# Eating his litter today! Uh oh. Now what?



## HavaMom1 (Jul 27, 2021)

Has anyone had experience with their litter trained Havanese eating their litter? We are using Second Nature Dog Litter, although switching to Tractor Supply Pine Pellets since they are cheaper. 

He was doing fine using the litter box for the last week since he came home. Now he has taken to eating the pellets. I thought maybe the residual smell from the poop in the litter (we always pick it up within a short while after he poops) was causing him to think it might be something good to eat. I know many Havanese will eat their poop. Had a pom who did the same thing. During the winter my father used to call them poop-sicles.  

Since cleaning out the box and filling with new Second Nature Dog litter, he just sat in it and knocked it around and took several pieces out to chew on. So....before this goes too much further, I thought I'd ask the pros. 

I am concerned about him eating a paper product like this dog litter.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Do you have a grate you can put over it? If your litter box didn’t come with one, I have found a couple other “grates” will work, depending on what you have around your house or can find at a hardware/craft store. Some really need this, just to keep them from playing with it or accidentally spreading it around.

Mine loves to chew on wood but there’s never been any confusion between other fun wood to chew (pencils, wood dowels, basically any other wood other than pee pellets). If your puppy can’t access them, I dont think it will lead to any kind of confusion between where to pee or eating poop. I think he’s probably just getting comfortable in his new space and exploring, and maybe ready for an appropriate chew. The pellets have such a distinct smell that when I was making pine drawer dividers in my garage, my 2 two year old Havanese suddenly peed on the sawdust. Yet he has never peed on other wood pellets DH keeps in the garage for smoking wood!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I missed that he is still using the second nature. Is it made of paper? If so, I’d switch now. Last time I bought a bag (before wood prices went up) it was $7. But I’d cover it to discourage him playing with it. I don’t think it will lead to anything other than a tummy ache, but I’d discourage it by making whatever pellets or material you use inaccessible.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I'd be ESPECIALLY careful if he is swallowing the Second Nature pellets. The pine pellet bedding breaks down into sawdust that, unless the dog were to PACk their stomach with it, would be easy enough to pass. The Second Nature pellets maintain their integrity and swell to MANY times their original size!!! When I saw how they responded to getting wet, I NEVER bought them again! They scared me to BITS!!! 

And yes, I don't know if you saw my answer in your other thread, but the answer to this problem is pretty easy! ...A grated potty tray with the litter underneath! 

Finally, poop eating is just a "dog thing"... not specific to either Havanese or Pomeranians. Any breed can do it. The trick to prevent it becoming a habit is to limit access to poop, as you have been, by picking it up as soon as possible!


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## HavaMom1 (Jul 27, 2021)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I missed that he is still using the second nature. Is it made of paper? If so, I’d switch now. Last time I bought a bag (before wood prices went up) it was $7. But I’d cover it to discourage him playing with it. I don’t think it will lead to anything other than a tummy ache, but I’d discourage it by making whatever pellets or material you use inaccessible.


Thank you Eva. This is a video I saw before getting Milo. I bought the items to make it and plan to do so in the next day or two. 



 I'm hoping it will work! I wish I could find a decently larger one with a grate, but the only one I found is not sold any longer. So, I guess I will have to DIY.


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## HavaMom1 (Jul 27, 2021)

krandall said:


> I'd be ESPECIALLY careful if he is swallowing the Second Nature pellets. The pine pellet bedding breaks down into sawdust that, unless the dog were to PACk their stomach with it, would be easy enough to pass. The Second Nature pellets maintain their integrity and swell to MANY times their original size!!! When I saw how they responded to getting wet, I NEVER bought them again! They scared me to BITS!!!
> 
> And yes, I don't know if you saw my answer in your other thread, but the answer to this problem is pretty easy! ...A grated potty tray with the litter underneath!
> 
> Finally, poop eating is just a "dog thing"... not specific to either Havanese or Pomeranians. Any breed can do it. The trick to prevent it becoming a habit is to limit access to poop, as you have been, by picking it up as soon as possible!


We're picking up some pine pellets tonight at Tractor Supply when my husband has a minute to do so. Fortunately, only 1 mile down the road from us. Hope to make a homemade grate (



) in the next couple days. I did see your answer as well. Has your pup been good about going on a flat grate like that with no sides? I worry about leg lifting at some point. I also have 2 cats (Ragdolls) and worry about them getting into each other's litter/poop....but that is a problem for another day a few months away I think.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavaMom1 said:


> Thank you Eva. This is a video I saw before getting Milo. I bought the items to make it and plan to do so in the next day or two.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm hoping it will work! I wish I could find a decently larger one with a grate, but the only one I found is not sold any longer. So, I guess I will have to DIY.



