My guess is that you started when the puppies were too old.
I cover the bottom of a 3' x 3' puppy pen with 7 squares of dri-deck tile
and cover the other 2 square feet (farthest away from food and bed) with
newspaper. At 3-4 weeks, the pups will go to that corner and use the
newspaper. In a day or two, I move the soiled newspaper into a litter box
(so that the right "smell" is in the box) and cover it with a shallow layer
of litter. Once they start using the litter box and get it "scented", I
remove the paper. I really did not have much trouble with them playing with
the litter.. maybe because I started them so young? They have plenty of
other toys, too. I have another 4-5 week-old litter of toy breed pups right
now, and they also caught on to the litter box within a day or two. I think
the Purina litter smells a little like grass, so I really don't have much
trouble getting them to use the yard if I let them out often enough...it
seems pretty instinctual. It is probably not necessary to have the litter
box if you are able to let them outside every 2-3 hours after they are 5
weeks old. But sometimes letting them out that often is not practical,
either because of our schedules or the weather, and that's when a litter box
is a convenient amenity.
It is not 100% foolproof, but at least it keeps the "play" section of their
pen free of solid waste, and keeps them from tromping in it. The dam will
still clean the waste out of the litter box if I don't get to it first.
Leanne
----- Original Message -----
> How do you train puppies to leave the litter box alone? I tried a litter
> box last year. The second I put that box in the puppy pen, the puppies
> immediately set out to empty the litter out of the box.
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