# Trying to teach puppy to pee on pee pads during day and outside when we are home



## joshy5 (May 13, 2013)

Hi all, 

My partner and I work full time and leave our puppy in play pen inside the house during the day and put down some pee pads for using during the day, but when we are home we want the puppy to go outside and know that this is the "best" place to go if you know what I mean..

He seems to be not really using the pee pads but catching on to going outside (we take him out every hour when at home and use a key word to go toilet) I guess my question is, are there ways of training a puppy to use pee pads during the day when we are at work and outside for when we are at home. 

Thanks in advance guys!

Josh


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

This dual method is very confusing to dogs, IMO. If it's the only way for your dog to survive, then I guess you have to do what you have to do. Can you hire a dog walker to take the dog out at lunch time? I crate train all my dogs, and they stay in a crate that's small enough to not encourage them to go inside of it. Most dogs don't want to soil their dens. 

Since yours is in a playpen (large enough to find a spot to pee away from where he lies down), he's going wherever...You might want to cover the floor with newspaper and several pee pads. If he goes on a pee pad, keep it in there to encourage him to return to that spot the next time. Eventually, make the area covered by newspapers and pee pads smaller as he starts "getting it". Make sure you clean spots where he's peed with an enzyme cleaner (like Nature's Miracle), or he'll keep going there. Even if you can't smell the pee/poo from cleaning it with a regular cleaner, your pup can, trust me.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Just so you know the dog might view the pee pads now and later think it's ok to go on rugs/towels and other things like that because they can't tell the difference.


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Also keep in mind that most adult dogs can hold it through a typical workday (not sure how long you are gone for work). It might be a better short-term solution to have someone come to let him out during the day while he's young, and then just have him wait until you get home once he has a capability to hold it that long.


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## Gogoclips (Apr 27, 2013)

Bring a soiled pee-pad outside and hopefully the puppy can start to see outside as a place for potty too. When you're home, after feeding, put the pup in a crate, or make your expen smaller so the puppy can't walk around. After 30 mins or as soon as the puppy wakes up, take him outside. At that point he's probably going to have to go, but if he doesn't, take him back to the crate for 10 mins, then take him outside again. Actually, how old is your puppy? He might not need to start from ground zero.


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## Maisie (May 13, 2013)

We have a 14 month old Westie and it took us almost a year to get her to potty outside!  We tried to puppy pads and she just wasn't interested in it. She would play with them and eat them instead. Haha... we found the best way was to punish her (we used a spray bottle of water or put her in her time-out kennel) when she would potty inside. Whenever she would potty outside we would give her at treat. It took her awhile like I said to catch on, but now she just holds it while my husband and I are gone (she's held it up to 10 hours) and will wait to go until we take her outside.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Gogoclips said:


> Bring a soiled pee-pad outside and hopefully the puppy can start to see outside as a place for potty too. When you're home, after feeding, put the pup in a crate, or make your expen smaller so the puppy can't walk around. After 30 mins or as soon as the puppy wakes up, take him outside. At that point he's probably going to have to go, but if he doesn't, take him back to the crate for 10 mins, then take him outside again. Actually, how old is your puppy? He might not need to start from ground zero.


If I understood correctly, the puppy is "catching on" to going potty outside, just not to using the pads inside. So, it's not an issue of needing to see outside as a place for potty, too.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Maisie said:


> We have a 14 month old Westie and it took us almost a year to get her to potty outside!  We tried to puppy pads and she just wasn't interested in it. She would play with them and eat them instead. Haha... we found the best way was to punish her (we used a spray bottle of water or put her in her time-out kennel) when she would potty inside. Whenever she would potty outside we would give her at treat. It took her awhile like I said to catch on, but now she just holds it while my husband and I are gone (she's held it up to 10 hours) and will wait to go until we take her outside.


Punishing for going potty inside is an outdated method. No one here really recommends this. Puppies don't necessarily make the same connections to punishments as we expect. So, lots of times people expect that the dog will understand they got punished for peeing and pooping inside, so that means it's "bad" and they shouldn't do it anymore. BUT, because dogs think differently than humans, sometimes the connection they actually make is, peeing and pooping is scary because they get punished, so they better hide it better and not pee or poop in front of people because they don't want to be punished.

THAT can cause a whole other set of problems, because you don't want your puppy to avoid going potty when you take them out, just because they're afraid.

That said, I wouldn't put much effort into teaching a puppy to use pads during the day. Eventually, (I assume) you want the puppy to try to hold it while you're at work? If you TRAIN them to use pads NOW, (and I mean train them, like putting effort into teaching them to use them) then you are giving the ok to pee inside. Later, when the pup is older and can hold it, they may STILL pee inside, because you trained them it was ok.

