Puppy litter trays: Pros and cons for toilet training in a flat?

Odelamusique
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Hi everyone,

If someone could point me in the right direction for the search function, that would stop me from double-posting topics that might have been covered already.

I was wondering if anyone here has tried using a litter tray for puppy toilet training.

We’re picking up a puppy at 8/9 weeks old (we would have liked the breeder to keep her for another week or two, but it wasn't possible).

Since she’s so young, we know toilet training is going to take a long time (we’re under no illusions there!) and to keep the accidents to a minimum, besides being very patient, we were wondering if it’s worth trying a litter area? I’ve seen quite a few puppy-specific litter products on pet sites (even the more reputable ones) and wanted to know if anyone has actually tried them?

My gut feeling is that it’s probably best avoided so the pup doesn't get confused and get into the habit of going indoors, but if anyone has a different perspective or experience, we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

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    • Kainate
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    Well, you just need to take up the rugs during house-training to stop the puppy picking up any bad habits :)

    I didn’t have any issues at all. We took all the rugs up while we were using puppy pads and only put them back a few weeks after we’d stopped using the pads, once the puppy was fully house-trained. He was house-trained by three and a half months (able to hold it for 4-hour stretches during the day and all through the night), so using pads didn't seem to slow down the process at all in his case, at least with the way I used them.

    But yeah, I forgot to mention that, so it’s a good point to raise. I think it’s definitely safer to remove any rugs during the training phase to avoid any accidents or confusion. You can put them back once the dog has got the hang of going outside.

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    M
    Mel1 Icon representing the flag French
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    I’m really against using litter trays or puppy pads just to avoid having to clean up. My parents did that when they had a litter of puppies. As a result, even the adults have now learnt to pee on the rugs! The puppies are six years old now, and both the mum and the pup they kept still pee on the carpets... Even when they have access to the garden, they sometimes prefer the rug! Mind you, they only do it at my parents' house; when I'm looking after them, there are no accidents on the carpets. So they’ve clearly associated it with the place where it was allowed. I’ve never used that kind of method, and my puppies were house-trained very quickly. The latest one only had four or five accidents indoors, even though I’d braced myself for months of cleaning lol. I’m convinced that if I’d taught him to go indoors, it would have taken much longer.
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    Kainate
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    Anyway, I reckon it can be a good or bad idea depending on how you use it :) In my case, the main thing is that I didn't actually train my dog to use it (he just started going on it of his own accord). So there were no mixed messages on my part; I always reinforced that he should go outside and not indoors. However, if there was an accident, there was a 90% chance it would happen on the puppy pad, which was pretty handy for cleaning up!
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    Kainate
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    This is being discussed on page 2 of this thread:

    https://wamiz.com/chiens/shiba-inu-283/forum/garder-son-attention-pendant-le-dressage-96961/2.html#1673141

    I explained on there that I used a litter tray (well, it was actually just a puppy pad) with my last puppy, Basile. It didn't cause any delays in getting him house-trained, but I did get rid of it quite quickly, which probably helped to avoid any confusion.

    Translated from French

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