My Dumb Dog

Training a dog to use a litter pan is perfectly unnatural to canine instinct. However, living in an apartment and not having to hunt or scavenge their food is also perfectly unnatural to canine behavior. But dogs have adapted happily and thrive in an urban or small home environment. One of the breeds of small doge that have taken any adaptations in their care are Havanese. Training them are usually easier than in other small dog breeds.

And now the demands of modern work schedules mean that Havanese will be called on to adapt yet again; this time, to Havanese litter box training. In the last few years, there has been a push by dog owners to litter train small dogs. Big pet manufacturers have listened, such as Purina with their Second Nature product line of pans, litter, and really funny promotional videos. Never has it been easier to try Havanese litter box training.
If you’ve ever had to housetrain a puppy, then you already have the basic training down for teaching your Havanese to use a litter pan. You watch for the signs that your Havanese has to go – sniffing, circling, whining, scratching at the door – and then you lead the Havanese to the litter box. But you can lead a Havanese to the litter box, but you can’t always make them go. Never yell, hit or swear at your dog. They confused enough as to where they are supposed to go as it is.

Some things you can do to encourage and reassure your Havanese that using a litter pan is okay is to place newspaper with the dog’s urine on it in the pan. You can also teach your dog to eliminate on command. Although dog training books will usually not have information specifically about Havanese litter box training, they will on how to teach your dog to eliminate on command.
You need patience and consistency when teaching your dog to eliminate by verbal command. You need everyone in the family to follow along and use the same command. You need to use this short command like “Show time,” or “Go, please,” EVERY time the dog pees or poops. Yes – every single time. Give the command, praise the dog and treat. Eventually, they associate the command with the act of elimination.

If this sounds familiar, it should be. This Havanese litter box training tip is a variation of the conditioned response old Pavlov did in his famous experiments of teaching a dog to drool at the sound of a bell. Every dog learns at his or her own rate. Some take a lot longer to learn than others. If your dog seems to get the idea but still has accidents, a trip to the vet is on order to rule out any medical conditions.

This author believes that if you can learn Havanese training, you have the capacity to train any dog. All animal shelters and recues should be giving away free dog training books to each dog’s adoptive family.