Switching from pee pee pads to litter box was a good choice for my
dogs who have really small bladders and no dog door.
I read online how small/toy dogs can be trained to use litter boxes.
Pet stores even sell commercial dog litter ($20 for 20 lb, search for "second nature dog litter"), but I
wanted to save some money so I copied someone's idea to use wood
burning stove fuel. ($5 for 40 lb). Stove fuel pellets are made from
saw dust that is extruded into the shape of small pellets. I also
considered modifying a rubbermaid container to be a litter box, but
the commercial litter box is only $17, and it's a pretty good product
because the edges are rounded off and one of the four sides is lower
than the others so the dog can get in and out easily.
Here are reasons why at day three of litter box training, I am very
happy with the litter box method.
1. Litter box is less expensive than pee pee pads. I would say total
yearly expenses for a litter box would be $40 and pee pee pads about
$120. The upfront cost of the litter box was about $25 for a
commercial litter box especially for dogs and a vinyl shower mat to
make the box less slippery. One of my dogs was spooked by the slippery
bottom of the plastic litter box, so I put the shower mat in there,
and it fixed the problem. Also, bidding on inexpensive pee pee pads on
eBay is less convenient than picking up a bag of pellets at the
hardware store, in my opinion.
2. The litter box is less smelly than pee pee pads. Pee pee pads need
to be changed daily because they are not very absorbent and they leak.
The litter will soak up all of the urine and the pellets turn into
sawdust. I don't bother scooping out the saw dust; I think I will
exchange all of the litter every three to four days. Just long enough
so the dogs think the litter is "fresh".
3. The litter box is more environmentally friendly. I was throwing
away a 2'x2' plastic pad every day (with two dogs using it). Now, I am
using a renewable resource that is basically just scrap from wood
processing plants.
4. I *think* the dogs prefer the litter box -- the reason I think they
prefer it is because they started pooping in the box too. With the pee
pee pad method, the dogs would poop anywhere (Bugs Jason really bad!!)
but now the dogs poop IN THE BOX! I think the dogs relate the pellets
to "outside".
Anyway! I hope this is interesting or useful.
Tips:
1. Buy the biggest dog litter box available so the dog has room to
circle around before doing his business. I bought the "standard" size.
They also come in miniature and toy. The box isn't too big to put in
the house. See picture, attached.
2. Buy a shower mat to make the box less slippery so your dog does not
get scared of jumping into the box (like one of my wuss dogs).
3. Crate training was very effective to get my dogs to use the litter box.
4. The pellets might be located in the gardening section of the hardware store in the covered area.
5. Be sure you can lift 40 lb!!!
Julie
