Accustoming a dog (puppy) to a diaper or litter tray

When you get a puppy, new things for him will definitely come into your apartment. A bed, bowls, toys and most importantly, they are diapers.

Dogs, small or large, as puppies are not able to wait to be taken outside to the toilet. Babies go to the toilet every couple of hours, and the younger they are, the more often this happens. In addition, very small dogs do not go out for walks at all until they reach three months of age, have received all the necessary vaccinations, and go about their business in the house. To ensure cleanliness and order in the apartment, diapers are used. Later, when the dog grows up and stops pooping and peeing at home, they are removed, but in some cases, mainly with small breeds, they can leave them for good and even buy a special toilet for dogs.

One way or another, with any puppy we first go through the process of training to a specially designated place.

When should you train your dog to wear a diaper?

Many breeders begin to train babies to pee right away by placing disposable bedding inside the puppy pen.

Particular attention is paid to representatives of decorative breeds, such as, for example, Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier or Spitz. After all, it is small dogs that often go to the toilet for diapers, even as adults. This is very convenient, since the dog does not have to wait until a walk, and the owner does not have to worry if he is late at work.

But it is worth remembering that toilet training your little friend at home does not eliminate the need for daily walks. Dogs need walks not only for the sake of the toilet, but also for a full and prosperous life and health, especially mental health.

When the puppy comes into your home, begin toilet training immediately.

Why is this happening?

The dog is afraid of his owner's anger

Owners who think that the dog is offended by them for something, taking revenge on them, methodically and stubbornly making puddles and heaps in the apartment, are mistaken. The point is not at all in the cunning of a Spitz or Yorkshire terrier, who are hatching plans for revenge on their owners because they go to work. Dogs are not at all so vindictive and far-sighted as to enjoy triumph after a puddle made on the sofa. Having analyzed numerous similar situations, we can assume that there are several reasons for this behavior.

The main reason, it seems to me, is that it is not prohibited for an animal to roost within the walls of a house. Owners of large breed dogs who are accustomed to walking exclusively on the street will confirm that their pet will endure to the last, but will not make a mess at home. And not at all because representatives of large breeds are smarter or there are no vindictive or vindictive individuals among them. They just got used to it from puppyhood, because cleaning up a puddle (or a pile) after a large dog is not a pleasant task for a person, so the owner tries to take the pet out more often. For dogs trained to cope on the street, doing their business at home is a crime, a taboo.
The second reason, which follows from the first, is training the puppy to wear a diaper. Indeed, why do dogs try to shit on a blanket, carpet or jeans thrown on the floor, why don’t they make puddles on tiles or parquet? Yes, simply because it is an analogue of a diaper, textiles. My opinion is that while the puppy is small, he obediently goes to the litter box, but as the dog matures, he discovers the variety of textile materials surrounding him. And having made a puddle for the first time (he didn’t make it, he was playing too hard) on the sofa, he understands that this can be done everywhere.

It is wrong to think that only decorative breeds behave this way. I know a female Japanese Akita, trained to be swaddled as a puppy, who regularly goes to the sofa or bed, her own rug, when she feels like it. But the dog is already about a year old. My German mother, raised by her breeder in a diaper, considered it not shameful to squirt on her mattress until she was eight months old. I was able to wean her off this with great difficulty.

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Why diaper training?

Pads help keep your floors clean, most floor coverings don't handle moisture well, and these waterproof pads will protect your floor from swelling.

The smell that lingers in the places where the animal relieved itself may later make him want to go to these places again. Numerous detergents may not remove it completely. And since canines’ sense of smell is very developed, the dog can easily smell even a smell that is not perceptible to you.

Special bedding is necessary at certain stages of accustoming your four-legged friend to cleanliness in the house.

Getting used to a diaper

In order to easily train your dog to go to the toilet in a diaper, you need to follow the basic training rules.

But first, the correct location is important.

Place one or more diapers in places where your puppy can easily reach them, and not too close to bowls or beds.
The toilet should not be located in the passage so as not to disturb or distract the animal.
It is important that during training there are no carpets or rags on the floor in the room, as the dog may confuse them with the restroom.
For larger puppies, use larger diapers.
Keep it clean; many dogs refuse to go on bedding that is too dirty.

What to do if your dog craps at home?

The cage is for isolation, not for the toilet.

