# Potty Training - Why use pads?



## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

As I'm reading up, it seems people use wee wee pads indoors and train this breed to go on them? Why would that be? I don't want my dogs to go indoors. Ever. Pad or not. Isn't it better just to take them outside regularly and teach them to pee there, praise, and reward? Maybe implement bell training too? The only way I can see pads making sense is if you live in an apartment and don't have ready access to outdoors as often as you need to take them. I lived in an apartment with a goldendoodle puppy, but we were fortunate enough to have a terrace, so I put fresh patches (real grass) out there and took him out whenever we weren't going for a walk (did 3 walks a day). I can see wee wee pads in an apartment with no access to outdoor space. But otherwise, why do it? What are the benefits? I see only cons.


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

I have never used pee pads. I take Pipper outside to relieve himself no matter what the weather is like.


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

People feel strongly on both sides of the issue. When I got Luck, my mother was living with us and she had mobility issues toward the end. I worked during the day and did not want her taking him out when I was gone. I also live in a tick infected area in the sumner, and one where blizzards, below zero , and snow dominate the winter. Luck would also pee in the middle of the night, and having him go down 3 steps and into the bathroom to pee on his pad at 2am meant I never woke up. Luck had a liver shunt and I monitored the color of his pee, so I saw it on the pads.

Casper was not trained, but I trained him to the pads. I use reusable pads that I wash . I worry about the ticks and having him holding it when I am at work as well as the ticks as well as weather issues. I just feel it is more convenient and safer.

When I had a larger dog, we did let him out in a fenced yard.


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

Pads are definitely very convenient at times, such as when I've lived in apartments or felt too sick to take Zooey out. However, she came to me outdoor trained, so I had to suck it up and walk her during bad weather for years in all those apartments. Ironically she trained herself to use pads when I moved back into a house LOL She now usually goes outside, but if I have to leave her in for hours, she will use a pad.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

Thanks! And thanks to everyone else for the input too. If they learn it's appropriate to pee on the pads in the house, do they also poop on the pads?



pippersmom said:


> I have never used pee pads. I take Pipper outside to relieve himself no matter what the weather is like.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

wkomorow said:


> People feel strongly on both sides of the issue. When I got Luck, my mother was living with us and she had mobility issues toward the end. I worked during the day and did not want her taking him out when I was gone. I also live in a tick infected area in the sumner, and one where blizzards, below zero , and snow dominate the winter. Luck would also pee in the middle of the night, and having him go down 3 steps and into the bathroom to pee on his pad at 2am meant I never woke up. Luck had a liver shunt and I monitored the color of his pee, so I saw it on the pads.
> 
> Casper was not trained, but I trained him to the pads. I use reusable pads that I wash . I worry about the ticks and having him holding it when I am at work as well as the ticks as well as weather issues. I just feel it is more convenient and safer.
> 
> When I had a larger dog, we did let him out in a fenced yard.


Do you have different views on tick and weather than you did with larger dogs or did your situation change?


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Absolutely, I had Buster over 20 years ago - ticks were not as established in this area, so it was not much of an issue back then as they are today. Beside, because of his size, I had less concern about tick prevention. It is not uncommon for Maltese to have reactions to tick/heart worm and other preventatives. I think it would be the same for other small dogs. He was a Tibetan Terrier so he was breed for cold climates, he had a thick undercoat and plenty of fur and we loved playing in the snow. He actually loved being out in snowstorms.


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

Pipper LOVES the winter and the cold and snow. He loves rolling around in the snow. He looks like he's making snow angels. As long as he has a coat on and boots to keep his feet warm he would walk all day whereas he HATES the heat. We are having a heatwave right now and he's so bored because his walks are very short.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

zooeysmom said:


> Pads are definitely very convenient at times, such as when I've lived in apartments or felt too sick to take Zooey out. However, she came to me outdoor trained, so I had to suck it up and walk her during bad weather for years in all those apartments. Ironically she trained herself to use pads when I moved back into a house LOL She now usually goes outside, but if I have to leave her in for hours, she will use a pad.


