Do "wee wee pads" work well for puppies?

Question

If I keep my new puppy in a room with a baby gate and wee-wee pads down (in case she can't hold it for 4 hours when I'm at work), won't she always think that room is OK to pee in? I mean once she's older and can hold it and I take the pads away, will she think "oh it's ok to pee in the house because I used to do it"?

Answer 1

'Wee wee pads' are alright, but 'crating' is better. Dogs are instinctively den dwellers so if you get a wire dog crate and put a sheet over it your puppy will feel safe & secure in it while you're gone.

Leave some good chew toys with her, but no water - she'll be fine for 4 hours without it & it would only make her need to pee. Dogs do not want to 'eliminate' (poo/pee) where they sleep, so she'll want to hold it until she gets out. *As soon as you let her out* take her outside to a designated area where you won't mind her eliminating over & over again (n.b. her urine will likely kill patches of grass over time). She will quickly recognize this area as her bathroom.

Some people think that crating a dog is cruel, but wild dogs leave their pups in a den while out foraging/hunting & your pup will not feel anymore stressed being left crated than locked in a room. If anything, she will likely feel more protected and safe - like hidden in a den - than left exposed in an open room.

Bonus: If you start young, while she's eliminating - don't wait 'til she's finished - say something repeatedly like "bathroom" and over time she will accept it as a prompt to go to eliminate.

If you don't feel comfortable about this, please contact your local humane society for a second opinion. (i used to work for one)

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

She will get the idea once the pads are gone. My grandmother used to do it with paper when I was a kid. She would block of the kitchen and line it wall to wall with newspaper. Every other day she would pull back the paper till the puppy had just a small area to use. She would then take the soiled paper and put it in the yard or the street so that the dog could figure it out. It still works.

An afterthought, my Pug which was crate trained by my brother (this was before he came to live with me) will sleep on a soiled "wee-wee" pad. The statement that a dog won't go where he sleeps in not necessarily true. If they are left in a crate long enough they get used to it and will just move to the other side.

I belive my old grandmothers way was the best.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

If you start using the puppy training pads, there is always a possibility that it confuses the dog. IF that's the method you decide to use, bear in mind you might be stuck with it for the dog's lifetime. Some dogs just DON'T get it, and continue to use the pads in the house well past the time they should be able to hold it. (Hey, imagine cleaning Mastiff pee off a newspaper or wee wee pad... not pretty, right?)

I do recommend a crate, as it does remind dogs of the den. Some dogs DO eliminate in the crate, and those are the dogs whose crates are too big. Talk with any store employee at a pet supply store and they will back this up: the dog should have only enough room to stand up, and turn around in the crate. Period. Any bigger and they do slide to one side to eliminate, leaving big messes for you to clean up.

Do not leave your puppy outside for four hours - there's too much that can go wrong from the puppy getting out to another bigger dog sneaking in and hurting your puppy and the like. Tying is not recommended either, it's too easy for a young dog to strangle himself, or tie himself up on an object and be unable to get to water and/or shelter from the sun. IF the dog HAS to be outside, make sure he's safe from predators (i.e. the big fence jumping rottweiler from across the street or hawks) has access to shelter and water that won't tip over.

Answer 5

I have not had any luck with those "wee wee pads". I use to leave the puppy in the bathroom while I was gone but I didn't use a pad. Most of the time they would make it, if not it was easy enough to clean up. Basically you are talking about paper training the puppy if you use those pads. If you want them to go outside it would be better to fence off a small area outside if possible. You can buy rabbit fencing that is cheap and easy to use. Also most trainers suggest crate training puppies which also help with discipline, they are less likely to go in where they sleep.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

I have heard a lot of people say that dogs will think it's ago but for decades dogs have been trained with newspaper (which works just as well ana a bit cheaper. I suggest you slowly move the pads to the door and when he is ready to go outside move the papers outside, and remove from the house.

Answer 8

It depends on the breed of dog. I used those pads to train my dachsund and it worked really well. Small dogs have difficulty more than larger dogs according to some vets. I placed the pad in the hallway and he knew that was the only designated place in the house that he could go when we were gone. As he got older, he didn't need them as much. But when I was not home he had his area to go to and it worked well for us. But basically it just depends on what your comfortable with. Good luck

Answer 9

That's always a possibility. I would recommend crating. Some people think it's cruel, but my dogs have always looked at their crate as their den. They'll go in there to get away from things and they have never urinated in them out of instinct to keep their den clean.

Answer 10

So..
You should definitely attend a dog training course if you want to stop these unwanted behaviours. A good one I found online is http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=572

It's really well made (it has a lot of videos), simple and effective. I recommend it.
Have a nice day