Dear owners of those animals that regularly recover at home! You can, by showing considerable patience and fortitude, spending several weeks (and most often, months) on behavior correction, try to teach your now adult pet to ask to go outside. To do this you need:

Determine for the dog its place where it will spend most of the time. This could be a small room without upholstered furniture or carpet, a portable enclosure or a cage. The dog will spend everything free from walking and playing with you there. This is necessary in order to make the animal forget about its permissibility to make puddles in the house. Lock the offending dog there every time after an offense.
Take your dog for walks as often as possible. After eating, playing, drinking, before leaving the house. It's not so easy to make puddles with an empty bladder.
In places where the pet is used to recovering, place some large objects (chest of drawers, plastic box). This is necessary so that while playing with you, the dog does not accidentally remember its previous habits, running through the “places of glory.”
Living in a cage or in a corridor is a forced measure, but a very effective one. Let the dog protest loudly at first, but don’t pay attention. Try to walk him as much as possible during this period so that the dog gets tired. Remember that leaving captivity is done gradually, each time the duration of your stay outside the cage increases.

Bad habits, unfortunately, are difficult to eradicate not only in people, but if your pet is dear to you, make every effort. Practice shows that scolding and beating an animal for puddles is useless; the dog only begins to fear the owner. A guilty look is not a sign of an awakened conscience, but a simple expectation of reprisal. Be honest with yourself - if not for your laziness, your pet would regularly ask to go outside.

How to train a puppy to go to the toilet in a diaper

After choosing a toilet and placing it in a convenient place, watch the dog. Puppies poop at certain times during the day, such as after sleep, after eating, and after playing. Pay special attention to the baby at these moments: if you notice that the dog is about to relieve himself, immediately take him to the designated place.
As soon as the puppy goes to the toilet on a special bedding, praise him and give him a piece of treat. This will help the animal highlight the desired behavior.
If the puppy still misses, under no circumstances should you scold him; soak a small area of the diaper in the urine to transfer the smell to it and make the next steps easier.
Every time your four-legged baby misses, you need to thoroughly wash the floor in that area. You can use special cleaning and odor removal products.

Rules for arranging a toilet for a dog in an apartment

In order to be able to easily and quickly train a dog to use the toilet in an apartment, it is necessary that the latter meet certain requirements. To begin with, it should be comfortable and correctly located.

What to choose - a diaper or a tray

Diapers are perfect for puppies.
In fact, it is impossible to give a definite answer here. The fact is that each option has certain advantages and is effective in its own way. Therefore, it is worth talking about the main advantages so that the reader chooses the one that suits him best.

The main advantages of the diaper are:

no smell,
easy to carry with you,
easy to use,
completely safe to use.

However, the tray also has many advantages. Experienced dog lovers highlight:

durability,
the possibility of using filler, which makes the process more comfortable for the dog,
some are equipped with special posts so that males relieve themselves with greater convenience,
external attractiveness.

So, each user must make his own choice.

How to choose a place

The place should be convenient.
Everything is simple here. The place should be quite secluded - here the dog can do its business without being distracted by people or other pets walking by. However, it should not be located near the place where the dog is used to eating, drinking or sleeping.

Therefore, a bathroom or toilet would be a good choice. Of course, access there should always be free - otherwise the dog, not being able to relieve itself in its usual place, will do it anywhere.

Important points

Be patient, it is very difficult for a young puppy to understand cause and effect and it may take a lot of repetition to learn the required behavior.

To quickly teach a puppy to wear a diaper, it is very important to reward the baby for every successful time. Rewards include praise, treats, play, and affection. Praise is most often used in combination with puppy treats.

You can express your dissatisfaction with a dog’s misdeed only by catching it at the crime scene. 3 seconds after the deed, she will no longer understand what your dissatisfaction relates to. However, if the dog goes to the toilet at home for reasons of age or his condition, the dissatisfaction should be kept to himself so as not to worsen the behavior.

Why does a dog relieve itself anywhere?

First, you need to understand why a dog can go against the owner and pee, and sometimes poop, anywhere - in any corner. In fact, there may be several reasons for this.

One of the most common is that the pet simply does not know where he can relieve himself and where he cannot.
The owner must briefly and clearly convey the rules to his beloved dog. How to do this will be discussed a little later. Important !
It is necessary to remove the smell of urine from the place that the pet has chosen as a toilet. This can be done using regular cologne, generously spraying the area with it. Sometimes a dog, which previously obediently went to the litter box or to the diaper, suddenly seems to decide to rebel and begins to go against the rules. This happens in different situations:

Stress - for example, if one of the owners left home for a long time and the dog simply misses him. In addition, a simple quarrel can become a source of stress - they, like all small dogs, react very sensitively to the atmosphere in the house.
The presence of strangers in the house. In fact, this is also a type of stress. Usually observed if the alien has a negative attitude towards the dog.
To attract attention. When the owner does not devote enough time to the pet, he tries to attract attention by all available means.

So, first of all, you need to eliminate the source of the problem, and only then start learning.

