# How hard would it be to switch from using the bathroom outside back to puppy pads?



## marjo1213 (Nov 2, 2010)

My husband and I are expecting our first child in November. I'm worried about taking care of a baby and my two malteses, who are 7 years old and 8 months old. The 7 year old was trained to go to the bathroom outside right away. The 8 month old used puppy pads at first but now goes outside with the occasional accident inside. I want to train both of them to use the bathroom inside using puppy pads so when I have my baby I won't have to bring the baby outside when my two malteses use the bathroom. My husband is away for work half of the time. Has anyone ever switched from outside to puppy pad training? Any tips or recommendations?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

One of our members, Marj (LadysMom) had to train her late girl Lady to use pee pads due to an injury she was recovering from. She was unable to take Lady outside. If she sees this thread she may have some advice for you. I do remember her saying Lady picked up on the new rules very quickly, but each dog is different and it will require a LOT of training. Neither dog will be able to be out of your sight at any time. I would expect that you will still be training them to go on pads even after the baby is born...November is not very far away.

Just keep in mind, if you indoor train, once baby starts crawling you will need to figure out some sort of pen or something that your dogs can get into to potty (with some sort of small opening) whenever they please but will keep your baby out. I'm not really sure what you could use because it would have to be safe for your baby, ie: not tip over, not able to get head caught, etc.

Good luck!


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## Rainw (May 23, 2011)

My Malt was outdoor trained when I got him, but I wanted to indoor train him because I don't have a safe neighborhood and I couldn't risk him going outside very much. He's inside only. For some reason, I thought litterbox training him would be easier than pad training. Silly me. He used his litterbox as a bed. I got so tired of making him sit in his box for so long that I asked my dad to bring home pads from the dollar store. He brought them home, I laid one down, and Yuki went right to it and did his thing. He has accidents, because he's still a puppy, but he knows instinctively to use his pad. 

There were some times like when I have to leave for many hours, he got mad at me and went right next to the pad, so keeping it in a non-carpeted area is a good idea. Also, Yuki likes to play with it so I got a pad tray, which also helps him not miss.

Some pads are scented. Pads are a great alternative if you can't take him out all the time, you have to leave him home alone for a few hours, or if he refuses to go out in bad weather. The scented pads may make your job a little bit easier, and we need all the help we can get when training the pups where to go. 

As far as keeping the baby away from the pads, I have no clue there. I haven't seen a baby in a long time so I don't know if you can make a dog door big enough for an adult Maltese to get through and small enough that a baby's head can't. Or maybe a door hole big enough that a baby can easily get his head in an out of so it cannot get stuck, but small enough the baby can't fit his shoulders through. You could have a little pet gate with the dog door separating the pad from the rest of the place. Just don't make it too hard for your Malts to get to it or they may decide not to bother with it.

Hope this helps. Good luck!


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## marjo1213 (Nov 2, 2010)

For those of you who are curious, my babies have now started using the puppy pads inside the house and it took about 3 days. I thought my older maltese that was 7 years old would give me the harder time because she's been going outside longer but, now she's a lot more consistent than my puppy that's 8 months old. 

The first day I tried to make the older one use a puppy pad she held her pee for almost 15 hours and refused to go on the puppy pad. I was about to give up because I didn't want her to develop a UTI but, decided to try it another time. This time I walked her around the house for about 20 minutes. I probably looked crazy taking my dog for a walk in the house but, I was desperate. Finally she just started sniffing the puppy pad and miraculously she just went. I was soooo happy. Now I just put her on the leash and take her to the puppy pad and less than a minute she'll go pee. She goes poop off the leash. I never knew seeing poop on a puppy pad when I came home would brighten up my day.

My younger one is still not fully potty trained so I've had to go back to crate training her. I'm waiting on an X-pen to get delivered which hopefully with help with her training. She will use the puppy pads but, not as easily as my older maltese.

Right now I have puppy pads in a couple different rooms downstairs but, they seem to like the puppy pad in the dining room. This wasn't exactly what I wanted but, I guess it's start with getting them used to using the bathrooms on puppy pads instead of outside. I'm hoping to eventually keep the puppy pads in the X-Pen with the door open and they go in there when they have to use the bathroom. 

It was perfect timing for them to start using the puppy pads too. There was no way they could have used the bathroom outside during Hurricane Irene. So for those of you who want to transition from going outside to puppy pads, there is hope!! Just need a lot of patience and prayer.


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## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

Yay!!!! Great news!


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

So happy I found this post! Bella is 12 weeks old and is really getting the hang of outdoor potty training. She mainly has accidents inside when I mess up and don't take her out on schedule/get distracted with other stuff. I'm having a lot of challenges with Bella and separation anxiety, so it's really important that she start being left at home a bit more often. We also can have some pretty sketchy weather and I'm not a fan of dog walking in the dark either. Anyway, this is why we are chosing to use pee pee pads in addition to outside pottying. At 3:30 this a.m. she had to use the potty, instead of heading outdoors ~ we headed to the utility room and after much coaxing, she went Pee on the pad! I'm concerned that she will get mixed up with using the potty outside and inside. Has anyone had success with that?


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