Thanks. I guess I could see using a pad if leaving for a long time if uncrated and no one is coming in the middle to let out. My sister will do it with her maltipoo in his pen if it's a long time.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

pippersmom said:


> Pipper LOVES the winter and the cold and snow. He loves rolling around in the snow. He looks like he's making snow angels. As long as he has a coat on and boots to keep his feet warm he would walk all day whereas he HATES the heat. We are having a heatwave right now and he's so bored because his walks are very short.


Totally get that. Ours are more limited because of the heat right now with our current puppy (not a Maltese); he is very heat sensitive.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

I live in multi-family housing in an area that has both extreme heat (95+ today) and extreme cold (minus 20 at least once each winter) and don’t have a good place for them to go outdoors. my girls have a pad in their own bathroom and they do both there.


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## Abella's Mommy (Mar 31, 2019)

Pee pads are so much easier. Especially for maltese in full coat. Their long hair seems to attract all kinds of unsavory things that may be lurking around in the grass to say nothing of the elements. I have a lean to greenhouse off the family room that has a small doggy door. Right outside the door I made a sectioned off area that has Abellas pee pad. When Abella needs to go out she will ring her bells by the door to notify me that I need to tie up her skirt on each side (so she doesn't pee/poop on it). She has me trained well! Yes, she is a princess.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

Abella's Mommy said:


> Pee pads are so much easier. Especially for maltese in full coat. Their long hair seems to attract all kinds of unsavory things that may be lurking around in the grass to say nothing of the elements. I have a lean to greenhouse off the family room that has a small doggy door. Right outside the door I made a sectioned off area that has Abellas pee pad. When Abella needs to go out she will ring her bells by the door to notify me that I need to tie up her skirt on each side (so she doesn't pee/poop on it). She has me trained well! Yes, she is a princess.
> 
> 
> View attachment 274624


Smart! That's a pee pad outdoors, though. Not indoors. I can see using it in some circumstances, like those maggie and a few others said.


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## Abella's Mommy (Mar 31, 2019)

jsbrook said:


> Smart! That's a pee pad outdoors, though. Not indoors. I can see using it in some circumstances, like those maggie and a few others said.


Abellas "Pee Pad Cabana"
I think of it more as Indoor/outdoor. I don't have to go outside into the cold. Especially on a day my old bones are moving very slowly. LOL!


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## maddysmom (Mar 8, 2012)

I bell trained all 3 of my girls. I have one that will use the piddle place when it’s raining, snowing or the middle of the night. Honestly, I wish the other two would use the piddle place. I am up 1-2 times a night, every night. I’m constantly having to run home, or hire a dog walker after 3-4 hours because if I don’t, I have one who will use my floors for the toilet. The convenience of a pad is worth training on, imo. I know going forward, if I was to ever do it over again, I would train for both indoors and outdoors.


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Abella's Mommy said:


> Abellas "Pee Pad Cabana"
> I think of it more as Indoor/outdoor. I don't have to go outside into the cold. Especially on a day my old bones are moving very slowly. LOL!
> 
> 
> View attachment 274627


That is really nice. Casp is a leg lifter and I have mine lipped up the shower.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

maddysmom said:


> I bell trained all 3 of my girls. I have one that will use the piddle place when it’s raining, snowing or the middle of the night. Honestly, I wish the other two would use the piddle place. I am up 1-2 times a night, every night. I’m constantly having to run home, or hire a dog walker after 3-4 hours because if I don’t, I have one who will use my floors for the toilet. The convenience of a pad is worth training on, imo. I know going forward, if I was to ever do it over again, I would train for both indoors and outdoors.


Hum? Yours don't sleep through the night? How long can they go without having to pee? Is it just bladder size? Our current puppy now nearly always sleeps through the night at 14 weeks. But he is currently 16 lbs. How about others who has Maltese that go outdoors? Do they need to wake up during the night?


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

jsbrook said:


> How about others who has Maltese that go outdoors? Do they need to wake up during the night?


