Potty Lessons with Puppy Training Pads

When I hear about Puppy Training Pads, my head goes into this state of cloudy confusion. Asia is the same way. We’re both like “Why would you use Training Pads to potty train your puppy?” We’re so pro crate training before anything else or basic old school methods that don’t require pads or papers.

Granted, one of the first dogs I helped raise (a beautiful baby golden-cocker mix) was trained with papers. So I’ve been there, done that and at the time thought it was a great idea. I was 17 years old and didn’t know a whole lot about proper dog potty training in the first place.

Before I go any further, let me make it clear that I am not bagging on anyone that uses dog training pads. Diggin’ into the matter, I’ve learned that there are many (and I mean many) good folks that live and abide by dog training pads. On the flipside there are many that are thoroughly against them.

Let just say Asia and I are not entirely FOR them. If fact we’re VERY NOT FOR them. Before I get into why, here’s how you can housebreak your puppy with training pads should you choose to use them:

Get Puppy Training Pads

You can find dog training pads just about anywhere, including online. Shop around, there are value packs and special pricing available that will really save you a ton of money if you decide to train with them. The amount of pads per pack vary a great deal depending on brands and quality but each pack will generally cost anywhere from $10-$30.

You’re ideally going to look for pads that are premium enough to have no leakage since that’s the general concern. Ask around and read online reviews for official leak feedback. I’ve also heard of folks putting pads in trays or litter style boxes for zero leakage control.

The other key advantage of store bought training pads is that they are scented with chemicals that attracts and entices the puppy to use them. If a specific brand doesn’t work well, you can try switching to something else as it can make a difference to your puppy.

In fact, the thought of how many of these scented training pads end up in landfills makes me feel that newspapers and flyers might be a solid alternative. Though leakage will definitely be an issue and making sure the surface underneath the paper is thoroughly cleaned with no scented trace will be essential. Another economical & green choice would be to use reusable pads.

You can start as soon as the puppy enters your home. Dog training pads are not intended for older dogs unless they’re really old or dealing with health issues.

Using Puppy Training Pads

1. Place the training pad in a suitable location. Once you decide on a spot, don’t change it. You don’t want to confuse the puppy.

2. Look for signs when your puppy is ready to unload. Pacing, whining and sniffing are good indicators. Take your dog and place him on the pad. If he moves off the pad, carefully replace him and kindly encourage that he goes. Which, if timed right, will usually happen. A puppy will go 10 times a day easy. General rule is months versus hours. So 3 months old, about every 3 hours and so on. Any dog after puppyhood needs to get out 3-4 times a day.

3. As soon he does his business, give praise with a soft but fun voice. Toss a treat if you like as well. Anything to enforce the behavior. Your puppy wants to please you. Letting him know very clearly that you are a happy pack leader goes a long way. Even a burst of fun one minute play can work wonders. Celebrate it.

4. Keep in mind that you should never scold or punish the dog for not doing what you want him to do. If your dog makes a mess off the pad when you aren’t present or aware, do not punish the dog. This will only confuse your puppy and be counter-productive. Unless you catch the action as it happens, the dog has no idea why you’re correcting them.

AGAIN – Always praise for doing the right thing and never blame if they don’t. Patience and understanding is key.

5. When your little buddy is repeating the process and understanding that the pad is the place to go then move the pad closer to your front door or main exit.

6. At this point it might also be a good time to associate a word to the action. Use a phrase like “go potty” or “peepoo” or “do your business” keep it simple and don’t change it.

7. You then want to place a pad outside your home and open your door next time the puppy needs to go. Let him choose to go in or out as long as it goes on the pad praise and treat.

8. Starting to make sense? Once your puppy is getting it right you eliminate the inside pad and keep the outside pad and then eventually eliminate the outdoor pad.

NOTE – Moderating food and water during the training process really helps anticipate the timing. So does proper exercise. It’s also common to setup a pen or limited area where you keep an open crate and a pad at close proximity so you narrow your puppy’s options. I found this great video on YouTube illustrating what I mean.

DOUBLE NOTE – If your puppy plays or is excited, it’s normal for him to let a little out, don’t get mad or upset, clean it up and let it be. This won’t slow down your potty training process. In fact, if it’s been a couple of hours, have them do their business before a play session and then again after, to stay on top of the situation.

