what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i know
the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.

In article "JMH" writes:
what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i know
the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.

You certainly can train it to use a litter box though I don't know
about the mess.

You could start by selecting a litter box and placing it in the outdoor area
in which your dog usually eliminates. Carefully, remove the grass/sod from
this area set the box in the resulting hole and set the sod in the box. Make
your box look like part of the lawn. See if your dog will eliminate in the
box. If so, offer lots of praise, food, or whatever will work as a
reinforcer.

If this does not work, then place a small amount of your dog's feces (or
another dog's feces) in the box/grass. Again, see if your dog will use the
box. Alternatively, you could use your dog's urine to evoke your dog's
eliminating in the box/grass.

Once you have your dog eliminating in the box, you could slowly (over a
period of a week) move it (with the grass) from its position to the door of
your house. Again, you would be providing reinforcement when your dog used
the box.

Later you could bring the box/grass indoors and hope that your dog
will use the box indoors. (Alternatively, when the box was outside
the door and your dog was using it, you could place some indoor
furniture (like a plastic chair or can) outdoors beside the box.
When your dog reliabliy uses the box/grass with the furniture
present you could then bring the box/grass and furniture indoors
by the door.)

Once your dog is reliably use the box/grass indoors. You can
move it to its "final" location. Subsequently, you could slowly
remove the grass and replace it with litter.

For the record, I have never used this procedure but I am a behavior
analytic psychologist and similar procedures have been used to
teach cats to use the toilet:

http://www.karawynn.net/mishacat/toilet.html

--Marshall

PS: My next door neighboors trained their dog, as a puppy, to use paper
inside their house. That is what the dog did for some 12 years.

How about a large outdoors kennel with shelter

JMH wrote:

what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i know
the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.

sounds good for warm weather, what about cold?




"Scott" wrote in message
...
How about a large outdoors kennel with shelter

JMH wrote:

what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i
know
the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.

How cold and what breed? I think even cold weather could be fine. I
have heard that many inches of straw inside a shelter with a raised
floor provides adequate warmth for a dog even in the very cold. You
would probably need to do a little reading to be certain the shelter was
adequate.



JMH wrote:

sounds good for warm weather, what about cold?




"Scott" wrote in message
...


How about a large outdoors kennel with shelter

JMH wrote:



what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i


know


the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.

How cold and what breed? I think even cold weather could be fine. I
have heard that many inches of straw inside a shelter with a raised
floor provides adequate warmth for a dog even in the very cold. You
would probably need to do a little reading to be certain the shelter was
adequate.

....... and legal. frex, New York State has a new law outlining shelters for
dogs.

http://www.lollypop.org/dogShelterLaw.html

-Sharon

I suspect if proper care was given to the kennel and shelter, there
wouldn't be a problem.
On the other hand, perhaps the state of New York will be using tax
payers' money to subsidize doggy day-care.

Sharon too wrote:

How cold and what breed? I think even cold weather could be fine. I
have heard that many inches of straw inside a shelter with a raised
floor provides adequate warmth for a dog even in the very cold. You
would probably need to do a little reading to be certain the shelter was
adequate.



...... and legal. frex, New York State has a new law outlining shelters for
dogs.

http://www.lollypop.org/dogShelterLaw.html

-Sharon

There is one thing that bothers me here.
If you leave the dog with food it may need to go to toilet.
Not sure if this is a puppy.
Whether it is or not, I would always give food before going out.
Allowing enough time before leaving for the dog to go to toilet.
My dogs are fed twice a day 7 and 7.
Within 30 mins of that food they go to toilet.
That is the pattern of my dogs.
So if dogs are left with food then they will need to go.
Your dog need a pattern or the next thing you know you will pull your hair
out.
Hence a post to say you have an un trained dog....going toilet in the house.
Just a thought
Pat.


"JMH" wrote in message
...
what should I do with a dog that needs to be home alone for some extended
hours while I work?? I was thinking to gate the dog in my room or the
kitchen with food and some toys. if I don't have a doggy door, and i know
the dog will HAVE to pee, what should I do? can I train it to use a
litterbox without digging in it to make a mess?? thanks for any help.