Puppy is litter box trained- how to proceed

[thenewaveragebear1983]

My breeder has said that the puppy I am getting in a few weeks will be (fairly) reliably litter box trained. She says they use a fake grass pad on a tray of wood pellet litter over night and then she takes them outside during the day.
i have never heard of this method, there is a bit of info online, but most of what I’ve read seems to be about training them in the first place, not what to do and how to adapt it as they get older.

it seems a shame to untrain what is potentially a useful skill, except I don’t really know how I’d work it here. Could she have the tray just at night? I work from home so I envisaged just having the pup with me during the day, and if I am here and if she’s able, I’d much prefer her to go outside. I already have a cat with a litter tray, I don’t really want a dog with a tray as well. Would having the tray just at night be too confusing? I would still take her out during the night anyway but would the tray be beneficial for emergencies?

does anyone have any experience/advice?

Never heard anything like it, I suppose it's an idea if you don't have a garden or lazy

I presume you do have a garden and are happy to get up during the night? I suppose you could you keep it by the back door so as not to confuse her at first? I certainly wouldn't bother with one.

I do have a garden, and I’m happy and expecting to do all the night time things required as I assumed it was part and parcel.
the breeder also has a garden, the pups and mum live in a side room off the kitchen with a door to the garden. I assume during the day they are allowed out to play and toilet, and when they are indoors they use the litter tray.
i have a few concerns, one being my house is quite a lot bigger than where they currently are and it’s a lot further to the toilet, especially if they are used to going on the litter which is literally outside their den.
this made me think maybe I should pursue with the tray and gradually move it further towards the door and gradually outside.
i think while it’s taught the puppies that we toilet on this surface/area but not on that is good, but if that area is 1 second away it’s very easy to get there whereas it won’t always be that near!

I’m just interested if anyone has used this method and how you adapt to going outside 100% - other than just taking it away completely from day 1 which of course is another possibility but I personally think she will have lots of accidents and it seems mean when she’s used to it that way.

oh, I’m so conflicted!

I think this is quite common for people who live in flats or high-rise apartments, or in countries with extreme weather where it can be unsafe to take the dogs out.

Personally I would get rid of the tray completely from day one. Yes, she'll have accidents but that's just part of puppy ownership.

Agree with PP, you have a garden, there's no point on keeping going with the tray.

I know 3 people who have litter tray trained their dog, all of them were in flats, they all had extremely small dogs, and 2 of them were just quite lazy (dogs were walked daily nonetheless but maybe just once) the third one, it's because her dog had a congenital spine defect that makes her very uncomfortable in wet weather.

It is a really common for good breeders to litter train dogs. All breeders really should do it. As soon as puppies can move they will move away from their sleeping area to use a litter tray.

If you dont want to use it indoors then take it away and toilet train as usual but taking the dog outside regularly You could put the litter tray in an area in the garden where you want them to wee.

If you want to leave the litter tray down over night then the puppy will use it when they need to but will soon be able to sleep through the night and not need it so remove it.

I know several people with litter trained dogs. My own Chihuahuas would use a disposable pad faithfully in the night or when i was at work, but otherwise ask to go out. It's handy for traveling and inclement weather.

I wouldn't be so quick to undo that skill.

@IngGenius @ZeldaWillTellYourFortune yes it does seem to be a skill that’s worth keeping, at least in the early weeks. It’s hard to know until she arrived whether she will will use it and if it will be useful. I think I’ll plan to keep it for nights at first and see what she does.

My little boys are gone now, but over the years we found it really convenient that they would use the pad on command.

They knew the difference between "potty on paper!" & "potty outdoors!" and would trot to the pad or door accordingly.