Flooring In The Litter Room

[Labkisses]

Hi everyone

We had our first litter about 6 months ago. We are planning the next and would like to know a few tips on:

a) how to toilet train puppies and;

b) what you use on the litter room floor.

We kept our last litter in a spare room which is tiled. We tried toilet training the pups to do their business on the newspaper and puppy training pads, but half the time they thought the paper was a toy and we'd find them shredding and tearing it apart! They never toileted in a specific area and we tried to make an area where they could sleep by putting their vet bedding down but they hated it because it was too hot!

Our last litter was only of 5 pups and I'm not sure how I could handle any more this time round!!

Does anyone know the best way to train the little angels to do their business on the paper? And did anyone use special floor covering to make cleaning easier? Ahhh the joys of breeding lol

Thank you!

[TeamSnag]

I started about 4 weeks of age..

One part of the whelping box was bedding the other traning pads/newspaper..

They soon learn thats were they go.. i normaly leave the traning pads there for a couple of days and just place a new one down.. i like to leave a wee or poo one down so they know where to do..I do pick up the poo but it just leaves the sent there...

About 5 weeks old i moved them to a puppy pen in the same room just a lil more room and again.. half bedding and half pads... but the thing is lol they started to rip the paper up lol!!

Good Luck!!!

Opps.. I used lino under whelping box and puppy pen... I use detol and cleaned the lino every day.. Just to keep things clean..

Edited September 27, 2010 by TeamSnag

[Ellie]

I have a six week old litter here. They are out of the whelping box now and on tiles. I went to Bunnings and bought two metres of cheap lino (I think it was about $10.74 per metre) and OH cut it to the size of their puppy pen, and laid it over the tiles. I then laid newspaper over this. It's easy to clean, just pick up the dirty newspaper and mop the lino. We have an outside deck with a concrete floor so I've also covered part of the concrete with lino, it's just easier clean than the concrete. And yes, the little buggars just love to rip up the newspaper

[becks]

try feeding them outside and have a playtime/toilet session outside as soon as they are mobile. I bang my ring on the metal feed dish, so they learn to follow that sound as it means food!

[Sandra777]

Can't say I can help with a floor covering - I teach mine to go outside on grass not inside

Newspaper is a good game, but it's easy to pick up and really no big deal if it gets shredded.

[Lowenhart]

I use cheap lino for the puppy pen as it's so easy to clean and easy to throw out. My last couple of Lowchen litters were born/raised in a petpack lined with paper and bedding.

Once the pups are up on their feet I take them outside to start toileting, for the bigger breeds they might spend most of the day out in a puppy run and just sleep in their box at night. The little guys get carried out first thing in the morning, right after they eat and again before I go to bed. When they toilet outside they get lots of giggles and claps followed by cuddles.

The pups get quite used to the routine and I instruct new owners on how to keep it up. I work full time so my program works well for most buyers. Not all pups learn at the same rate, some pups go to their new homes almost housetrained and others still don't quite get it.

I don't train to toilet on paper, it just doubles the training required.

[LizT]

Gee, some good ideas here...mine are just over two weeks and I've had many "ideas" pre-mating about how I was going to do it all. I have polished timber boards in my family room which is where they are going to move to (in my 'parents retreat/study in my room still)...was thinking of some kind of floor cover and was going to go to Clarke Rubber or Bunnings but the Lino sounds the best! Thanks

So... start the 50/50 in the Whelping box once they are mobile?? Mums being doing most, if not all of the clean up so far. I've just changed the Vet bed a few times because of smears and 'poo crumbs'. The upside of a Toy breed

The problem with taking them outside to toilet here in Melbourne is the wet grass for most of the morning and/or rain. I think we have had one nice day in 3 weeks! Would a puppy getting saturated to go to the toilet be a health risk even with towelling off? The grass is mowed but there is a lot of condensation overnight and often rain in the mornings lately.

[Labkisses]

Thanks everyone for their tips.

I'm definetely going to try the lino, it sounds much easier to clean Last time I fed them outside and let them run around in the afternoon while I was home. They would only go back in at night when it got really dark but they still liked to poo and pee inside the little buggers! lol.

[Bisart Dobes]

Can't say I can help with a floor covering - I teach mine to go outside on grass not inside

Not fair !!!! Just cos you have great outside puppy toilet training weather. Ours would have frozen with the last litter - not having another winter litter - even now I have to literally boot the two girls outside to go to the toilet (typical dobermanns ).

[Sandra777]

Can't say I can help with a floor covering - I teach mine to go outside on grass not inside

Not fair !!!! Just cos you have great outside puppy toilet training weather. Ours would have frozen with the last litter - not having another winter litter - even now I have to literally boot the two girls outside to go to the toilet (typical dobermanns ;) ).

Even in NZ I taught them to go outside - and I reckon even Victoria can't beat the last winter we spent in NZ - rain for 37 days straight with the highest temperature of 14

I Queensland

[dancinbcs]

I line my whelping room with a tarp before setting up the whelping box. I move the drybed to half of the whelping box at two weeks and then use a puppy pen to allow them out of the box onto more newspaper as they become more mobile. From three weeks they are taken outside to toilet first thing in the morning and after a few days they try to wait to poo outside. I also start feeding outside and letting them run around and toilet on the grass until they have all been. If it is raining I rig up tarps to create a covered area on the grass.

From 5 weeks they move into the outside concrete run with a shed attached that has a warm kennel for a bed. They are pad locked into the enclosed run at night and if I have to go out but have a large extra grassed area made with puppy panels off the concrete one most of the day. The concrete area is covered in wood shavings to about 5cm deep and the difference this makes is amazing. The poop becomes coated with the shavings so is easy to pick up and it doesn't get on the puppies. I remove poop and obvious wet spots several times a day and sweep the whole lot out, discinfect and put in a fresh lot of shavings once a week. The shavings also repel flies and mozzies as a bonus. It has to be dust free shavings, not sawdust. Some of my friends use the shavings in pens set up in a garage and that works as well.

Using this set up mine pretty well toilet train themselves.

[LizT]

Interesting...I guess a lot of it depends on the size of the breed and the quantity. I couldn't imagine 8+ very smart, active Border Collie pups in my family room!

[peaceful]

I put down a tarp and swap it over with another one once it gets soiled for cleaning.

I put down a heap of newspapers and only remove the top layer once its been toileted on to leave the lovely enticing wee wee smells for the pups to learn that is where they must go for all their potty needs.

When cleaning up poop its important to put a layer of newspaper over the top of some of the poops so they dont get it all over themselves but it leaves the smell there so they know to do all their poops in the same spot. Always leave a poop or 2 under the paper for awhile to teach them.

They learn to always go on the newspapers really fast using this method.

Just look out if hubby or grandad puts his newspapers down on the floor while he's still reading it cos all the pups will race over and oblige!

Had that happen quite a few times

[dancinbcs]

Interesting...I guess a lot of it depends on the size of the breed and the quantity. I couldn't imagine 8+ very smart, active Border Collie pups in my family room!

Definitely not. By 6 weeks they need an area at least half the size if a suburban backyard to run in and will happy range over a few acres if given the chance.

My last litter born a few years ago was my hardest to toilet train because I could not put them outside on the shavings due to extreme hot weather. Luckily there was only three and they spent most of their time in the laundry, inside the air conditioned house. I still took them out early in the morning and fed them breakfast outside and took them out for a last feed late at night but they would scream to come back in if put out during the day at all.