Litter Box for Travel – Surprise - This One is for Dogs!

In the process of bringing Beau into his new home and as a member of the Pet Patrol, we have come across a neater method of potty training a puppy as well as giving us an idea to share for pet travel. Obviously cat owners are familiar with the ole litter box, and if they travel with their cat the litter box comes with to take care of their cat’s needs in the hotel room or RV.

Debbie Murray of Alangus Aussies decided to try something different with the litter of which Beau is a part, to use a litter box to potty train the puppies. Cat litter was out of the question, so she experimented with three types of substances for the litter: wood stove chips, compressed paper from a pet supply, and horse bedding pellets.  She also tried several different boxes – one used for rabbits and the other an under the bed plastic box. You can get the details of her process and testing on her blog where she shares two articles of her process and conclusions – very informative. Just follow the link to the Alangus Aussies blog.

The ultimate conclusion was to use the under the bed shallow box with the horse bedding material.  Susie and I found an under the bed box that was a bit shorter and wider than the longer box that Debbie is using, but this fits our space better. The horse bedding pellets are available from any feed store or supply house such as Tractor Supply. We got a 40 pound bag for $5 and bought a couple of bags to start.

With the bad weather this winter it really makes life easier and eventually the puppies can be transitioned outside by putting some of the pellets in the area that you want them to use in the yard.

Remarkably Beau at six weeks old is 100% poop trained and 99% pee trained through this method.

Obviously for travel this gives an alternative especially with puppies and small breeds to have an accessible indoor toilet while traveling. In some facilities the area for pets to relieve themselves is a long way from the room, and this would provide a welcome alternative especially in bad weather.  I already have a smaller box that might work well as a travel potty.

Only time will tell how well this will work for travel, but it certainly provides an attractive option, especially if it was used to potty train the dog as a puppy. If anyone tries this, please share your experience in the comments to this article in the pet patrol. I will certainly let everyone know if I use this with Beau on the road. Susie will probably pass on it, but she is great to control her elimination on a trip.

February 7, 2023