Puppies - Litter Boxes?

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Tia

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My 3 week old puppies are getting so good at toilet training - I am really pleased with them. However paper is a really not-nice way of going about it surely? My thoughts are turning to offering them a litter tray to do their poops and wees in. I think they would love a litter box actually.

Anyone used one for puppies? Any potential problems you can forsee?
 
Are the pups outside yet? I have never used a litter tray (German Shepherds have about 7 pups on average so would need to be pretty big), but usually change their toilet area to shavings once they are on solid food. Its keeps them nice and clean and you can just scoop up the wet/dirty bits. Obviously not so practical if they are in the house!
 
I still have them in the house although their pen is now built in the dogroom. I am planning to keep them out in the dogroom through the day so that they have more space to run around without having to watch them constantly, but because of the overnight temperatures, I'm considering just bringing them into their little pen in the house at night. There is room in the indoor pen to have a litter box whereas if I were to use paper then their duvet could become mushed up in it once the pups get a little bigger.
 
We had a litter tray for our pup we put a piece of turf in it and never had an accident in the house. We used newspaper for our other dogs and it took them ages to be house trained
 
We too use shavings in the welping box when they start on solids. The pups go outside (in the barn) with several heat lamps with a concrete run, and once mobile always use the concrete as a toilet (which is very easy to clean!)
 
Mine have all been on solids for about a week now and their poops are easy to clean up, particularly as they really do understand this toilet-training malarky.

They are very fluffy now and podgy little things. I wonder if they would be okay out in the dogroom if I put plenty heating out there. I'd think that their mother would likely sleep with them out there as this is her proper place and somewhere she feels comfortable. She hasn't slept with them for a week as she has a bed next to their pen, although she does hop in there through the night to feed them.

Maybe they should just go out there - it would be better all round really and I can still let them come in the house when they are awake, for socialising and a play with all of us.

Lily doesn't like being in the house, although she has been an excellent house-dog over the past few weeks. She would be much happier back outside though.
 
Oz had a litter tray as a pup, I just lined it with newspaper. Then tray was moved to outside, so made him really easy to housetrain, as he only went in his tray. Only problem with bigger pups is sometimes they miss......stand in tray and do their business over the edge!!!
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