The learning process should not take more than a few weeks and if it’s done right, in fact if any potty training is done right, you should have a trained puppy by 3-4 months old if you started at 8 weeks old. When you clearly communicate and train with patience, training pads or not, a few solid weeks is all it takes. There will be accidents. Just clean them up and keep focusing on the final result. Trust me, you will get there.

Once there, especially if you did it with training pads, you might run into some little bumps and here’s why:

My Two Cents on Dog Training Pads

Now that I’ve covered how you can use puppy-training pads, here’s why we don’t think it’s the best idea. I’ve read and heard of many instances where, after the puppy has learned to go outside with the use of pads or papers, the dog might at any moment start doing his business in your home. Not always, but often enough. That’s when things can get a little complicated and frustrating.

Asia and I believe in crate training and essentially never letting your dog do business in your home under any circumstance. We will be covering crate training tactics in a future post but the process works and works very well. The dog gets it pretty quick and never learns that it’s acceptable to do his numbers in the house, training pads, newspapers or not.

The best way to train your puppy is through prevention. One thing a crate will do that dog training pads won’t is teach your dog to HOLD IT. With time, puppy will get even better at holding it. This is the essential part of potty training. You don’t want your dog to learn that they can go whenever they please, however they please, as many times as they like. Crate training helps cultivate bladder control which essentially gets your dog on track faster and with less future problems.

Crate training isn’t entirely easy either and requires proper instruction and diligence. We will definitely do a dedicated post on the topic as it also has other lifelong benefits. In the meantime do your own research. Ask a friend or a trainer about training your puppy with a crate.

We’re fortunate to have very flexible schedules and work mostly from home. This enabled us to keep a close eye on Halle and get her potty and crate trained within a few weeks. We’re also really proud of not only us but of Halle for getting on track as quick as she did (her keyword is “Business” by the way). Mind you, we did rounds every two or three hours in the first week or two (including in the middle of the night) to make sure she didn’t go inside. We understand that everyone doesn’t have the luxury of time or scheduling on their side.

Scenarios

- If you’re a busy person or don’t have time to potty train consider adopting an older dog that is housebroken. You can help a dog and have a new best friend without potty headaches.

- If you work long hours and don’t have time to potty train, consider getting your puppy when you have a vacation or extended down time from work. Asia calls it a “puppycation”.

- If you work all day and can’t get home for lunch, ask a friend, dog sitter, dog walker, family or anyone, to take the dog out once or twice during the day.

- Doggy day care is an option though your puppy will probably not have all his shots so keep that in mind and also ask around before you leave your dog anywhere. We have heard of many doggy daycare horror stories (future post brewing).

The thing is bringing a puppy into your home should never be an impulse move. You have to consider the above and have a game plan. The first months are crucial in the healthy physical and psychological development of your dog.

When to use Dog Training Pads

Training pads for your dog can definitely serve a purpose. If your dog is old or needs special care, training pads might be the best option. It’s common for toy dog owners to use pads. Small dogs like Chihuahuas can get really cold in some climates and require the use of dog training pads to do their business. Though I personally think most dogs are capable of getting out in any weather, even for 2 minutes, to take care of their business. If your dog gets too cold too quick in the winter months, get them hooked up with booties and a coat and keep the outing short.

The only other time I can rationalize the use of pads is if you truly have no other options at your disposal – which I can say would be 1% of the time if you’ve truly done your homework, considered the above and planned for responsible dog ownership.

If you’ve always used them and feel they’re the way to go when it comes to dog potty training and you’ve had much success with them. Who am I to argue?

If you’re a dog training pad advocate, I probably won’t be able to convince you not to use them. If you’re thinking about using puppy training pads, now you know how and what to consider.

Best of luck with all your puppy potty training efforts. Be patient, put in the effort and your dog will be take care of business outside in no time. Hope this article has helped put things into perspective, I really enjoyed working on it.

If you’ve used puppy training pads, like them or dislike them please leave a comment. We want to hear your experiences.

Tagged as: dog potty training, dog training pads, puppy potty training, puppy training pads, training pads