How to work with learning difficulties

Place several diapers in those places where the dog most often misses. Gradually remove the less popular ones, those that the puppy uses less often.
Pay attention to which diaper the dog wears most often. Perhaps he tells you the most comfortable place for him.
If the puppy regularly misses and walks to the edge of the designated area or nearby, try buying a larger oilcloth or placing two nearby.
If your baby tears up disposable bedding, plays with it, or drags it around the room, don’t swear. This is normal and natural for the baby. Offer him other toys, glue the bedding to the floor with masking tape for a while, so they will not rustle and provoke the dog.
If the puppy refuses to poop in the diaper, watch the dog more closely, catch and take it to the designated place on time, and when it does, be sure to praise it.

We advise you to read: What vaccinations are given to puppies and at what age

Common Mistakes

Punishment is absolutely unacceptable when training a dog to wear a diaper. Scolding an animal, hitting it or poking its nose into puddles is the worst thing you can do. This will only scare the baby, make him afraid of you and undermine trust in the owner, but will not teach him anything. In addition, the puppy may be so frightened that it will try to hide traces of its vital activity from you, for example, by peeing on pillows or its lounger. Be very careful and never try to scold your dog for its natural needs.
Incorrect placement of the toilet, incorrect choice of size or type is a common cause of problems.
Dirty disposable or reusable ones that have acquired an odor after washing. Be sure to wash diapers only with unscented powder, and when buying disposable ones, make sure they are not scented, as foreign odors can confuse your dog.
Frequent changes in the type of diapers or their location.
Start praising your pet immediately after peeing, and not during the toilet, so as not to distract the dog.
Clean up any accidents thoroughly and promptly.
Don't change the diaper too often or too rarely. Frequently changing bedding prevents the puppy from getting used to the smell and remembering the place of the toilet. And too infrequent changes confuse some dogs; they are not ready to go to an excessively dirty place.

Which diaper to choose

There are two types of diapers for dogs: disposable and reusable. We compared reusable diapers to disposable ones in more detail here. In short, each type has its pros and cons. Thus, disposable models do not need to be washed (they are thrown away after use), while reusable diapers absorb more moisture, are more pleasant for the pet’s paws and do not leak. Often, manufacturers of the latter do not recommend washing their products in a washing machine. In turn, reusable diapers from Shaggy Fashion can easily withstand such washing (subject to the established washing regime) and do not lose their properties and appearance for a long time.

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How to train a dog to use a litter box

A plastic tray for four-legged animals is a small flat container into which a diaper is clamped with a special frame. In some cases, film is not required if the toilet for small breeds has a special mesh surface.

Such a tray is often used for an adult dog as a permanent toilet at home; for males, sometimes a post is installed in it, on which they raise their leg. With puppies, a post is usually not needed. Some toilets are equipped with a side wall to protect the walls of the apartment.

What breeds of dogs go to the litter box?

In most cases, a plastic toilet is used for decorative breeds of dogs. Since large and medium-sized breeds are rarely trained to go to the toilet in the house. In general, this is due not only to the desire of the owner, but also to the species characteristics of the canines. It is natural for small puppies to relieve their natural needs in a hole, since predators should not recognize from their tracks that there are vulnerable young animals in the pack. As the animal matures, its normal species behavior will be a desire for cleanliness and removal of the toilet outside the burrow. Therefore, most dogs learn to go to the toilet only outside at a certain age, but many owners of small breeds teach their pets to use a litter tray for everyday toileting at home. This allows you to vary the time of walks, since they will not be tied to the need to give the pet the opportunity to defecate.

These are breeds such as Chihuahua, Pomeranian Spitz, Yorkshire Terrier, lapdog, Russian Toy and others.

What is a toilet diaper and what is it used for?

The pet diaper is designed to quickly absorb their urine. One side of it consists of a waterproof layer that prevents liquid from reaching the surface where it is located.

The diaper is intended for:

toileting for puppies of all breeds of dogs that are not yet recommended to be taken outside;
small breeds of dogs, such as miniature pinschers, small terriers, which are not taken outside in winter, in mud and rain;
sick dogs that need home treatment, these can be large breeds such as shepherds or sharpeis;
transportation of animals in a vehicle;
for dogs giving birth.

The diaper quickly absorbs moisture and odors.

Diapers for our little brothers

What types of diapers are there for puppies?

Diapers are disposable and reusable. Disposable ones are intended to be used once, then they must be disposed of. Reusable ones can be used for a long time, but their cost exceeds the price of disposable diapers. Their filler absorbs a large volume of liquid, they can be washed, and after drying they are again suitable for use.

Up to 2-3 liters of liquid are absorbed by diapers with a multilayer structure, the top layer of which consists of polyester or other fabric that easily allows liquid to pass through. Next come layers of polyester mixed with viscose fabric. The product is completed with a membrane and polyester fabric.

