One of the great things about Havanese is that they are small, which make them perfect for cramped, modern lifestyles. However, their small size also means they have a small bladder. They physically cannot “hold it” like a bigger dog or a human can. A small dog like the Havanese needs relief about every four hours. Sadly, you can’t always get home for your lunch break in order to let your dog out. This is where the idea of Havanese litter box training sounds interesting.

Tackling Havanese litter box training is just like every other aspect in Havanese training – you need patience, persistence and even more patience. Think about how long it took for your dog to learn to be housebroken – and now you have to take that concept and bend it. Your Havanese has learned that any elimination indoors is bad. Now, you have to retrain him or her that eliminating in one particular spot indoors (and that spot only) is good.
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 article was written to spread the knowledge of Havanese care and Havanese training in the hopes that many healthy Havanese will not become abandoned. All animal shelters and recues should be giving away free dog training books to each dog’s adoptive family.

Tags: dog breeds, grooming dog, , pet insurance, dog training techniques, dog insurance, dog agility, dog health, dog training courses, dog obedience training