# Wee wee pad vs outside



## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

Hey everyone...we will be bringing home our new puppy in a little less than 2 weeks. (He will be 12 weeks old). It is my understanding that he can't/shouldn't go outside until he is at least 16 weeks and has all his shots.

We are thinking of dual potty training him...first on a wee wee pad, then outside, but leaving a wee wee pad available for him at all times. 

Is this a realistic plan and any/all suggestions on how to train him would be greatly appreciated!


(We had a lab before and crate trained him - I remember it was the middle of winter and took him a few weeks to "get it" but once he "got it", he was good to go and never had an accident in 13 years...that said, that was almost 15 years ago and I can't remember much other than I was FREEZING outside with him and there was A LOT of snow!! LOL)


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## Madison's Mom (Dec 26, 2007)

That's how I trained Madison. She knows there's a potty pad in the utility room, and she uses it, but she also goes outside. It's worked well for us.


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## Steph_L (Jul 20, 2015)

We had trained Daisy to go inside on a Piddle Place and that worked really well because I was gone for work and then I couldn't walk her on my lunch break. We got a Sheltie in December and house trained her to go outside and trained Daisy to go outside too. I put down disposable pee pads when we're out of the house for a while but take her outside for all her regular business. That being said while it is cold here, we don't get snow. 

We're moving to upstate NY in the spring and I plan on using our Piddle Place and taking her outside regularly since I'll probably have to leave her at home all day when I'm at work and then the winters there are bad. Having them trained to go outside is nice for good weather or when you're home enough to walk them but having them trained for a pee pad helps so that messes are where you want them and so that they don't feel bad about pottying in the house. I don't get mad at them if they go inside if we're gone for an extended period of time because they can't help it and I don't want them to feel bad about it.


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## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

How long did it take you to train them to use the pee pads?

Also, how long can you leave a puppy for? I work from home, but go out for a few hours here and there to meet with clients - I plan on staying home the first few days to get him adjusted, but I am curious how long I can plan on being out for? Also, I was planning on leaving him in a crate when I went out as opposed to a pen (I am afraid if I leave him in a pen with a pee pad, that he will eat it!)


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## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

Also, how long approximately until they can sleep through the night?


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

At first, they sleep a lot, but in few hour stages. They get up and play around, pee, poop, etc. They have tiny bladders. Make sure you puppy proof the areas he has access to. Anything chew-able needs be off the floor. Usually until they are trained, people confine them to a room or a X Pen when you can not be there. A hour or two is not usually an issue, however some have several separation anxiety. Mine has a grand ole time when I am at work, playing, barking, watching people go by from the windows. People come over while I am work and play with him, but is 7.


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## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

I figured at night he would be in a crate in our bedroom and will probably wake up a couple times to pee/poop (I will take him downstairs where we will have a pen set up with a wee wee pad)...during the day, he will be gated in a room where I am when I can watch him, or if I need to focus on work, he will be in a little pen (within eye sight)...when I go out, I was planning on putting him back in his crate - with a bed, toy and water bottle...as he gets older, I will graduate to the pen, then gated in a couple of rooms. I think small dogs tend to get in trouble when they have too much free space. I will also always leave the tv on for him .

Minus the pen, that was what I did when my lab was a puppy - but he was much bigger, so it was either in a crate, or gated in a room with me. He could also hold his bladder longer

I guess i am trying to understand what the needs are of a small dog - I have always had large dogs


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Welcome to SM!