If you don't want to do all that work, these are the trays I've been using. They work great, and have plenty of room for a layer of pellets under the tray:









Amazon.com: Pet Awesome Dog Potty Tray / Puppy Pee Pad Holder 25”x20” Indoor Wee Training for Small and Medium Dogs : Pet Supplies


Amazon.com: Pet Awesome Dog Potty Tray / Puppy Pee Pad Holder 25”x20” Indoor Wee Training for Small and Medium Dogs : Pet Supplies



smile.amazon.com





They are flat enough that if you feel like you need a REALLY BIG area (as I did for the litter in their pen) you can butt two against each other, with a large sized pee pad underneath (just in case he hits the crack) and they have a HUGE area to go on!


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## HavaMom1 (Jul 27, 2021)

krandall said:


> If you don't want to do all that work, these are the trays I've been using. They work great, and have plenty of room for a layer of pellets under the tray:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I worry about no sides as he gets older. Do you have problems with that with a boy dog lifting his leg or missing the middle? I had seen these a few times on Amazon and wondered....glad to hear from someone who uses them!!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Walls on the potty tray won’t make a difference with regard to training him to use the litter box, if that’s what you mean. He’ll learn to understand the boundary of the box/tray either way, and any accidents will need to be addressed directly and won’t be solved by the walls. If your concern is splashing, I think it’s a problem with a small number of puppies but not as common as we think if the tray is big enough - we just hear about it more when they have a more messy style! Just don’t get one with a weird marking stick in the middle, lol. I wouldn’t stress about whether it has sides unless you actually have one of those messy puppies, because playing with the pellets is a more immediate concern. A flat grated tray could be placed on top of something like a splat mat or a piece of sheet vinyl (or nested inside your current tray with walls that doesn’t have a grate), but you’re probably already doing something to protect the floor.

I bought a potty tray with sides because it needed to go in a carpeted area. I intended to lay something under it but he used it too fast! I checked with a flashlight for splashing and there wasn’t a drop. This was after he figured out our downstairs potty tray, though. Mine did go through a marking stage but he didn’t raise his leg, and it didn’t make a difference with potty training (except that I didn’t realize what was happening at first).

Anyway, my suggestion is to cover the pellets, regardless of the style of the litter box. Someone on the forum made the box you linked before and posted a follow up on how it worked but I don’t remember what they said. I had success mixing and matching and DIYing a 3rd potty tray for my basement at one point but it wasnt used long. Unless you live in an apartment, there’s a good chance two would be useful, especially if you have a two story house. If you end up with extras, you’ll probably still find use for it in a secondary location.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavaMom1 said:


> I worry about no sides as he gets older. Do you have problems with that with a boy dog lifting his leg or missing the middle? I had seen these a few times on Amazon and wondered....glad to hear from someone who uses them!!


Kodi never lifts his leg in the house. For that matter, he ONLY lifts his leg to mark, not to pee, even if he’s outdoors. So it would never be an issue on a litter tray. In fact, Kodi, who is on the large side for a Havanese, is pretty funny. Of course he is older, and experienced, but if the tray is on the small side, he will move around and carefully “position” himself so that he doesn’t miss! LOL! Ducky has not yet lifted hisleg indoors either. So I guess, for me, it hasn’t been an issue.


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## Mando's Mommy (Dec 8, 2020)

krandall said:


> Kodi never lifts his leg in the house. For that matter, he ONLY lifts his leg to mark, not to pee, even if he’s outdoors. So it would never be an issue on a litter tray. In fact, Kodi, who is on the large side for a Havanese, is pretty funny. Of course he is older, and experienced, but if the tray is on the small side, he will move around and carefully “position” himself so that he doesn’t miss! LOL! Ducky has not yet lifted hisleg indoors either. So I guess, for me, it hasn’t been an issue.


Can Kodi please give Mando the memo? 😂 Mando is one of the “messy puppies,” raises his leg to potty and on the bigger side so he still “misses” from time to time.


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## HavaMom1 (Jul 27, 2021)

HavaMom1 said:


> I worry about no sides as he gets older. Do you have problems with that with a boy dog lifting his leg or missing the middle? I had seen these a few times on Amazon and wondered....glad to hear from someone who uses them!!


I ordered one that should be here tomorrow to try out. We'll see how it goes.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Mando's Mommy said:


> Can Kodi please give Mando the memo? 😂 Mando is one of the “messy puppies,” raises his leg to potty and on the bigger side so he still “misses” from time to time.


We also have one of these. I don't like it quite as much because it holds less pellets. But is DOES have a high side. I tossed that, because we don't use it. But you could...









Amazon.com : HIPIPET Puppy Dog Potty Tray 23.2''X17.8''X1.9 Puppy Pad Holder with Removable Post and Wall Cover for Cats and Dogs Toilet (Orange) : Pet Supplies


Amazon.com : HIPIPET Puppy Dog Potty Tray 23.2''X17.8''X1.9 Puppy Pad Holder with Removable Post and Wall Cover for Cats and Dogs Toilet (Orange) : Pet Supplies



smile.amazon.com


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