# switching from pee pad to outside!



## hillary&lola (Apr 4, 2006)

lola is almost a year old (!) and has been using potty pads since she was born. she will pee etc when i take her on walks but pees 90% of the time on pads only. we are moving to another apartment in 6 weeks that has much better access to grass right down the stairs SO i would like to retrain her to only pee/pooh outside! should i start the training now (before we move) so that there are no accidents in our new apartment? i'm really sick of cleaning the carpet when she misses, that part of our room now permenatly smells like pee







i would like our new place to not have this issue, plus there really isn't a good spot for a potty pad. 

should i start the traing now so as to avoid the training process in the new apartment or will that be too confusing since she's always used the pad in the apartment? or i could wait to have her only go outside at the new place which may be easier since she's never gone inside on a pad there? or will there be too many accidents there? HELP! sorry for all the ?'s


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2006)

We have never used pads for our Malteses. They have always been trained outdoors. Nothing against the inside way, but since we had a big dog, he or she would help train the little dog. You wil have to go outdoors in all kinds of weather to get your critters trained, but think you will find it worthwhile once they get the idea. If our "Tucker" (2 yrs) messed on the floor when he was a pup we sternly said "NO" and took him outside. Sometimes he went again, sometimes not. We took him inside and gave him 1 piece of dog food even if he did not go potty. We kept doing this for weeks!. You have to be patient and stay outside with him for a few minutes; this cannot be a quick thing. Now he stays by the door when he has to go out. We have a 18' cable, one end attached to the house. It has to be a "light" line as the dog has a difficult time dragging it through the snow if it is too large. I would think your dogs would learn fairly quickly. Perhaps they be confused for awhile because they have gone indors for sometime. Take it slow, I think you will be happy in the end!!


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

It couldn't possibly hurt to start outdoor potty training now before you move.But the real serious training will have to be done at the new home.With no urine scents around,you should try to take advantage of that.Moving into a new home can be a very busy time & I hope you will be able to take Lola outside on a regular basis.I didn't have any luck with pad training Boo but with the help of a crate,he did really well with outdoor training.I think he would burst his bladder before he would go potty in our house.Maybe you can just modify the rules of puppy potty training a little bit to suit 1 yr old Lola.I have the same setup as Richard,I have a lead that connects to my back porch railing & I just hook Boo up to it & send him down the steps.Of course I am always in the doorway watching or sitting on the steps waiting.He's pretty fast though & it's so routine by now,it's a breeze.After he goes poop,he runs up the steps as fast as his little legs can go so he can get his treat.Good luck.


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## hillary&lola (Apr 4, 2006)

momtoboo- thanks for the complitment, lola was only about 3 months when i took that pick, i just love it when they lay on their backs, they look adorable


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

I would start her now too, that way when you do move she will be used to going outside once you are in your new apartment. Perhaps you can put a pee pad near the door then outside and let her get used to using it out there and then gradually encourage her to just go on the grass without the pad. We have always had Scooby go outside and yes the weather can be a problem from time to time but usually there is a break in the rain or what ever the case may be and we can get him to go then. If Lola has a routine time when she uses her pad you can try watching her and then take her out when she is heading in that direction and praise and give her a treat for pottying outside. I guess it's like starting all over again in a way, but I am sure she will get the idea.
I also peeked at your gallery and love the one with her in her little pink shirt, she is a real cutie


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## mpd (Jun 2, 2005)

> lola is almost a year old (!) and has been using potty pads since she was born. she will pee etc when i take her on walks but pees 90% of the time on pads only. we are moving to another apartment in 6 weeks that has much better access to grass right down the stairs SO i would like to retrain her to only pee/pooh outside! should i start the training now (before we move) so that there are no accidents in our new apartment? i'm really sick of cleaning the carpet when she misses, that part of our room now permenatly smells like pee
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> ...



Do you have two commands for her? I have "Potty outside" and "Potty in the box" Since your dog does it while on walks, can you start taking her outside at predictable times? I noticed that my dogs will wait for me to take them for their walk and do it then. On rare occasions when I get delayed getting back they go on their grid. They are now 15 and 13 months and they wait a long time. One day they waited 9 whole hours without using the grid but sure hurried to do it as soon as we get outside. On rainy days though, (like this whole past week has been in the Northern VA area, the "potty in the box" command came in handy as they used the grid in the garage).




Good luck.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i wrote a long story somewhere about my switch from pads to outside. the girls will still use the wee wee pads in the middle of the night and when the rain is so hard and the backyard is flooded. i basically went back to watching them 24/7 took out the wee wee pads from the house, and took them outside to go potty every few hours. i gave treats when they went outside. when they needed to go potty, they would go to where the wee wee pads used to be (near the slider door) and sit. they were 2 and 3 yrs at the time. i think. its hard at first, took me a few weeks to finally train them. 

good luck!!


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