I use a port-a-crib to sleep ours at night after they have cuddled/snuggled a bit in our bed. They now actually ask to get in their own bed when they are ready or too hot (I use a bed warmer for myself). My DH brings them to our bed in the early morning hrs. for morning snuggles. My oldest (a male) trained himself in the crib---it went really fast---I put a pad at one end & he would use it in the night. He was still squatting then! I think it only took about a month until he stopped using it (which means he would have been 4 months old) and he has always had great control since then. 
Lisi was a bit more trouble (but then she always is  but she trained herself early on as well---just not as early as he did. She will be 6 this summer & just had her first accident but she was on meds for a UTI so that is understandable---she was in our bed & could not get down. They are both cross-trained but Kitzi prefers to go outside & Lisi prefers to go inside. It did take a lot longer for her to develop skills in going outside & I used to follow her around w/a pee pad outside when we lived in Greece! I am glad they are cross trained as I travel a fair amount & they will always go on the pad in the family toilet at the airport. Otherwise it would be hard to travel w/them both. Good luck & again, welcome!
__________________


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## Steph_L (Jul 20, 2015)

I got Daisy at 14 weeks and she was pee pad trained in just a few days however I think the was trained when I got her and she just needed a few days to readjust. With disposable pads she wouldn't pee more than 2 or 3 times on them and would go on the floor next to them. She still doesn't let me know when she has to go outside but she does hold it knowing that we go outside regularly. For her it's about 7 am, lunch, 5 pm, and before bed. Sometimes she goes out more if my Sheltie has to go. She's on prednisone for heart worm treatment has has to pee more. Our Sheltie also needs a 5 am walk before Daisy's 7am pee. Daisy either sleeps in our bed or in a crate at night. We did have some accidents when we took away the Piddle Place but didn't confine her at night.


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## Madison's Mom (Dec 26, 2007)

Madison had a Pack N Play when she was a baby - one end was her bed and food/water and the other end was her potty pad. She learned very quickly to use the pad. I can't really remember, but she probably stayed in the Pack N Play for about 6 weeks. Since then she's had the run of the house and sleeps in our bed.


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## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

Thanks so much for the info! So the porta cribs and pack and play were baby pens, not dog pens, correct? 
Did anyone have any problems with the dog tearing up the wee wee pad and eating it? That is another fear - my lab ate anything and everything including walls and furniture! lol
I am probably a little neurotic - I would rather be safe than sorry and this is my first experience with a small dog.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Yes, baby portable cribs.
Almost all puppies tear up the pads---I often taped my down on our marble floor! I went for the cloth ones when they went through that destructive stage---they don't do it anymore. Kitzi was especially bad to chew up things---I used "bitter apple" on furniture so he got the idea fast that he wasn't to chew that. 
Puppies will be puppies!


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## nonameyet (Dec 9, 2016)

edelweiss said:


> Yes, baby portable cribs.
> Almost all puppies tear up the pads---I often taped my down on our marble floor! I went for the cloth ones when they went through that destructive stage---they don't do it anymore. Kitzi was especially bad to chew up things---I used "bitter apple" on furniture so he got the idea fast that he wasn't to chew that.
> Puppies will be puppies!



This may be a stupid question, but how does the dog know the difference between the cloth (washable) wee wee pad and any other blanket?

So funny about taping to the marble floor!! LOL

One lesson I learned from my lab - too much freedom tends to lead to trouble!! 

We already have two "pens" and a crate - one pen will be set up in our kitchen with a bed, wee wee pad, water bowl and toys...I will feed him in there as well (he will only be in there when I am home and nearby. (until he is older) When I leave, I will put him in the crate...I may invest in a pack n play. I figured we will start with the crate (wire) in our bedroom and I will take him to the wee wee pad in the middle of the night...once I think he starts getting it, maybe move to a pack n play at night so he has access to a wee wee pad at night and I don't have to get up. (Do you think that is reasonable, or am I dreaming? LOL) 

Also, would it be confusing if I had a wee wee pad in his pen and another one in a pack and play? (Do they recognize the wee wee pad, or only the spot it is placed?)

