# Pee pads in the crate at night? (12 weeks old)



## jacf29

We are getting our Maltese puppy tomorrow. The breeder uses a pee pad in the crate at night and tells us that this is ok to do. My husband's concern is that it will be harder to convert the puppy to going to the bathroom outside when it gets older. However, I think that since the pee pad is only in the crate at night, as soon as the puppy's bladder reaches maturity, it won't have a need to pee in the middle of the night when we eventually get rid of the crate.

Oh also, to stress the breeder only suggested using this pee pad at night in the crate while we are sleeping, and letting the dog outside normally during the day etc.

Any thoughts?


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## Leila'sMommy

Personally, I wouldn't. At three months, Leila didn't have the pee pad in her crate and she did fine. I was afraid I would be starting a bad habit or confuse her if I put one in it. Congratulations on becoming a new malt mommy soon! Please share pics!


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## italianna82

That isn't the greatest idea, IMHO. Puppies like to go in the same place EVERY time. It's the best way to get them trained. If the pad is in her crate, she's going to think THAT is her potty area.
Also, puppies won't 'go' where they sleep, so if she's sleeping in her crate, she won't wake up, poop and go back to sleep. She needs to have a set place to go and her crate should not be it. 
*I* am training Gucci to go on her pee pad AND outside. When I'm not home, she's in a containment pen with a grass pad and uses that. But, when I'm home, she goes outside. She's 5 months and has done pretty well, for the most part. Of course she's had accidents, but very few. 
I would say keep the pee pad in ONE place and if she needs to go at night, she'll let you know.


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## Ladysmom

Bailey had a pad in his pen when he came home at 12 weeks. It worked great for us as he would use it a couple of times in the night by himself so I didn't have to get up every couple of hours to let him out. As his bladder matured, the spots on the pad were fewer in the morning. By about 5-6 months the pads were dry in the morning so I removed it. 

Bailey was 100% housetrained by four months so it wasn't an issue for us. He potties on a pad or outside with no confusion. He was also basically paper training when he came home at 12 weeks so it was just a matter of reinforcing it in a new environment. 

I do recommend if you plan on using a pad at night to use a pen, not a crate, where there is plenty of room for a separate sleeping and potty area. Crate training is totally different. You don't want the puppy to eliminate in her crate and you must take her out on a schedule. Chrisman has a good crate training schedule on their website.

Maltese housebreaking schedule


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## pippersmom

We got Pipper at 10 weeks and trained him to go outdoors right from the beginning. He sleeps in a crate and would whine and let us know when he needed out overnight because as others stated, they don't like to go in their sleeping area. Just make sure the crate is only big enough for the puppy to stretch out in and not too big where they feel they can pee in it too. After a short period of time (can't remember how long ) his bladder could hold it all night.


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## italianna82

Gucci is only 5 months and she has been holding it all night (knock on wood). She's been doing it for about a month now (give or take a few accidents)


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## jacf29

Thanks everyone. Just one more question rather than make another topic I'll ask it here. We were thinking of bringing the crate in our room when we are sleeping at night, rather than having it downstairs.

Is this a good idea? Other than at night, we don't want the dog upstairs.


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## pippersmom

We always moved Pippers crate to our room at night. Just recently I bought a second crate to leave in our room so I don't have to keep moving the original one all the time. Clumsy me, I kept banging into the walls with it.


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## Leila'sMommy

I realized the first week I got Leila that if I put her crate on the bed with me, near my pillow in the middle of the bed, where she can see me when she wakes up, she didn't cry at night unless she had to go to the bathroom. The first couple of nights, she did wake up once or twice and I reached my finger in and rubbed her head. She went straight back to sleep. She's been sleeping in a crate on the bed like that ever since and rarely wakes up during the night. Actually, whenever I wake up she's just laying there quietly and awake looking at me so sweet. It's a nice way for me to wake up and see that sweet face first thing in the morning. I do use a soft crate on the bed though. 


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## Daisy's Mommie

*Pee pads vs going outside*



jacf29 said:


> We are getting our Maltese puppy tomorrow. The breeder uses a pee pad in the crate at night and tells us that this is ok to do. My husband's concern is that it will be harder to convert the puppy to going to the bathroom outside when it gets older. However, I think that since the pee pad is only in the crate at night, as soon as the puppy's bladder reaches maturity, it won't have a need to pee in the middle of the night when we eventually get rid of the crate.
> 
> Oh also, to stress the breeder only suggested using this pee pad at night in the crate while we are sleeping, and letting the dog outside normally during the day etc.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Daisy, Zoey and Laci have ALWAYS used potty pads. Their little feet have never touched grass. When we go outside, they are carried. I don't trust the environment enough to let my babies outside. We have predators in the woods on 3 sides of our home, hawks in the air, they can get heart worms, FLEAS and other issues. I am not saying that you should not take your furbabies outside, that is just our personal choice. Life is so much easier with a potty pad. We put one out (behind a recliner) and that is where they go. A good shake over the commode to get rid of the solids and wad up the pad and throw it away. Put a clean one down and you are good to go. Not to mention, you don't have to bundle them up (and yourself) to go outside in the rain, snow and any other undersirabe weather. I love the convenience of having them and I don't have to worry about them getting snatched up and me not being able to do anything to stop them.


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## Daisy's Mommie

Daisy's Mommie said:


> Daisy, Zoey and Laci have ALWAYS used potty pads. Their little feet have never touched grass. When we go outside, they are carried. I don't trust the environment enough to let my babies outside. We have predators in the woods on 3 sides of our home, hawks in the air, they can get heart worms, FLEAS and other issues. I am not saying that you should not take your furbabies outside, that is just our personal choice. Life is so much easier with a potty pad. We put one out (behind a recliner) and that is where they go. A good shake over the commode to get rid of the solids and wad up the pad and throw it away. Put a clean one down and you are good to go. Not to mention, you don't have to bundle them up (and yourself) to go outside in the rain, snow and any other undersirabe weather. I love the convenience of having them and I don't have to worry about them getting snatched up and me not being able to do anything to stop them.


I got Daisy when she was 6 months old. She has slept with us every night since. My hubby fixed the bed frame so it is low to the ground-there went the storage space-and Daisy (and both of the other babies + 2 or 3 cats) can get out of bed, go use the potty pad and get back in the bed. Daisy sleeps right beside me with her little back right up against me. She takes up her 3/4 of the bed though!!! I love to wake up in the a.m. and watch her sleep. Talk about an angel!!! Precious, Precious, Precious!!!


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## AshleyAndSophiePup

Sophie never, not once, cried to go potty in the middle of the night. We put her grass pee pad by the back door so it would be easier to transition and during the day she used it fine with a few small accidents, now at almost 5 months were transitioning from inside to outside. On the snow or rainy days we put her grass pad out on the back porch, so that's an option that we still occasionally use, but she hasn't had any accidents in a couple weeks now. Personally I didn't like the disposable pad. My parents used them for their dogs and they had a really hard time transitioning them, especially since it looked like the tile on their kitchen floor. The only time I tried using disposable pads was at the airport and she refused to use them because they look like the floor and she knew not to potty on the floor, so she decided to hold it until she could go on some grass.

Sophie crate is, always has been, always will be on the floor on my side of the bed. She won't ever sleep on the bed with us, not because I don't think it's okay, but because it's not safe for her, our bed is at least 3.5 feet off the ground, and my BF is a rowdy sleeper, it's just not safe for her. So she has a wire create with a soft bed inside, that's where she's always slept. I keep the crate open all the time so she knows it's not us putting her away, it's a safe place for her.


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