When you have to leave your dog home alone, keep her confined to a puppy playroom with an indoor “doggy toilet.”
Being kept in the playroom with an indoor doggy toilet prevents your dog from eliminating in other parts of the house–something that can quickly turn into a bad habit.
Elements of a good playroom
A good playroom has:
* easy-to-clean, non-absorbent floors and gets a lot of traffic from the family, so the pup won’t feel isolated.
* a gate or an exercise pen so you can cordon off a small section of the room
* a comfortable crate or bed
* a bowl of fresh water
* plenty of hollow chewtoys or puppy brain games stuffed with dog food or treats
* a doggy toilet in the corner opposite the crate or bed.
To make one of these “indoor doggie toilets,” cover a litter box, a metal tray (such as a removable crate bottom), or an old piece of linoleum with whatever will be your dog’s eventual toilet material. For rural and suburban pups, for instance, you might lay down a roll of turf. For urban puppies, use a few thin concrete tiles. Perhaps this goes without saying, but be sure to clean off and disinfect the surface regularly.
You don’t want to use things like blankets, towels or carpet unless you want your pup to go to the bathroom on your blankets, towels and carpets.
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