Sorry for so many questions and sorry if some of them are really dumb! LOL


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

There is no such thing as a dumb question, for me! 
I don't know how they know, and sometime they do go on throw rugs. You can get throw-aways that are scented so they learn to go on that. I did not like washing the reusable ones. My Lisi was averse to being contained so I never put her in a crate---just the port-a-crib & that worked fine for us. I am mostly home but when I went out I left them gated in the kitchen (tile floor) w. all their stuff. We have pads up & down stairs & Lisi will go on either. As someone else mentioned she will not go on a pad more than about 3 times---sometimes 4. She is very clean--so I do change them out often. Kitzel tends to go on the edge so I either put a larger reusable pad under the throw away or if I am staying w/friends I put the throw away on top of a shower liner so we don't wear out our welcome. I also use belly bands & panties when I travel---not for us but for our host/hostess or hotel. If dogs smell where another dog has gone there could be marking---even if they don't mark at home---so I don't take chances.


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## LittleOlivia (Jan 8, 2017)

Olivia is just shy of 6 months and rings PoochieBells to go outside to use her PorchPotty. During the night she now sleeps with me on my bed, but I leave a peepad down on one end, just in case. Most nights she wakes me up to go outside, but when she's super sleepy she uses that on her own and goes back to sleep. 

When I first got her she slept in her carrier on my bed and would have some accidents, but started to yelp to wake me up. I took her out, peed and she went back to bed. When she got a bit bigger I tried the crate on the floor but that didn't last very long - she hated it. Probably because she was always on my bed with me, even though she was in a carrier, since I got her. When I felt like I could trust her, she started sleeping with me.

It sounds crazy but it really does just click for them, one day. When I'm at work shes in my spare room with her peepad, toys, bed water. She uses her pad but I can tell she tries to hold it as long as possible, to see if she can make it until I get home so she can use her PorchPotty. When I got home there used to be a bunch of little pee spots on the pad, now there is usually just one huge one lol - she's clearly trying to hold it and can't make it.


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## Polly's mom (Apr 29, 2013)

It just take time for them to learn the difference. For the first year I had to pick up all throw rugs! That was understandably hard for Polly to differentiate. The pp pads are suppose to have an odor. Polly's first "mistakes" were at my bedroom threshold, I finally realized she thought it was a big pp pad:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:. Remember, all mistakes must be cleaned throughly with an enzymatic odor remover. 
The BEST thing I discovered was the pp pad holder. They have them at Walmart and other places and cost about $15. They come in the 22 x 22 size and 17 x 22 size. It prevents the pad from becoming a toy and helps establish the difference between the rug at the front door, the one in front of the kitchen sink, the bath mats, etc. 

Remember, pp training can take up to a year because it can take that long before they even have full control over those little bladders.

I have a ramp so Polly can independently go to her pp pad during the night. She slept in a kennel right next to my bed at mattress level (with my fingers poked inside) until I knew she could be trusted to go to the pad and not pp on my bed.

It worked wonderfully.

My house is big for those little legs so I had pads in the holders in several places when she was a puppy and now just have two. One in the powder room and one in the master bath. If I am in my master bath she will go use the powder room, a girl has to have her privacy:innocent:

Remember, no freedom without supervision. That is just asking for trouble. No bad dogs, when they make a mistake it is our fault:thumbsup:

Good luck with your new baby. Welcome to the most loving and informative Maltese resource in the world. We love pictures!

QUOTE=nonameyet;4037561]This may be a stupid question, but how does the dog know the difference between the cloth (washable) wee wee pad and any other blanket?

So funny about taping to the marble floor!! LOL

One lesson I learned from my lab - too much freedom tends to lead to trouble!! 

We already have two "pens" and a crate - one pen will be set up in our kitchen with a bed, wee wee pad, water bowl and toys...I will feed him in there as well (he will only be in there when I am home and nearby. (until he is older) When I leave, I will put him in the crate...I may invest in a pack n play. I figured we will start with the crate (wire) in our bedroom and I will take him to the wee wee pad in the middle of the night...once I think he starts getting it, maybe move to a pack n play at night so he has access to a wee wee pad at night and I don't have to get up. (Do you think that is reasonable, or am I dreaming? LOL) 

Also, would it be confusing if I had a wee wee pad in his pen and another one in a pack and play? (Do they recognize the wee wee pad, or only the spot it is placed?)

Sorry for so many questions and sorry if some of them are really dumb! LOL[/QUOTE]


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