Litter training after training to go outside - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

qtpoodle · 01-23-2012, 09:18 AM

I have 3 dogs. I have a Chihuahua (3.5 years old), Yorkshire Terrier (1.5 years old), and a Miniature Poodle (1.5 years old). I've had the chi nearly two years. The yorkie has been with us for nearly a month, and the mini poo has been here a little over a week. I have been having the dogs go outside to potty, but the weather is so terrible. The chi and my family used to live in So California so we didn't have to deal with snow and cold as much. We're in Reno NV and it snows here. The wind is the worst part because it can be around 80 miles an hour give or take. Our house is also new so we don't have any landscaping in the back and our front yard is very small and mostly decorative rocks and bushes.

I am using a big pan for the litter box and I'm using recycled newspaper litter. I sprayed some some from Natures Miracle on the littler to entice the dogs to go potty in the litter. I have the litter box in the garage. The dogs went potty next to the litter box. My chi wouldn't go at all. I let them outside after a while and they peed. My mini poo had her first accident in the house about 20 minutes after being outside. She pooped upstairs just a few feet behind us.

I'm ready to give up and just brave the horrible winds, cold,snow and muddy backyard. My two little dogs don't like walks so that's not a really good option. I know it's so soon to give up, but I'm afraid that my dogs will start to have accidents in the house because I'm trying to get them to go in the litter box or they'll just keep going around the litter box. I put a poop and some pee from my yorkie and some pee from my mini poodle in the litter box.

I should add that I do and will walk the dogs, but I hope to at least be able to have them use the litter box at times when it would really not be good for us to be outside such as when the winds are about 80 + miles an hour. Even I was blown back a foot or two when the wind gusted.

wickednag · 01-24-2012, 05:45 AM

When I litter box trained our Chihuahua, we used fresh step litter, a booda step litter box and kept if very clean. We started out putting her in the box instead of outside and the box was in a contained area so she would use it. Nature's miracle is going to kill the scent so I certainly would not be using that.

I also know that we have all been told not to use cat litter but everyone I know that does has much better luck getting their dogs to use the litter box that way....

qtpoodle · 01-24-2012, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wickednag

When I litter box trained our Chihuahua, we used fresh step litter, a booda step litter box and kept if very clean. We started out putting her in the box instead of outside and the box was in a contained area so she would use it. Nature's miracle is going to kill the scent so I certainly would not be using that.

I also know that we have all been told not to use cat litter but everyone I know that does has much better luck getting their dogs to use the litter box that way....

I think I need to use a contained area. It's too easy for them to step off the pan and potty outside of it. I'm looking for a metal dog play pen with a door so I can put them in it in the mornings, and they can't go anywhere other than in the pan. The pan I'm using is a pan for washing machines to sit in when they're installed in an upstairs laundry room so it's low to the ground and big. The Natures Miracle spray that I'm using is not the cleaner that gets rid of potty accident scents and stains. It's the one they make for encouraging a dog to go in a certain area. It somehow mimics the scent of whatever dogs like to pee on. I don't think it works because I sprayed it like the instructions directed.