# Why inside, why outside or why both?



## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Curious about why people chose to potty train their dogs the way the did? Are your dogs trained to go inside, outside or both? Why?

Me and the husband talked and have decided to bell train Gustave for inside(Ugodog in balcony) and also outside when we walk him three times a day. We live in an apartment building and realized it's not realistic for us to take him out every 2-3 hours. 

We are planning to train him to ring the bell when he wants us to open the balcony door. Let's see how that goes! 

So, what about your fluffs?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I tried indoor potty training for one day but as soon as London peed and pooped on the pad, I could smell it instantly and it grossed me out. I don't know how people don't smell the pee & poop...I smelled it right away. I really wanted to pad train out of convenience of not having to go out with them every few hours but I just couldn't do it.

It definitely is annoying sometimes in the winter taking them out so often. It sure would have been nice if they could've just gone potty anytime they wanted!


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

All of my other dogs that I had in the past were trained to go to the door to go outside. I had planned on doing the same with Laurel, Violet and Hardy,but.... We had to have a new fence put in and because I was super duper picky about it, it took over a month to complete. In the meantime I started using pee pads, and wondered why I never used them before??? No messy feet when it rains, no snow covered feet, just more convenient . I did switch to reusable because of the cost.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

LJSquishy said:


> I tried indoor potty training for one day but as soon as London peed and pooped on the pad, I could smell it instantly and it grossed me out. I don't know how people don't smell the pee & poop...I smelled it right away. I really wanted to pad train out of convenience of not having to go out with them every few hours but I just couldn't do it.
> 
> It definitely is annoying sometimes in the winter taking them out so often. It sure would have been nice if they could've just gone potty anytime they wanted!


I do change the pads often and no poop is left down for longer than a nano minute!! LOL


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Lucky is an inside dog. He just goes on his pad when he wants. Every night I change his pads. I also pick up poop all day. He has his main pad downstairs out of the way and one in the bedroom. Sometimes at night he needs to pee. He just gets off the bed, goes down his doggie steps, wees and then comes back to bed. No getting dressed to go out, no putting his coat on in bad weather. I had always had larger dogs that needed to go out - rain, snow, blizzard. Yuck.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Cross training is the way to go for "foo foo" dogs like Maltese IMO.

Lady came to me as a rescue "sort of" outdoor trained, but she wouldn't walk on grass, go out in the rain, etc. Then she became diabetic so she had to learn to use pads since I worked. Lady would hold it forever before she broke down and learned to use pads.

Bailey arrived paper trained at 12 weeks, but I started taking him for walks when he was finished with his vaccinations at 4.5 months. He is 100% housebroken and cross trained to both. He will use his pads automatically when he has to potty, but will also pee on every bush, mailbox pole, etc. outside when we walk. Bailey loves to pee. 

Like Laura, I pick up poop on the pad the moment it happens like I do on our walks. I have a super sensitive nose and change the pad frequently about three times a day (with lots of outdoor walks).

As I said, Bailey loves to pee. Gotta love the boys!


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## nicolen412 (Jun 8, 2012)

Hello, 

I like @ljsquishy started using pads and was grossed out within 2 weeks cos everytime I came home the bathroom (where the pads were) would reek like poo. Also, Arthur HATED pooing on the pads and would cry the living daylights out if he did (I video taped him). 

Eventually I got him going outside and we have a small fenced courtyard so we use a doggy door. Whilst some people really enjoy the bell thing, I've heard that some fluffs ring the bell whenever they want to go outside or seek attention. I didn't want to take this risk As Arthur can be an extremely needy boy. 

I do agree that pee pad training is much easier with winter, rain etc but that's not too bad now with the dog door and with regard to feet I have a little mat down before the dog door that Arthur can trample on before he tramples everywhere else. 

I think you mentioned that you have a balcony? Why don't you get a dog door for that so he can pop in and out? 


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## LoveLucy (Mar 18, 2012)

I've never had a dog that used pee pads, although when my dogs were having "problems" I sometimes set pads out for them, just in case. My other dogs were bigger than a maltese, though--one was 19 pounds and the other was about 25 pounds.
Now that I have little Lucy, she also goes outside. BUT she doesn't not like rain and living in Nevada it hasn't been an issue. However, we're going to start spending summers in Michigan where it WILL be an issue. (I used to dread rainy days with my other dogs--the bigger one HATED going out to do her business in the rain.) My trailer that we will live in has a big screened in porch (the whole length of the trailer). I'm thinking of getting one of those grass-type potties to put on that porch for when it's raining. I'm hoping that since it's "grass" she might go on it without too much training? I'm hoping so anyway...


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

nicolen412 said:


> I think you mentioned that you have a balcony? Why don't you get a dog door for that so he can pop in and out?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


We live in a rented apartment so our living situation changes often(we move frequently). Teaching him to alert us seems like a more scalable solution in the long term. But I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't become a bell abuser. 




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## .13124 (Jun 1, 2012)

I potty trained Cici inside using the potty pads because I just found it more convenient. I didn't want to take her outside at night because it's usually really cold her, and being such a young puppy I just didn't think was right. And we don't have a "yard" behind our house, it's just all concrete, and the front yard isn't surrounded by a gate or anything, so I wouldn't let her out on her own. I think I will remove the potty pads and have her go outside on the front yard when she's a little older.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

When I got my first Maltese, I lived in a condo. Now I'm in a town home. No yard. And, in the windpter, no grass on which to potty because what little grass there is gets covered by snow plows dumping snow. I went with indoor for convenience.


