Potty Training

If you live in an apartment or home without a yard and have or are getting a dog, you might be wondering how to handle the bathroom situation while you’re at work all day. I can help!

About six months ago I moved into an apartment and brought my dog (of course!), Callie, with me. She’s seven years old and I’ve had her since I adopted her from a local humane society six years ago. Callie’s been used to using a regular backyard with grass and landscape bark/mulch to do her business ever since then. When I planned to move to an apartment, I wasn’t sure how smooth the transition would be in regards to Callie’s normal routine. First off, she’d be alone much more than she was used to. I thought this might cause negative behavior or create unwanted accidents. She also wouldn’t have full rein of a large backyard anymore. Where was she going to go to the bathroom besides her daily afternoon walks when I returned home from work? I researched this topic before the move and was disappointed with the lack of information available. Six months later, I am happy to be able to share a success story and hope someone finds it useful.

To begin, I realized I needed to designate a place for her to relieve herself. There are many options available including crates, cardboard boxes, grass “potty patches”, paper or cloth potty mats etc. Callie isn’t the bravest canine, so she was nervous to enter into any type of box or crate with high walls. We’ll save that ridiculous topic for another time. The grass platforms could have been a good idea, but they were generally more expensive than I was hoping and they seemed hard to clean. I can’t honestly say they don’t work because I didn’t try them. Callie tried hard to be “attracted” to the potty mats (as they all claimed dogs would be), but she just wasn’t thrilled about the idea. I decided to go a simpler route once I’d exhausted these previous ideas and hoped for the best because I was moving the following weekend.

Success! I ended up buying a doggie litter box, specifically the Contour Dog Litter Pan from Petco (pictured with dog litter). They have two sizes (small and medium), but I recommend getting the larger one because unless you have a dog that will remain under five pounds, your pup will want a little room to be comfortable enough to be successful. Next, the litter pan needs to be filled with some sort of absorbent material. They recommend dog litter or pads, but to be honest, you’ll end up spending quite a bit of money for the rest of your time living in a yard-less place.

Also, like I said, Callie wasn’t attracted to the pads and a friend of mine who tried the litter ended up with a sick boxer and unwanted vet bills after his dog ate most of the little litter pellets he’d put out.

My Dad suggested the winning idea- landscape bark! After all, Callie was already used to using it as her bathroom (she generally preferred it over grass) and it is cheap, easy to replace and quite absorbent! It has worked like a charm.

Lastly, I’m lucky to have a balcony so Callie can get fresh air throughout the day (she thoroughly enjoys basking in the sun). I’ve found a doggie door to be extremely useful through this move. You can attach them into any sliding glass doorframe. This allows Callie to come and go as she pleases throughout the day. This eliminates any odor buildup throughout the week if you were to have your litter pan indoors.

Here are some quick tips I’d like to share to make this successful for you:

• If you have time, place the litter pan in the place your dog is used to going potty. This will introduce the new object and help them relate the two.
• Carefully choose the material you’ll fill the pan with (bark, litter, pans, fake/real grass).
• If you have/are getting a puppy, use the pan from day one so they won’t know any different.
• Place your dog into the pan repeatedly and tell them to go to the bathroom when you do so. Once they go, reward with treats and praise. Make it a really big deal the first dozen times they’re successful.