Indoor potty training is the way to go if you have a
Dachshund puppy. This is true for Miniature Dachshund puppies as well
as for those of the standard variety. I love Dachshunds in general but
am partial to the Miniature Dachshund. This article also applies to
adult dachshunds but the focus is on the puppies.

Indoor training
will spare you some of the unpleasantries of having a Dachshund that
must go outside. Who wants to get up at 5 AM in the morning, when it is
rainy or cold or, when you are watching a great movie? It is also
better on the Dachshund\'s bowels and bladder if they can go potty
anytime they want. By the way, indoor potty training can be initiated
for a Dachshund at any age. It is better, however, to start their
training sooner rather than later.

Start the potty training as
soon as possible once you get your new best friend home. Dachshund
puppies are quite small so even if they do make a mess it is no big
deal. However, having them make a mess on a hard floor is preferable as
it is much easier to clean than if they go on carpet. For the first few
days you have your Doxie at home, I suggest you have them mostly
contained to a room with a hard floor...like in a 2nd bathroom or
laundry room. The space should not be too small but also not too big.

I
suggest not shutting them in their space by closing the door. Instead,
gate them in the room. Leave the door to the room open but invest in
some kind of child or pet gate that stretches across the door so they
cannot get out. You control the gate so they get out when you want them
out and they are gated in when you want them in. This is better as the
doxie will not feel shut off from the world (as with a closed door) and
you can easily look in upon them anytime you wish. This gate will come
in handy for the lifetime of your pet; you will be very glad you
purchased one.

Don\'t worry, you can get your puppy out to play
and can go into their area to spend as much time with them as you wish.
I suggest having some Nature\'s Miracle around when a mess on the carpet
(it will happen) does occur. You will be amazed at the power and
efficiency of this product.

Place everything your Dachshund puppy
needs in the contained area i.e. their kennel/bed, food and, potty. If
you are lucky, the breeder had already initiated their paper training
which will make it easier for you and your new puppy. Start their
training off on some newspaper. When they make a mess on the floor put
a little of the pee or poop between a few pieces of newspaper. They
will smell this and will begin to associate this as the place for them
to do their business. Keep the top of the paper dry and clean. Remove
the used paper as soon as possible or simply place more paper on top of
it and then after awhile, throw it all away and start anew. Some people
utilize wee wee pads but I never did.

If you are playing with
your puppy some distance away from the primary potty you can always
place some newspaper where you are...just in case. I did this when
Charlie was a puppy and it worked well. As they get older they need to
rely solely on the primary potty area.

Chastise your Dachshund
puppy immediately when they don\'t perform well; they will feel the
disappointment in your voice. Making an unpleasant noise in general
works well in this regard. For example, the moment you see the naughty
weiner going somewhere they are not supposed to raise your voice a bit
towards them, clap your hands, gently shake a can with coins in it,
etc. Squirting a doxie with water works wonders also. A spray bottle
like the ones people spray plants with is perfect for this purpose.
Make sure the bottle is clean and that there is no chemical residue on
the inside. Dachshunds hate getting squirted with water so this is a
great way to deter them from unwanted behaviors. Squirt them don\'t
spray them. Do not give the weiner dog praise or a treat when they
perform poorly.

Please never yell or scream at your Doxie as they
are incredibly sensitive and will be very hurt. If you do you will see
how crestfallen they are and you will feel guilty. Your Dachshund very
much wants to please you!

Just keep working with them and your
Dachshund puppy (or puppies) will soon get it right. When they do get
it right praise them and give them a treat. Your puppy will be so
happy! It won\'t be long until they start getting it right most of the
time! You will develop your own little system as times goes by.

One
purpose of this article is to spare you some of the mistakes I\'ve made
over the years. My Mini Dachshund (Charlie) is almost 12 years old and
I have experimented with several indoor potty techniques over the
years. I started off with newspaper (paper training) but as your
Dachshund grows, you will tire of them stepping in their own urine,
transferring urine or, having the urine drain off the newspaper onto
the floor.

Dachshunds have a quirk where if their front paws are
on the paper they think their entire body is on the paper. This results
in alot of near misses. Improvement was made when I placed a plastic
hallway runner under the newspaper. At some point, I then purchased a
large litter box and then placed newspaper in that and a hallway runner
under the litter box.

You will so love your Dachshund that messes
won\'t matter much. However, as years go by, the messes have a way of
growing on you. Once Charlie got into his 10th year or so, I started to
get quite tired of dealing with the messes. It is a labor of love
however and unavoidable.

Just recently, I discovered and
purchased a Wizdog indoor potty system. How I wish I had discovered
this years ago! Wizdog consists of a large plastic pan with a separate
plastic grate on top. You place newspaper in the bottom of the device.
The dog does it\'s business on top of the grate and the urine falls into
the tray below. No more wet footprints or urine on the floor. The poop
is easy to clean off the top of the grate. This is so much better than
the intermediate steps I went through over the years. Charlie has taken
to this upgrade well-messes on or transferred to the floor have
decreased dramatically. I\'m happier now too as the messes are more
contained and much easier to clean up.

Underneath Wizdog is a
\"round circle thing\" in every corner which helps it stay in place on
the floor. So, I have had no problem with the device sliding around
when Charlie is on top of it. In addition to having newspaper in the
bottom to soak up urine I also put some newspaper on top. I fold a
newspaper page in half and place it on the far end of the Wizdog. When
Charlie approaches, he puts his front feet on the newspaper and then is
far enough forward that his pee falls thru the grate and onto the
newspaper below. Having some newspaper on top is a kind of a \"hybrid
approach\" I use. Charlie was use to being on newspaper so this method
has worked well for us. The grate on the top of Wizdog did feel a bit
funny to Charlie at first but he quickly got use to it.

In
summary, for indoor potty training of your Dachshund puppy, start off
with paper training. Then, soon integrate your setup and system with a
Wizdog. You\'ll be glad you did-trust me! This will allow you to skip
all the intermediate steps I experimented, utilized (and suffered with)
over the years.

Please feel free to contact me if any questions arise.

Sincerely, Bob Smithson

Friend of Dachshunds Everywhere