My chihuahua is a very smart dog.

[ThomCat]

She has learned to use the litter box just from watching our cats.

Often at night she wakes me up because she needs a middle of the night trip to the back yard. Last night i woke up and noticed she was doing her "I need to pee" dance. So I climbed out of bed and started getting dressed.

You could knock me over when I hear her scratching in the litter box and look to see her covering up her pee.
:wow:

If dogs can learn to use litter boxes, why don't people in cities and/or apartments ever train dogs to use them? Or, why haven't I ever heard of this before? This is Awesome if she will keep using the little box for late night needs!

The cats don't seem to mind sharing the box, by the way. We have two cats, and two boxes, and both cats seem to be using both boxes even since the dog used it. So that isn't an issue.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I know someone who used to live in a high-rise

and had a pet Papillon. She taught the dog to do his business on towels in a laundry room. It was a little grosser than a litter box, but it seemed to work, and was way easier than taking the dog down 20 stories on an elevator to poop on a downtown sidewalk.

[ThomCat]

4. That is really smart.

Laundry for towels wasn't fun, I'm sure. But that is definitely smart. :)

I hope they still got out for regular exercise though. 20 floors or not, dogs need to get outside.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. She didn't take him out as much as he really needed,

and he turned out to be a bit neurotic and hyper. Maybe it was the breed, but that dog always seemed to have drunk too much Red Bull.

[bigwillq]

My man's chihuahua uses a litter box

He trained her when he got her as a puppy. Took her a few weeks, but she's an old pro at it now! :) :hi:

[ThomCat]

5. I know so little about chihuahuas.

I've only been owned by this one for a year now. I have so much to learn about this. I'm finding out that they are very incredibly smart dogs, but I am hearing that you can't train them unless you did it when they were young.

I hear that once they are older they are too independent and headstrong to train. They resist any attempts to tell them anything. That definitely seems to be true with Coco. So it's a very good thing that she is training herself. :P

[bigwillq]

9. They are very smart dogs.

Not sure on the training part. Our little dog trained rather well with the litter box. A few weeks, but that is pretty normal, I think.

[Flaxbee]

2. wow, really? what a good girl she is!!

Would be terrific if she could take care of her nighttime business w/o having to wake you up. Did you praise her profusely when you saw her doing it? Maybe next time, give her a treat or whatever -- train her to use it.

Cool, ThomCat. Not sure if bigger dogs would like to do it, but small dogs - that would be a huge benefit.

[ThomCat]

3. Oh yes.

She got cuddles and treats for that. I definitely let her know that she was a very good girl for that. :)

Normally we keep the dogs away from the litter boxes. The dogs like to eat "cat box crunchies." But we're going to let Coco use the litter box if she wants, and we'll watch to see what happens.

Every time she does this I'll cuddle her and let her know she did well. I'll also throw in treats periodically, but I'm watching those so that she doesn't get pudgy. :)

[XemaSab]

23. "Cat box crunchies"

AKA Almond Roca. x(

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. My dear ThomCat!

Of course she's smart!

Look who she belongs to.....or do you belong to her?

:P

That is great news!

:hi:

[ThomCat]

8. I definitely belong to her.

We are creating a paired RenFaire costume for next season. She will be a princess, and I will be a fool who's job is to keep her majesty entertained at all times. :)

She is in my lap as I type this, and never willingly lets me strays too far. I'm far too comfortable as furniture, and she almost has me trained at this point. :D

[UTUSN]

10. My chihuahua is: Smart. Pretty. Manipulative. AND adorable.

She's why I love wolves.

[ThomCat]

16. I never thought I would care for chihuahuas until one decided she

owned me.

Yes, I can definitely understand to that description of yours. :)

[valerief]

11. That pup is a real keeper!!!!

:thumbsup:

[ThomCat]

17. She has decided to keep me too.

I pass muster as a proper servant and adoring dad. :P

[valerief]

12. That pup is a real keeper!!!!

:thumbsup:

[seemunkee]

13. Italian greyhounds are supposed to be good at this

but not ours. dammit.

Lucky you to have such a smart pup

[ThomCat]

18. Italian greyhounds are adorable dogs.

:)

I hope yours had so many lovable traits that this one lack is not a big deal. :hug:

[EndersDame]

14. I would love to train my pup to do this but how do you keep her from stealing cat turds?

[ThomCat]

19. That is a really good question.

Vigilance, I guess. :shrug:

If Coco starts using the litter box regularly I'm going to see about getting her a litter box of her own to use. Then she wouldn't be allowed near the cat's boxes again. That would keep her away from the cat box crunchies.

[nuxvomica]

15. I've seen special doggy litter in the local supermarket

It's not uncommon for small breeds but, really, no one wants a mastiff pooping in the house, even in a big litter box. I suspect most small breeds could be trained to do it. Dogs are very smart critters.

[ThomCat]

20. Jenna was mentioning that she had seen doggy litter.

If Coco keeps this us, and we get her a box of her own, we'll look into doggy litter and see what the differences are.

I think you are very right about mastiffs and other large dogs though. Those litter boxes would be toxic to clean. :(

Still, it is very cool that dogs can be trained to this.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. Very clever pup and lucky you!

My friend had rabbits who were litterbox trained, so why not pups?!:shrug:

Wish that Jackie could learn to do that. But the only thing that he's learned from the cats is to race around and to get into things he shouldn't. *sigh* Though I don't know if he'd even fit into the litterbox... ;)

[ThomCat]

22. He looks like a very playful dog

:)

He's very cute.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. Thanks, my friend, he sure is that...

Actually, you came very close to meeting Jack when you met Egypt. And he was in doggy class with Zeus... ;) :hi:

[XemaSab]

24. Good dog!

:D

[ThomCat]

25. She really is.

:)

Demanding, needy, jealous, cranky, wonderful, charming, sweet, affectionate, smart, good dog. :loveya:

[MajorChode]

26. Sometimes they are too smart

Many years ago I had a girlfriend that had a chihuahua. I spent the night at her place one time and I brought my overnight stuff in a gym bag. The little bastard was jealous of me and sometime in the middle of the night he took a shit in my gym bag.

[ThomCat]

27. Chihuahuas are apparently known for being Very possessive.

Mine definitely is.

When I am in visible pain (which is often) Coco goes into full defense mode. She will not leave me, and even JennaLaw can't come near me without getting challenged and growled at.

We are trying to train that possessiveness out of her. No luck though. :(

I am sorry your girlfriend's dog did that to your stuff. But I can't say it surprises me.

[ecstatic]

29. lmao. They are very smart and very mean

They don't mind being nice when they're using you, of course.