A type of diaper for the tray

For litter trays, effective gel layers made of hypoallergenic fiber, which prevents liquid from spreading to the sides, absorbs moisture well, turning it into a gel substance, leaving both the tray and the dog’s paws dry.

There are diapers impregnated with an antibacterial agent, with Velcro on the bottom layer for fixing to the tray or floor surface, with indicators that show their degree of fullness and percentage of moisture content. Which one to choose is a private choice for everyone.

Training process

The stages of litter box training coincide with diaper training. And if you plan to train your dog to use the litter box on an ongoing basis, start doing this right away. However, small breed puppies may have difficulty getting into the tray if its walls are too high, in which case you will first be trained to a regular diaper and only then purchase a litter box.

At first, you will need to place the usual bedding in the tray; it can be removed only when the dog begins to confidently use the tray.

The dog toilet should be located according to the same principles as indicated above.

We advise you to read: Can puppies be given cheese?

How to choose the right diapers

In modern veterinary clinics and pet stores you can find a variety of trays and diapers for arranging a dog toilet in an apartment or house. This allows you to purchase products of different sizes and shapes, which will ensure maximum comfort for each dog. As for diapers, the selection criterion is often also the level of softness of the surface, since small pets will not feel comfortable on a hard surface. Taking into account the possible duration of use, diapers for dogs are divided into:

disposable - become unusable after two or three dog bowel movements;
reusable (usually thicker than previous ones) - can be hand washed and reused on the surface.

The latter option can be easily laid directly on the floor or in a tray, washing at least once a day. Reusable diapers are more expensive than disposable ones, but for moderate soiling it is more profitable to buy them.

Sprays for toilet training dogs

The concept of a spray for accustoming a puppy to a diaper includes several different means. These are products that attract dogs to shit in a specially designated place, scare them away from inappropriate places and remove odor. Let's look at each in order.

Attractive sprays are special sprays that have the smell of a mark (urine) - with these sprays you spray a diaper to create a scent mark on it, which dogs are guided by when choosing a place to go to the toilet.

Such products can be purchased at pet stores; they are presented by various manufacturers of pet products. The effectiveness of such sprays has been proven, they are harmless to animals and are widely used as an aid in toilet training.

However, it is worth remembering that all dogs are individual and this spray will not necessarily help all of them.

Basically, you can get away with soaking the diaper in your puppy's urine, but sometimes a spray is a great help.

The second product, which is understood as a spray for correcting dog behavior, has the opposite meaning. Namely, means for scaring animals away from places not intended for the toilet. Such sprays usually have a very pungent odor, which is designed to scare the dog away from sniffing the future toilet area. The effectiveness of these remedies depends on the specific case. They are usually used in situations where the animal regularly displays unwanted behavior and pees in inappropriate places. Canines have an extremely developed sense of smell and experience very unpleasant sensations when interacting with this product - this will be a strong punishment for them. Therefore, before use, make sure that you have done everything to train your four-legged dog to use the toilet, consult with a behavior correction specialist.
And the third tool that helps in teaching dogs to be clean is a spray to remove the smell of urine or marks, the product you will use to wash the places where your puppy has made mistakes. Similar compositions are also available from various companies, sold both in the form of a spray and simply in the form of a bottle of liquid, which requires dilution with water to wash the floor. Typically, these products not only eliminate odor, but also disinfect, and they are often used for routine cleaning in an apartment where dogs and children live, since the products are as safe as possible for children.

If, following all the rules, you cannot accustom a puppy or an adult animal to a diaper, then be sure to consult a dog behavior specialist or trainer.

And remember that diaper training will soon end and the next stage will begin - training the puppy to use the toilet outside!

What tools can be used

If traditional actions are not enough and the animal cannot learn to use a diaper as a toilet, modern chemicals come to the aid of the owner. Special sprays and lotions are designed to attract the animal’s attention to the right place or scare it away from areas of the room that are not suitable for the toilet. In the first case, the “Smart Spray” Api-San, Puppy Trainer and BioVax products are considered popular today. Antipis and Antigadin sprays have the opposite effect, which, like the previous substances, are simply sprayed onto the surface in the most suitable place. To prevent the smell from dissipating and for the dog to always remember permitted or prohibited actions, it is advisable to update the tags at least once every 2 days. Among folk remedies, alcohol or vinegar infusions are used to scare a pet away from the corner of a room or a separate piece of furniture, always containing citrus fruits, pepper, and baking soda.

Did you know? Puppies are much more willing to follow commands given by children. This pattern is not observed in adult dogs, although some pets are more likely to listen to an adult “pack leader” than to his five-year-old baby.