with anything because they already have a scent that is suppose to attract them to do their business on it.