Dog Training Article: Litter Box Training for Dogs

Litter Box Training for Dogs

Muzzle Acclimation

Door Manners (No Bolting)

Litter Box Training For Dogs

Continue on to the next step once your dog uses the papers two times in the step before

1. Set up a pen and cover the floor of it with newspapers. Give the dog broth to drink in order to get lots of repetitions and begin work on this over the weekend.
2. Crate your dog, and then every 30 minutes put him in the pen for 5 minutes (set a timer). If he "goes" he gets a big treat and 30 minutes of freedom. If he doesn't "go", then back in the crate for another 30 minutes. Repeat
3. Continue to feed broth. Once he is pottying reliably on the papers, reduce the area of the papers until you are down to the final size that you wish to use.
4. Once he is pottying on the smaller area of papers, transfer the papers into a dog litter box from Purina or a large cat box.
5. If he is comfortable now using the box, the next step is to leave the pen door open and after you take him out of his crate, encourage him to go in by himself to potty. You are almost there!
6. Remove the pen and take him out of the crate and encourage pottying in the litter box.
7. Now, move the litter box to it's final place and work on getting him to use it there.

Once he is going there with your guidance, you can remove the crate and simply supervise (of course jackpotting any breakthroughs). A belly band might be a helpful preventative at this stage. You may need to encourage him to go to his litter box from areas in the house that are farther away. Continue treating the dog for using the litter box for a few weeks

Muzzle Acclimation

The best type of muzzle to purchase is a basket muzzle which has holes through which you can feed treats and the dog has enough space to pant. If the muzzle is only going to be worn for 20 minutes in temperatures under 75 degrees, you can use a "tube-type" muzzle which are found at most pet stores.

Start by holding the muzzle in one hand and a treat in the other. The "game" is for the dog to reach his nose into the muzzle to get the goodie

Once your dog is eagerly shoving her nose into the muzzle to get the scrumptious treat simply let go of the muzzle and offer your dog a treat so that she tilts her head up. Have a handful of treats and keep treating. The object of this part of the game is to keep the muzzle on by herself

If your dog lowers her head and shakes the muzzle off, take a short training break while you ignore her. Then begin again. Your dog will very soon learn to shove her nose into the loop for the treat and keep her head tilted up so the muzzle doesn't fall off

When you reach this stage and it could be in a few hours to a few days, you are almost home free! The next step is to fasten the strap and jackpot your dog for allowing this. Practice having her wear the muzzle on for 2-3 minutes and feeding tiny treats or a meal and then taking it off and ignoring her for a few minutes. Do this several times per day. Gradually extend the time she wears the muzzle until she is comfortable wearing if for 30 minutes. Only take the muzzle off when she is calm (always!).

If your dog tries to paw or scratch the muzzle off you can redirect her attention and then offer her a treat or if it isn't too bad, you can ignore it. Be sure to reward her when she stops and is calm. Usually this goes best if the shaping process has been done slowly with lots of treats.

To help your dog make a positive association to the muzzle, put the muzzle on to do things that she enjoys like taking her for a walk!

Door manners (no bolting)

Teach your dog to exit doorways (house and car included) only when told to. This is an important safety skill especially for dogs who tend to bolt away from you, but is not fool-proof (train the people to keep the doors closed too!).

1.   Decide what your permission-to-exit-the-door word will be. Ideally it should be a word that you won't use casually. A good example is "exit". From now on all family members will need to say "exit" before allowing the dog out of the door or car door (even if you have not completed training).

2.   Tie your dog back using a body harness and a tether so that he cannot make it out of the door. Have your treats available and yourself positioned by the door.

3.   Open the door a crack. When your dog approaches the door, close it (be careful not to get his nose!).  will soon realize that this is a trick and will not approach the door when you crack it open and this is the time to have a little party (reward him big-time).

4.   Continue practicing this until he is consistently not trying to exit when you crack the door open. P/R (praise and reward) each time he decides to wait.

5.   Now try opening the door up further and further until you can open it all the way. P/R him each time he waits and close the door each time he goes for it without permission.

6.   Put him on a leash. Open the door all of the way. If he remains waiting, say "exit" and allow him to go through the door.

7.   Repeat from the beginning without the tether but with a light 25' rope dragging or with a doorway that does not exit into dangerous area (like a yard or garage), then practice with no tether.

8.   Practice this in the car.

9.   Practice this with something tempting on the other side of the door.

10. Once you feel your dog has "got it". Continue to use your release cue "exit" and repeat the exercise of closing the door if he doesn't wait for "exit" to be sure that it remains fresh.