# Paper training vs housebreaking



## garrettsmom (May 15, 2006)

I'll be gettin my Malt in May and I'm begining to decide which method of potty training will work best for both the dog and our family. Originally I decided it would be OUTDOORS only; however, the more of this forum I read, I see pee pads placed in the corner of the ex pen works very nicely and prevents problems like getting home too late from shopping/ work etc etc. Also, I don;'t have a fenced yard but do have a covered front porch and open deck. Taking out a puppy to do his business at the frequency with which puppies require, sounds pretty time consuming with applying he harness and leash attachment each time.

Therefore, I decided pads would work better. THEN, I read you if your dog is pad trained, you might have difficulty getting him to ever go outside; ie, he maybe hold it during a walk and wait until he got home to pee/defecate. I was hoping to train a dog who could use pads at home, but also be able to go outside if the conditions are right. Would something like this confuse the puppy? Do I need to stick to one or the other?

Also, can someone give me an estimate of how often a puppy needs to be brought outside to pee during the 3-6 mth stage vs the 6-1 yr stage, and then beyond that? If eventually they can hold it a good 4-5 hrs, then maybe I will suck it up and do outdoor training from the beginning.

Sorry this is so long but its so new to me and I could use all the advice tips/suggestions I can get.

Thanks!
Janet


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

Welcome and congrats on your new soon to be puppy! I don't want to think of May because that means I will be 30!














Anywhoo...It's so cold out that I'm starting Kosmo on pads. I have one by the patio door and one in his x-pen. I plan on taking him outside once it warms up. I will then train him for outside when we are home and plan to keep going with the pads in his x-pen for when we're not home during the day. These dogs can't control their bladder until around 6 months old, so, you should take them potty and time after they eat, play, nap, pretty much after any kind of activity







They really go lots when they are teeny and be ready to see a few accident on the carpet-they can't hold it and will sometimes go right where they are!


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

My Abbey uses her pee pee pads indoors and goes outside too







. 
Where Archie only goes outside - too bad for him when it's raining or snowing - but it was his choice.









I think if you can get the pup trained to use the peepee pad - he/she can also learn to go outside - particuarly with the help of another dog - if the puppy can see another dog going outside and smell it - that usually does the trick. 

Good luck - bet you can't wait to get your baby!!!


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## coco (Sep 20, 2006)

> Welcome and congrats on your new soon to be puppy! I don't want to think of May because that means I will be 30!
> 
> LOL! I don't want to think of May because my BABY will be 29.
> 
> ...


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

I started Bella out on the potty pads. After about two months we started to go outside first thing in the morning. I guess instinct just kicked in with her because she never hesitated to go outside. I think she'd prefer to go out all the time but I just can't deal with the critters that come in on her. It's definitely a plus when they know how to go on both. It comes in handy when we're out shopping or on road trips and don't have a potty pad handy.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> I started Bella out on the potty pads. After about two months we started to go outside first thing in the morning. I guess instinct just kicked in with her because she never hesitated to go outside. I think she'd prefer to go out all the time but I just can't deal with the critters that come in on her. It's definitely a plus when they know how to go on both. It comes in handy when we're out shopping or on road trips and don't have a potty pad handy.[/B]


A puppy 3-6 months will have to "go" every 45 min to an hour/hour and a half. Ollie is almost 6 months now and he goes about every 2-3 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. And I'm talking pee--he poops maybe twice per day.

Where are you getting your pup from? I got Ollie at 12 weeks from a breeder who trained him to do both, basically. So from day 1 here he knew how to go on the pads (I just had to keep directing him until he remembered, only took a day, if that) and it only took him about a day to figure out the back door meant outside to poop/pee and I hung some bells there and he rings them to go outside. He picked all this up in the first 1 to 2 days! Of course it took several weeks for him to "perfect" it, which is normal.

He definitely prefers outside to inside. I'm home almost all day so it's not a problem. But I like having a pad inside his pen because he is still a puppy and there are times, like you said, where I'm gone 2-3 (or a bit more) hours and he just can't hold it anymore so he goes on the pad. But then like today I was gone for 3 hours and the pad was dry. I'm guessing that in the next several months he won't really NEED the pad during the day--he doesn't need it at all all night long so I know he can hold it...

Good luck!!!!!!!!


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

I "TRY" to have mine pad trained 1st. Then put outside if they want, I just open the door. But mostly they like to go inside, I guess that's better so I can sleep in







but the pad thing is quite time and $ consuming. You could consider putting it by the door then eliminating the pad later if that is what you prefer. Don'tknow if this will work for your dog, they all seem to train us.


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

I tried to pad train Boo because it was winter, but he never seemed to quite "get it". I tried for about 6 weeks, then decided to try outdoor potty training after he had gotten all his shots. He "got it" very quickly & was soon scratching on the door when he needed to go out. Now he would rather burst his bladder than pee or poo inside. Hannah was already pad trained when we adopted her at 5 yrs old. She would rather burst her bladder than pee or poo outside. I prefer the outdoor potty, so when it warms up, I'm going to try to train Hannah to use both pads & go outside. I think it's good if you can manage to train your puppy to do both.