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## priyasutty (Oct 15, 2010)

My baby is both indoor and outdoor trained. I place a pee pad in the bathroom, she goes right to the bathroom whenever she wants to go. We travel a lot, so she goes outside too when we travel. She is comfortable both ways.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I use to be so anti inside it's not funny, I thought people were gross and lazy for letting their pups potty inside. Then I got dogs. LOL

If I lived in an apartment or a condo (which I would love) I would totally have a potty system on the balcony. As it is, my boys really dont want to go out when the weather is bad, last night it was storming and Tucker refused to go out, he was in the middle of playing with a toy, and trying not to poop, it got to the point that DH had to pick him up and take him outside. (We were having bad storms). In cases like these, if my dogs were potty pad trained we'd be ok. In the dead of winter, it is no fun to walk the dogs outside, but we do it cause that's how we trained them.

Now, that I have experienced the reality of having dogs, I see it much differently. These guys are tiny and when it's freezing outside you have to bundle them up like little kids to keep them warm, they practically need a snow suit (we live in Iowa). It's not that they are trying to be defiant, it's that in incliment weather it is VERY uncomfortable for them to go out.

Not only that but how the heck you gunna potty train a puppy when you have three flights of stairs or an elevator ride to take? In my experience when puppies have to go, they have to go.. so either you find an indoor potty station-balcony potty station, or they pee on you on their way outside.


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

My Zoe for the majority of the time uses pads. She does know when we go out to potty outside too. As soon as she poops....she does what we call the poopie dance, kicking her back feet. So I hear this and immediately I pick up the poop. :aktion033:


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Zoe's Mom88 said:


> My Zoe for the majority of the time uses pads. She does know when we go out to potty outside too. As soon as she poops....she does what we call the poopie dance, kicking her back feet. So I hear this and immediately I pick up the poop. :aktion033:


:HistericalSmiley:When my boys poop outside, they do a dance too, but it's sort like the zoomies and they chase eachother around the house going nuts!


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## ToniLWilson (Sep 11, 2012)

So you don't think it's confusing for the fluff to potty inside and outside? 
I tried the pee pads when we first got Bella but she would just play with them. She does great going outside but I would love for her to be able to use the pee pads on cold, rainy nasty days and if she ever just needed to go.


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## babycake7 (Jan 30, 2012)

My Bella is both potty pad trained and trained to go outsider. I am very regimented about what time I take her outside and she knows - if I am late, she will bark to let me know. Otherwise, i just take her outside and the same time everyday. In the event that my routine changes and I won be home during one of the appointed potty walks, she uses a wee pad kept in the house and out of the way. She will only use it too pee though. She won't poop on it - she just waits for me to come home.


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## italianna82 (Aug 17, 2012)

Well, you know *I* am having issues with it. I really hope Gucci can learn to do both. But, I feel like trying to teach her both at one time is just going to confuse her. I don't know


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Sassy uses a pad inside only....she doesn't have a clue she can go outside. I think I would like her to be cross trained, but never did that because in FL we have St. Augustine grass and it has to be cut very long. I didn't want her to have messy, dirty feet, or grass stains of grass cutting days. Everytime it rains or messy weather I am so thankful that she doesn't have to go outside. Also, we don't have a problem with her getting fleas because she isn't walking in the grass. Sooooo happy I litter box trained her with a pad. :wub:


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

I was planning to train Gustave to only pee outside and take away his Ugodog but just hearing news about the hurricane makes me think it's better if he's trained to do both just in case.


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## Daisy's Mommie (Sep 24, 2012)

*Potty Training*



eiksaa said:


> Curious about why people chose to potty train their dogs the way the did? Are your dogs trained to go inside, outside or both? Why?
> 
> Me and the husband talked and have decided to bell train Gustave for inside(Ugodog in balcony) and also outside when we walk him three times a day. We live in an apartment building and realized it's not realistic for us to take him out every 2-3 hours.
> 
> ...


 I have always had inside dogs and was always used to taking them outside to potty--like others have said rain, snow, heat, u-name it. So when I was blessed with my fluff babies, things were a little different. We live in Kingsport TN and we have woods on 3 sides of us. We have coyotes, wolves, raccoons--etc and I was terrified to let my tiny little babies outside. I could just imagine something running out of the woods and grabbing my baby before I could do anything. Also, we have hawks the size of vultures here and someone a few streets over had a rabbit snatched out of their yard by a hawk. Therefore, we use potty pads---many potty pads--but, I too, pick up the solid waste right away and flush!


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## Leanne (Sep 6, 2012)

Since Maya joined our little pack in may she has had some accidents so I too was considering pad training. This will be her first Minnesota winter and it is going to be cold! I am waiting to see how she will do and how it will all play out.

I just had a thought....my daughter just had our first grand-baby and she uses this diaper system, maybe a a diaper genie? Wouldn't that work for pee pad and poo disposal as well. My daughter claims there is absolutely no smell.


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