Stage 1: Getting Off to a Good Start
Create an enclosed small space where your puppy can be confined but still feel like part of the family. Make the space large enough for the litter pan to be at least 3 to 4 feet from the puppy’s crate and water bowl. Fill the pan with Puppy Pan litter or recycled paper litter to the fill line when the puppy is not there. (This prevents him from associating it with the sound of kibble being put in his food bowl.) Place a small amount of the pup’s urine or solid waste in the pan to help puppy understand what the pan is used for.Don’t scold; praise your pup profusely and give him a treat when puppy is using the litter pan!
Stage 2: Be in Control
Set up a routine of feeding and exercise. Have fresh water available until a few hours before crating for the night. Feed your puppy at the same time each day, removing the bowl after 10 to 20 minutes. Keep your pup on a leash while outside the pen area. You will keep accidents to a minimum when you have control over your puppy at all times until your puppy is fully trained.
Stage 3: Build Good Habits
Place the puppy in the pan regularly when you take pup out of the crate, after sleeping or exercising and at mealtimes. Schedule exercise with your pup. Until your pup is fully trained, encourage puppy to eliminate in the pan before exercising. Using the phrase “puppy go here” when pup actually goes in the pan will help to build the association between the pan and the activity. Eventually, you will be able to use the phrase as a cue for your pup to go potty.
Training Your Adult Dog
Retraining a Dog That’s Already Trained To Use a Pad or Newspaper
Place the pan in the spot where you put the paper/pad, and place your usual material in the pan without the litter. After your dog has used the pan a few times, fill the pan with litter to the fill line and place the usual material over it. After your dog has gotten used to the smell of the litter, slowly begin to use increasingly smaller pieces of the other material, uncovering more of the litter every couple of days.
Transitioning a Dog Who Has Been Going Outside
Choose an area of about 4 feet by 4 feet to habituate your dog. Use a command or cue phrase such as “puppy go here” or “do your thing” before you start training to help him understand the association between the place and the purpose. When is your dog comfortable to new area, put the litter pan-filled with grass or other material from the area-in the spot. When your dog is used to the pan with the ground material, replace it with PuppyGoHere Dog Litter. After the dog has been using the pan outside with the litter with complete-reliability, start moving the litter-filled pan toward the house a little bit each day until you can bring it into the house.