Litterbox Training & Poms

A frequently mentioned drawback of Pomeranians is how difficult they reportedly are to housebreak. Like most of the toys, they have small bladders, and tiny legs- getting all the way outdoors is a LONG walk for a toy-sized puppy! One solution to this for many owners is to use an indoor dog potty of some sort. Litterbox training is nothing new to cat owners, but is a relatively recent development for canine companions. Unlike cats, dogs don't bury their waste, so odor control is a real issue, and generally poop must be picked up immediately after deposit, and the box cleaned daily to prevent urine odors from becoming apparant.

There are two main types of indoor potties fordogs on the market today. The older type is a litter-box style container which contains pelleted or shredded material which soaks up urine and sticks to poop. Since dogs don't bury their waste as cats do, these do very little to eliminate odor unless the liter is itself very strongly scented. The other type is a tray with a mat of some sort- either fake grass, real sod (in one case), or 'potty pad' type material that the dog is trained to eliminate on. These need to be cleaned frequently, too, but may be more 'natural' for dogs if you can overcome the "Potty indoors ONLY on this surface but potty anywhere outdoors" issue.

The biggest issue with indoor potty training is that many dogs don't make the distinction between 'my potty indoors' and 'that spot I had an accident on the rug 4 years ago, which still smells like pee to my amazing nose." Just like with housebreaking the old way, though, you can solve this with sufficient training. But is it less work? Probably not, unless getting to and from sfe potty areas outdoors consumes as much or more time as the actually walk/excursion itself (ie, high-rise apartment buildings or NYC walkups on the fourth or fifth floor.)