Pet Toilet Training

submitted: Aug 26th 2008 | by: JohnM | Total views: 36 | Word Count: 1100 | PDF View | Print Article

Toilet Training your Pet

Everyone knows owning a pet is a joy. But toilet training your pet can always be a challenge, sometimes a messy or smelly one. As someone who lives in an apartment myself, with a Jack Russell, and a Siamese cat I have experienced the highs and lows of active pet ownership. And these two breeds are supposedly some of the more clever ones.

The main challenge for me was how to provide my pets with somewhere to do their business at home while I was away at work during the day. And with my dog, sometimes while I slept at night.

My cat was more easily trained than my dog, taking to the kitty litter from virtually the first day. But my dog caused more headaches. If it wasn’t enough that she was chewing on my couch and other things, she would invariably find a new place to be a toilet almost every day.

In the end, after searching a lot online about what to do and what products are available I decided to purchase a professional pet toilet. It is called The Pet Loo and I have used some of their instructions in this brief guide to toilet training. It has worked great for my dog so I am happy to mention their name.

The Dog – What to do!

If an action is followed by praise or reward, after a period of time an animal will learn to repeat this action. This simple theory applies in training your pet to efficiently use a pet toilet.

Training a puppy to use a pet toilet is as simple as applying basic toilet training principles.

Place your pet on it’s toilet at toilet time. Puppies usually relieve themselves after a sleep, after they eat and after a play session. Younger puppies may need to urinate as frequently as every 30 mins (nightmare).

Keep your pet on its toilet until it relieves itself
Praise your pet when it does so.

Repetition of this action will eventuate in an animal trained to use go in the same place all of the time.
Training an older dog to use a pet toilet may take a little more time and patience but if you invest the time, you will reap the rewards. Some dogs may instantly take to their pet toilet from the word go while others may need a little extra help.

Different things will work for different dogs and the options are as follows:

Teach your dog the 'toilet' command. This is as easy as teaching the 'sit' command or other simple commands- its all about association. When your dog goes to toilet, clearly say the word 'toilet' and when they are finished praise your pet with affection and treats. Do this repeatedly and you will find that in time your dog will "wee" on command. The next step is placing your dog on its pet toilet first thing in the morning and saying the command 'toilet'. That initial toilet stop is the hardest, yet once your pet has marked its territory the rest should naturally follow.

Dogs naturally want to mark their territory; however some dogs are more territorial than others. Training your dog to use a pet toilet may be as simple as collecting a sample of dog urine (your dogs or another) and pouring it over the toilet area. In an attempt to mark its territory, your dog should voluntarily "wee" on this place again. Again, that first "wee" is the biggest achievement. Don't forget to praise you dog after it relieves itself in the right place.

The product I bought has the added advantage of a synthetic grass surface and feels like real grass so dogs will take to it! In the instructions they call this ‘surface recognition’, seems even ‘peeing’ is scientific these days.

Remember, your animal wants to please you so continuing praise is the key.

The Dog – What NOT to do!

• Be sure not to feed your dog near or on its toilet as pets instinctively avoid toileting where they eat.

Do not encourage or allow your pet to sleep or lay on its toilet either as it should only act as an area for toileting. Dogs don't "wee" in their beds, so why should they sleep where they "wee"? The same not to do guidelines applies to cats too.

The Cat – To Do!

I think cats are easier to train and are quite creative about where they “go”. Their main concern is that their area remains clean, or that the ‘gear’ disappears. My cat was a little older than my dog when I moved in to my apartment and is used to her kitty litter. It is not that nice to clean but I can live with it. The people who make the dog toilet I bought also make a cat version. A friend bought it when his wife got pregnant because it is considered more hygienic than a kitty litter and they had seen my dog toilet in action.

The central idea is that the transition from litter box to this cat toilet can be accomplished in a series of stages. While it's great to go from "zero to hero" over night the truth is the majority of cats will need to adapt to a series of small changes, allowing your pet time to adjust before you make another small change.

Please note, if at any time your pet goes backwards a few steps this is an indication you're pushing him/her too far too fast. Slow it down or even back up a stage or two and try again, this time slightly slower.

Remember your pet only wants to make you happy, so continual praise and reward is the key!

What to do Training & Staging

Begin by having the current litter box next to the new pet toilet - make sure your pet knows where it is and uses it. Let this be as is for a few days!
Next, put the current litter box on top of new pet toilet. Allow this to be as is for another few days!
Take away the litter box entirely. Cover new toilet with your current litter, keeping the "surface" that they are used to the same. Again this is pretty scientific I think.

Slowly over the course of the next week or two, reduce the amount of litter on the new style toilet until you are just left with the grassy surface.

Good job!

My friend said it took a little while but because it was now his sole responsibility he just kept reminding himself that when the cat had adjusted he would never have to clean a litter box again!

Tags: ,

About the Author

I live in Canberra, Australia. When not working at posh hotels i like to ride my bike or go cross country snow skiing depending on the weather. And my dog comes too of course.


Comments

No comments posted.

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.



If you like using Dog Article Directory please consider linking to us

Dog Article Directory
A free general article submission site that is human edited, offering Rss feeds by category, printer friendly and Html versions of articles and free content.

Our Top Authors...

Authors

Categories



More articles in this Category

1: 10 Tips for Effective Pet Crate Training
Are you having difficulties introducing to your pet to his new crate? Worry no more, here are some useful tips for effective pet crate training.

2: Training Your Dog With a Clicker
Article discussing clicker training for dogs. The many different aspects of dog training are discussed including motivation, rate of reinforcement and timing.

3: Dog Training Tips for the Beginner
Now training your dog isn't as difficult as it may sound, it's quite easy really. Dog training just requires you to be patient, not only with time, but also with the dog.

4: Key Things To Remember For Dog Training Success
Getting a new puppy or an adult dog is always an exciting experience for you and your family. A solid grounding in obedience and behavior training is essential to making your dog feel right at home.

5: How to Stop My Dog From Jumping on People
There are some specific reasons why dog obedience training for puppies is important. One of those is to stop puppies from jumping on people. It may not grow out of the habit and pounce on you continuously.

Pic 4
Pic 5

Training Tips

Now that you know why your dog is behaving like a crazy dog when the door bell (or something equally exciting) rings, let’s take a look at what you can do to stop the behavior.

more...