# NEED HELP WITH LITTER BOX TRAINING AND ZOEY IS EATING THE PELLETS!



## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I got the whole set up for the litter box training yesterday and Zoey is eating the Pellets . She has only Eaten about 4 . The brand is Bear Mountain Premium Plus. She takes out one pellet and tosses it in the air runs after it and then eats it before I can get it away from her. I am trying to teach her not to do that but in the mean time is it bad for her?:frusty:
Also it took about half of a 40 lb bag to fill 2 litter boxes I got a large kitty box for $10.00 and cut a opening and then found a medium sized dog tray at petco for $20.00 I found that if it is not thick enough the dog sinks down to the slippery plastic. I also tried adding a plastic bath mat on the bottom to help that problem.
All I have done so far is put some of their poop on top to get the idea and have been putting them in it to get used to the texture.I guess I just keep putting them in it? and lightly hold them to stay? and give our command 
Also when we do have success how often do you have to add another 10.lbs can you just clean what is wet and soiled and add a bit more?


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

wow! good luck with litter box training! I was thinking to go that route when we first got Tillie, but she really took to going outside right away and didn't want ANYTHING to do with a litter box or pee pad. 
I hope that it goes smoothly and both girls catch on fast!! 
I'm sure lot of hav friends will be able to help you with how to do it best!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Sounds like you are using too much litter. It only needs to be a couple of inches thick. Sterilite boxes from Lowes, Home Depot, or Walmart work fine. The pellets are usually made not far from where they are sold. Brand gives little to go on. Most sawmills are producing heater wood pellets now since they can get a couple of hundred dollars a ton for what otherwise is worth a few bucks at most. The sawdust is dried by steaming out the moisture just before it's extruded. That process sterilizes it, but I wouldn't want one consuming much of it. We don't like pellets that have oak in them, for the smell, tanins, and also it crumbles up too easily. We like pellets best made from smooth hardwoods like maple, aspen, poplar, and such. They have almost no smell. Sometimes if it's a brand we haven't seen before, we will spend the 5 or 6 bucks a bag to buy one and open it. If it's not something we like, we will use pine pellets sold in feed stores, and Tractor Supply, to be used in horse stalls. I think a lot of the pellets sold in the Pacific Northwest are made from conifers that are different from those here on the east coast. Just buy one bag at the time and see if it doesn't have much of a smell.

I really don't know how to train one to it that wasn't raised on it from the start. We start ours at three weeks, and they grow up never expecting anything different of it than something to potty on. They use it for a couple of weeks before they even have teeth, so they never think of it as something to eat. 

The urine will turn any of the pellets that absorb it back into sawdust. It will be obvious what needs to be scooped out. Pam uses a little dust pan from Dollar General (they come with a little cleaning brush that snaps in-to make it easier for you to find in the store-haven't found anything that works as well anywhere else) to scoop the sawdust out. A cat litter scoop with the slots doesn't work, because some of the sawdust will fall through the openings.

We just put the sawdust that we take out in an empty pellet bag, and it gets dumped on our compost pile that is mostly composed of tons of horse manure. Some of our puppy owners just save plastic grocery bags to put the sawdust in, tie the bag shut, and it goes in their trash. The process of turning the pellets into sawdust dries it out enough that it doesn't develop ammonia to smell bad by the time the trash is taken away.

You have to put your face fairly close to it to see when it all needs tossing out, it's usually well over a week. I usually toss it even though there is no smell when it starts to get crumbled up to the point that some of the pieces are smaller and get tracked more easily.

It would have to be neglected for a LONG time before it smells anything like as bad as any of the other systems, including the Purina litter.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Thank you Tom,
My pellets smell good  I think it has a ceder smell. I am going to try pouring some on the area where they go out side maybe the smell will help direct them to the box and help them get used to the new texture
I like the idea it can go into a compost !


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> Thank you Tom,
> My pellets smell good  I think it has a ceder smell. I am going to try pouring some on the area where they go out side maybe the smell will help direct them to the box and help them get used to the new texture
> I like the idea it can go into a compost !


I'd be careful with cedar. That's a wood with a LOT of aromatic oils, and one of the ones most likely to cause severe respiratory problems in small caged pets.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

krandall said:


> I'd be careful with cedar. That's a wood with a LOT of aromatic oils, and one of the ones most likely to cause severe respiratory problems in small caged pets.


 I just called the manufacture and left a message I looked all over the bag and it states not good for human or animal consumption .
The farm store had a different brand that is used for bedding I think I will get that one. Gee I just spread it out on their outside area got to go get the rake.:frusty:


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I wouldn't use cedar either. I did understand that different woods are used in the Pacific Northwest, but don't really know what they would be. That's why I said sometimes, if you can't call the manufacturer on the bag, that you just have to spend a few bucks to find out by buying a bag and opening it. The smooth grained hardwood pellets have almost no odor at all.

Cedar and some pine shavings were found to raise liver enzyme levels in lab rats and rabbits. Of course they live sort of emersed in them and chew on them, but still I'd avoid the cedar. They solved the liver enzyme problem with lab rats and rabbits by using smooth grained hardwood heat wood pellets.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html


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