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## lulu813 (Jan 3, 2007)

Congrats on your new puppy! I got Lulu at about 10 weeks old. From then till about 4 months old, she would go on her pee pad when she's in her pen or sometimes when she just can't hold it long enough for me to get to the door (I leave one by the door). She's about 6 1/2 months now, a month ago I decided I wanted her to go outside only. I live in a condo with front patio so no grass just concrete so I use the pee pad for outside too but she does go when we go on our walks. 

At 3-5 months she would go about every 45min - 2 hours. Now 2-5 hours in the evening when she's out of her pen. She was able to hold it thru the night and during the day when I'm at work at 4 months. I take her outside first thing in the morning and when I get home from work. Other times she'll let me know by ringing the pouch bells when she needs to go. I think pee pads do get a little pricey in the first couple months but now I use 1 or 2 day at the most so a pack of 80 for $20 would last me a good 2 months which is not so bad at all


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## garrettsmom (May 15, 2006)

Thanks for all your replies. I just got an email from my breeder. Hubby will be flying to pick her up April 28th! I'm nervous but excited! Btw, where's the best/cheapest place you purchase your pee pads-someone mentioned Kmart already but I don't have one near me.

thanks again!
Janet


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## patsan (Mar 2, 2006)

> Thanks for all your replies. I just got an email from my breeder. Hubby will be flying to pick her up April 28th! I'm nervous but excited! Btw, where's the best/cheapest place you purchase your pee pads-someone mentioned Kmart already but I don't have one near me.
> 
> thanks again!
> Janet[/B]


Do you happen to have a Sam's Club near you? That's where I get mine from. I buy the human pads. A case of 120 is around $25. It's Sam's Club own brand. 
If not, go to Wal-Mart and buy the human ones. They are cheaper than the puppy pads and do a great job.

As far as which was to train. My boys will go on the pee pad if they're not outside. When they are out, they have no problem going there either.

I just got a new puppy last week, and she is trained to go on the pee pads. Once the warmer weather comes, I'm sure she'll have no problems adapting to use the outdoors either.
It's nice that they will do either or...because when the weather is really crummy, you don't have to worry about it.


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## suTQ (Jul 13, 2006)

Pixie is pad trained. But every single time we go outside to play or walk, the first thing she does is poo and then pee in the grass---she just does it automatically, even though we never trained her to go outside.


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## bellasmommy (May 8, 2005)

Bella was pad trained when she came home, lucky me! However, if we happen to be outside she doesn't hesitate. I prefer the pads because I've been in health situations with her where the vet has asked me questions about the color of her urine, stool consistency, etc. and its easy to know these answers when they use pads. I also like that I can be at work and she can go when she pleases.


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## Apples Mom (Feb 22, 2007)

We house trained Apples to go on the paper. We had a time doing that and one of our friends suggested the pads. Well she didn't like the pads and would mover them out of her way and then poop lol. Needless to say she still uses the paper but now she wants to go outside. She lets us know when she has to do and we take her out. We still have accidents every now and again but i'm glad that she now wants to go outside.


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## Aarianne (Jul 22, 2005)

I thought outdoor training would be more difficult than pad training... boy was I wrong (in my case). I've had my girls since last June and we just made it through a cold Canadian winter with them outdoor trained just fine.









Mine are outdoor trained because I found them going indoors to be unhygienic, they shredded pads 90% of the time and used them 10%, they seemed to prefer to do their business outside, and I wanted them to learn to hold it--not have to do little squirts every hour or so all day long. 

If they were tiny 3 pounders as adults or something, I would probably be okay with pad training, but Tiffy is 8-9 lbs. and always takes a few steps after starting to pee so she wouldn't do it all on the pad and her poops are huge and I'll leave it at that. I even have tile/wood floors everywhere--it's still gross imo. I'd rather not have their poop sitting there for several hours when I'm not there... stinking up the whole house and making things unpleasant for the dogs and for me when I get home. 

Also when my dogs always defecate with me present, I can check their butts after they're done or on the way in and clean them up if necessary before they sit anywhere inside. If they'd be going on their own inside when I'm not looking, they could have soft stools from having a few too many treats for example, and have a streaky mess around their butts and go sit in various places before I'd notice. Ew!

I trained mine to go on command ("Empty!") for tiny treats/kibble and we go out first thing when I get up, then after they eat, then my mom (who lives next door) comes over and takes them out at lunch during the week (recently they've seemed to not always need this), then I take them out when I get home, and then again after they eat in the evening. We've been doing it this way for a long time now. My mom was nice enough to take them out ~4 times during the day early on and I'd take them out more in the evening too, and then we gradually reduced the number of outings.

They've always held it through the night fine. I only have food down for about 10 minutes at feeding time in the morning and evening and I leave water available at all times, though I took it away early in the evening when they were young puppies and controlled it at times when they needed to hold longer than they were used to. When they were young, we also offered food at lunch... but they often weren't interested in eating then.

On rainy days, I always put on their coats and try to remember to throw a towel near the door to dry their paws on the way back in. If they're mucky, I stick them directly in the sink/bathtub to quickly rinse their bellies and paws. Mine are always on harness/leash too (though they weren't as young puppies since they wouldn't go far on their own). 

It's some extra work for sure, but I've gotten used to it and the trade-off is well worth it to me.


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