I can't really complain about a system that gives me peace of mind when I'm not at home. My dog is 10 lbs and 11-months old. I wouldn't recommend this product if you have a dog that's more than 30 pounds. I would say a miniature spaniel or small cockerspaniel would be the top sized dog you'd want to use a litter box with. But then again, if you have a large space like a connecting garage or a very large kitchen area and have space for an extra large tray, it could probably work too.
Although I don't use my litter box outdoors, I can see this as a useful potty aid if you don't want your dog to mess up your outside garden area. I'm thinking about adding a box outside because I don't have a lawn, and it's mostly concrete and dirt.
My dog still enjoys his walks, and DOES go poop and pee outside in the park lawn whenever I take him. He also goes inside his litter box, but it's not as preferable for him. He will still pee on my carpet when he's roaming around and not near the litter box. So my dog, even at 11 months old is not completely housebroken. He's not a very smart dog, so I don't think he ever will be housebroken. If you have a dog like mine, this might be your best solution.
If I know that he has just eaten or drank a lot of water, I bring him back to the litter box after a couple of hours (which is in my laundry room) and close the door for a while or wait until he goes. This is the only way to make sure he doesn't have accidents. If your dog is paper trained or pad trained, you should follow the "transition" instructions on the Purina website. My dog has only used the litter box since birth, but when he discovered the lawn, he never quite liked the litter box as much.
So here is the best way to use this litter.
1. Only line the bottom of the tray with a small layer, just enough to cover the bottom. This will save you A LOT of litter and cash in your pocket. The instructions wants you to put in at least an inch of pellets. I found it very wasteful and heavy to pick up and clean as well.
2. The second most important reason why you want just a THIN layer is because it's always best to replace your litter often. This makes for less waste.
3. When your dog pees on the pellets, they swell up and you can tell which pellets have been soaked. If you're careful, you can use a small scooper to clean that portion out and replace it with fresh pellets.
4. Also clean up poop out of the litter box on a daily basis or as soon as your dog poops. This will prevent a smelly room, and encourage your dog to go back in the litter box. My dog barks when there's poop in the box and tells me to clean it when he's in his room at night. (He literally drags me out of bed with his barking!) I just use some toilet paper to pick it up, and flush the poop down the toilet. This saves on biodegradable poop bags and again, puts a little cash back in your pocket.
5. If you bought the Petco Blue litter box tray, there's some tricky placement to consider due to the foot ledge that sticks out. Do read my review on the Petco blue litter box tray or remember these tips:
a. NEVER put the box flush against the wall. This won't allow your dog ample space to roam around the litter box before it actually pees or poops. This will limit the number of accidents outside of the box. Also, if you have a male dog with a marking problem, you will see lots of urine on the floor next to the wall.
b. Face the foot ledge toward the wall, (if your room is narrow and long like a laundry room...this is where we put our tray) and leave some space between the foot ledge and the wall for your dog to walk around.
c. Be prepared to sop up pee on the foot ledge. This will be a common place for your dog to have a pee or poop accident. Still...better on the ledge than on the floor. The blue raised circles on the foot ledge makes it difficult to clean urine. I have to fold up my paper towels and sop around the circles.
d. Always use a doggie cleaner on the foot ledge after you clean up an accident on the foot ledge. Your room will start to smell if you don't.
e. If you don't want to struggle with this seemingly difficult foot ledge, try the actual PURINA tray. I think the trick is to have a high edge around the tray, so the dog is not tempted to be partially outside the tray when it is going pee or poop.
f. Wash your tray every week or at least every two weeks. No matter how often you empty your pellets, the smell still gets on the tray itself. There just isn't a perfect sanitary system. I guess not having a dog is the perfect sanitary system! :-)
6. Pellet bags are heavy...especially the 25 pound bag. I bought a plastic bowl to help me scoop the pellets out and control the amount that goes in the tray. No one wants to scoop the pellets BACK into the bag from a dirty tray after the fact. Get the scooper...it will actually save you money by controlling the amount of pellets that go into the tray, AND your back in the long run.
7. To avoid your dog from chewing on the pellets, especially in the wee morning hours when it starts to get hungry, leave some treats around his room a night. Be prepared to sweep up pellets on occasion. A bored and hungry dog, makes for a naughty dog.
8. If you are transitioning your dog, make sure you put some of his urine soaked pads or newspapers inside the box so he can smell it in the early stages. Your dog should adjust in about a week or two.
Good Luck!
During the frigid winter, we brought home two toy fox terrier/pug mixes, and this has helped out immensely! At 1.4 pounds, they were to small to go outside to go potty, so they could go in the litter pan anytime they had to go. We had very little difficulty in teaching the dogs where to go. It is ideal for us, because we work longs shifts and are not home on some days for 10+ hours. Great for those who just moved, or are about to move to new construction home sites--it keeps the dogs out of the mud and dirt! The dogs do tend to eat the litter, but it is not harmful, and their stool is not difficult to pass when they have digested it. And, as the dogs have grown, we have gotten progressively bigger with the size of the litter pan. I would not recommend this for a larger size dog!
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I trained my chihuahua to a litter box when we got her at 10 weeks, she was 1 pound and at 6 months is only 2 pounds. I do not like that this is a paper product, paper does not break down as well as wood pellets.
I used wood pellets, I get 40 pounds for 5.00 and it last me 5 months. When Foxy poos I clean that right out. the pee soaks right away into the wood pellets. (get wood pellets at the hardware or safeway for pellet burning stoves)..So it never goes to the bottom. I put in 2 inches. There is absolutely NO order and I change it out about every 2 weeks.
But training a dog to use a litter pan is extremely easy!!!
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I prefer dog litter to pee pads. This product works great for my pup & I love that it is more economical & not as environmmentally wasteful as pee pads. It absorbs odors extremely well & I only need to clean & replace the litter once every 7 -10 days!
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I bought this nine years ago when I first got my baby before I knew if she would be prone to shredding or otherwise destroying puppy pads or some other "potty" option and have used it ever since in three residences in two states. My dog is not a shredder or destructive in any way, so if there is any way to make a mess of this, I haven't seen it and can't imagine what it would be. When new, I put her in it every morning (she was too little to crawl in by herself) and she learned very quickly. It works great and no visitor has ever admitted to being able to smell anything from it, (if it is freshly wet and you are standing right over it, you pick up a bit of an ammonia smell, but that's it) so I think I would've been told by now if that were an issue. The "pellets" are about the circumference of a pencil and the slotted scoops work just fine. You don't have to be relentless about scooping every time it is used. The only possible downside is that a bag of it is heavy. My little one is accustomed to "going" outside if she is staying somewhere that doesn't have a box, so don't let thinking you have to use this exclusively deter you from giving it a shot. We walk outside just for exercise and socialization, which is especially nice if it is snowy or raining.
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Our pet trainer suggested we use this "no HURT, ""really NO PULL""" Harness, and we're thankful !!! Our Lab only 6 months old {48 lbs} would walk us {pull our arm out ;-< }every time he saw a squerril, rabbit, kids, dogs ughhhh.
