Now! Let’s get started!

This incremental system (ideally) starts in the whelping box and we make gradual changes based on our puppies development and need for space. It is a management based system, meaning that we are not relying on direct intervention (ie training) with each puppy but instead arranging the environment to facilitate the learning we want while relying on the puppies own instincts to provide the fuel. This allows caregivers tremendous time savings and success.

*If your puppies are already out of the whelping box, review the early chapters and start with the weaning pen chapter.

Each week we will be making changes to our weaning pen, based on the number and size of our puppies, their success the week before, and their developmental stage or age. This system of small, incremental, changes ensures rapid success at the start and continued success at each stage. We will know we are progressing too quickly and have exceeded what our puppies physical development can handle if we see the puppies unable to get to the toilet to void, or failing to get to the toilet most of the time.

This plan starts very early, when our puppies are 2 weeks old, and each week we will make some changes to expand our pen In a slow and methodical way.

One thing will not change, and that is the position (orientation) of our litter box within our whelping box, and then weaning pen.

I learned very early on that moving the litter box to different locations slowed down my puppies learning, and allowed undesired habits (such as not going to the litter box to void) to develop. Conversely, how successful my puppies were finding and using the box was dramatically improved if I didn’t move the toilet around. Because at first, the puppies are just going “off” their bed to void, they are too young to understand the concept of a toilet and we want to ensure that those instinctive repetitions are actually building the habit we want. When we move the litter box around, our puppies will still have the habit of going to that ”area” and we will have more accidents. We also don’t want puppies to think that toilets are everywhere! We also want to avoid big changes in the “journey” the puppies must make to get too the toilet, this is why designing our pen so that we can start small and gradually increase their available space is so vital to success (ie most, but not all we never expect perfection, puppies making it most of the time to void in the toilet).

Plan out from the beginning, even before you decide on the placement of your whelping box, what your eventual size and shape will be for your weaning pen.

How we set up our puppy pen is management of their environment specifically to balance cleanliness needs with developmental needs. Changing the pen is the incremental work. Here are some things I consider when planning my puppy room.

I have several options for where I can place my whelping box, and set up my weaning pen.

My room has a crate bank on the east wall.
My room has an exterior door on the south wall.
My room has a 6 foot span on the west wall, a 10 foot span on the east wall.
My room has no wall along the north side, this side opening up to the kitchen and family room.

Given these features, I have decided I want my litter box to be placed on the wall on the west side, this wall is 6 feet wide which is perfect for a 3 tray litter box. Why?

Because the 6 foot wall is the perfect width for my toilet area.
The open side of the pen (the north side) will allow for multiple entry points for me, making it easy to get into the pen to clean up and manage the puppies.
The litter box will be fairly close to an exterior door, so once the puppies are old enough we can encourage them to void outside on the puppy patio.
I still have access to my crate bank for crate training later on.

That means I need to place my whelping box along the west wall, this works well because my whelping box is just under 6 feet wide, so it will fit there. I can also easily place an expen along that 6 foot wall, so my whelping box can be tented and be private when needed, but once my puppies are older, they can interact through the pen with the older dogs in the home.

My first “baby” litter box, which is just a pad, will be placed in the same spot I will be using for my bigger litter box later. My puppies will form a habit, from the very beginning, of moving to this west wall area to void, later when they are bigger, they can even use the door that is situated close by and go outside to void.

By planning this out now, before my puppies are even born, I will save myself so much time and effort later!

What if your whelping box is in a different room from the location you have chosen for your weaning pen?

The best way to address this is to orient your whelping box in a similar direction to the eventual home for the weaning pen, even if they are not in the same room.

So, for example, if I needed to place my whelping box in my bedroom instead of the puppy room, I would make sure that I set my box up in the same direction. For my example, this would mean that the back wall of the whelping box (the side opposite the door, long side) would face west (yes, the puppies will know) so the puppies are moving west to void once I install the first potty area. Then, when I move them into the weaning pen, they are making the same physical movements! Believe it or not, it really does happen this way. Habit loops are powerful, and we are going to be harnessing the power of habit loops to keep our puppies clean.Have you ever moved your spoons (Or cups, knives, or other items you use frequently?) if so you likely found yourself reaching for the spoons in the “old” location without even realizing it. You have just discovered a habit loop, a physical movement (behavior) you have repeated so many times that you no longer think about it. We can get more training benefit, with less actual training time invested, if we use naturally occurring behavior loops in our toilet training. Behavior loops tend to be based on the location of something, not a conscious thought process, so knowing that we will be very careful about changing the layout of our weaning pet toilet, play, and resting zones.

Management: Changing And Adapting The Pen Over Time