When Zooey was younger, she made it from 9pm until about 7am. Now that she's a senior, she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night to pee.


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## jsbrook (Jul 4, 2020)

zooeysmom said:


> When Zooey was younger, she made it from 9pm until about 7am. Now that she's a senior, she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night to pee.


I gotcha. Didn't realize she was a senior dog.


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## trishs (Feb 9, 2020)

jsbrook said:


> As I'm reading up, it seems people use wee wee pads indoors and train this breed to go on them? Why would that be? I don't want my dogs to go indoors. Ever. Pad or not. Isn't it better just to take them outside regularly and teach them to pee there, praise, and reward? Maybe implement bell training too? The only way I can see pads making sense is if you live in an apartment and don't have ready access to outdoors as often as you need to take them. I lived in an apartment with a goldendoodle puppy, but we were fortunate enough to have a terrace, so I put fresh patches (real grass) out there and took him out whenever we weren't going for a walk (did 3 walks a day). I can see wee wee pads in an apartment with no access to outdoor space. But otherwise, why do it? What are the benefits? I see only cons.


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## trishs (Feb 9, 2020)

My dog being pee pad trained was a lifesaver for me! When we first got Baci I was working so he had access to go. Now I have retired it is a blessing when we have bad weather. We live on the 26th floor in a condo. Baci still loves his walks and demands them. But if I am gone all day or there is a hurricane it is a lifesaver.


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## Paula1 (May 11, 2020)

jsbrook said:


> Hum? Yours don't sleep through the night? How long can they go without having to pee? Is it just bladder size? Our current puppy now nearly always sleeps through the night at 14 weeks. But he is currently 16 lbs. How about others who has Maltese that go outdoors? Do they need to wake up during the night?


Mine never woke during the night - he was bell trained and never had accidents unless he was having bladder stone issues. He was bell trained within a week of bringing him home - he was a great dog.


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## Moochie (Aug 9, 2019)

jsbrook said:


> As I'm reading up, it seems people use wee wee pads indoors and train this breed to go on them? Why would that be? I don't want my dogs to go indoors. Ever. Pad or not. Isn't it better just to take them outside regularly and teach them to pee there, praise, and reward? Maybe implement bell training too? The only way I can see pads making sense is if you live in an apartment and don't have ready access to outdoors as often as you need to take them. I lived in an apartment with a goldendoodle puppy, but we were fortunate enough to have a terrace, so I put fresh patches (real grass) out there and took him out whenever we weren't going for a walk (did 3 walks a day). I can see wee wee pads in an apartment with no access to outdoor space. But otherwise, why do it? What are the benefits? I see only cons.


I swore up and down I would never use pee pads, but after construction workers were in my house, for some reason, my then 4 year old male started peeing in the house. We tried everything to get him re-trained to always go outside, but nothing worked. He still goes outside about 90% of the time, but he uses a pee pad the rest of the time. The pads go on a tile floor in an area that is easy to disinfect, so I've learned to live with it. Other than that, he is the PERFECT baby!!


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

Well, ....I'm lazy. I have 5 dogs and live at the shore so my house is raised. With these smaller dogs, I have to make 2 or 3 trips up and down all those steps to put them in the yard. Then 2 or 3 trips up and down to bring them up, and I do that a couple times a day. ...but then when a noreaster comes in and the rain and wind is horrendous (I'm not a fan of the outdoors at that point). While I'm at work, the pups have their choice of the pee pee pads or the upper decks outside the doggie door. For me, it's a matter of convienence. They are trained to go both outdoors and the pads.


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## maddysmom (Mar 8, 2012)

jsbrook said:


> Hum? Yours don't sleep through the night? How long can they go without having to pee? Is it just bladder size? Our current puppy now nearly always sleeps through the night at 14 weeks. But he is currently 16 lbs. How about others who has Maltese that go outdoors? Do they need to wake up during the night?


I have one who has IBD, so she needs to poop a lot, which is why I am up during the night. Like I said earlier, if I was to do it over and knowing/living what I do now, I would train for both indoors and out for the convenience.


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