I would simply put newspaper or pads down in the pen, that way, when the puppy pees/poops, it's cleanable. Don't bother to actually train/teach her to use it, unless you want it to be a forever thing.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

We used one pee pad with a spot of urine on it, with a couple other clean ones-- and our dog has no problem using it for the 6 months we had to do the pee pad/ outside dual potty thing....

And whoever said it-was right(sort of)-- a year later when he was "trapped " inside the house and he really really had to go-- he went on a little 2x2 square rug near the door-- but its not something he normally does-- he does not just walk around the house peeing on things we have on the floor, its like he couldnt get outside so he looked for a "pad" of some sort... (He is normally indoor /out door- we leave a back door open for him most times).....


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## Gogoclips (Apr 27, 2013)

doxiemommy said:


> If I understood correctly, the puppy is "catching on" to going potty outside, just not to using the pads inside. So, it's not an issue of needing to see outside as a place for potty, too.


Oops! I read that wrongly. /:


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## joshy5 (May 13, 2013)

Hey guys, 

I forgot to mention he is a silky cross mini foxi and only 10 weeks old. 

Thanks for all your comments, the main problems I am having is:

- Leaving him in the play pen while at work he chews up the puppy pee pads (destroys everything and ignores all the fun toys we leave for him)
- He is always peeing at night when we have in the create (even taking him out every 2 hours he still makes mistakes)

I'm not sure if when the time comes he is mature and can hold his bladder if he will continue to pee and poop in the play pen or hold it in for when we get home to let him out. 

Basically right now I can come home to let him out 3 work days per week but the other he is in there for 8 hours... I know annoying for the little guy..

Thanks again guys. 

Josh


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## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

The dog is how old? If you have no choice, I mean do what you have to do. Leaving a dog home with no bathroom break is far from idea. Trying making yourself not go for 8 hours and see how you like it.


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## joshy5 (May 13, 2013)

seaboxador said:


> The dog is how old? If you have no choice, I mean do what you have to do. Leaving a dog home with no bathroom break is far from idea. Trying making yourself not go for 8 hours and see how you like it.



Hey, yeah I understand where your coming from, but 2 days a week we just can't make it home to see him, we have layed out pee pads in his play pen so he isn't really expected to hold it for 8 hours at 10 weeks old that would be torture!, but yeah I'm just concerned we won't be able to teach him correctly that outside is the "best" place to go toilet in this particular situation.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

its going to be difficult because small breeds cant hold their bladder that long


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I have a dachshund mix we adopted at 8 wks old from the SPCA. We did come home at lunch to take him out, but that young, he couldn't even hold it the 3-4 hrs between people coming home to take him out. We had his crate open in an ex-pen with pads down in the pen area and he used them. We didn't really encourage him, but other than his bed it was the only absorbent surface accessible to him. The rest of the time, he did not have access to pads, and we took him out every 20 minutes when we were home, and praised and rewarded him like crazy when he went outside. Eventually, he stopped using the pads while we weren't home, and instead began shredding them, so we just took them away and he was able to hold it in between bathroom trips out -- at least when we weren't home. It was months before we could wait 3-4 hrs between trips out when we were home and active! He was housebroken at around 5 months old, even in other people's homes and at indoor playgroups and petstores and things, so I don't think there was any huge detriment to his housebreaking caused by using the pads.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

joshy5 said:


> Hey, yeah I understand where your coming from, but 2 days a week we just can't make it home to see him, we have layed out pee pads in his play pen so he isn't really expected to hold it for 8 hours at 10 weeks old that would be torture!, but yeah I'm just concerned we won't be able to teach him correctly that outside is the "best" place to go toilet in this particular situation.


It may seem like a slight difference, but there IS a difference between actively TEACHING a dog to use the pads (taking them to the pads, praising and giving treats if they use the pads,etc.) and just ALLOWING them to use the pads because they're there. If you simply put them out, but, don't teach them to use them, you are not going to confuse them as much as if you TEACH them to use them. 

If you can't get home to give him a break, then just put them out. Or use newspaper. I mean, you do what you have to do. Then when you ARE home the pads should go away, and you only take him out to potty.

In my opinion, it isn't the ideal situation, because you may have a dog that thinks it's ok to pee on anything like a pad, like a throw rug or door mat. Then, when you ARE home, and the pads aren't out, if you don't watch the pup closely enough, he could find a throw rug, door mat, or even a random towel or sweatshirt that got left on the floor, and pee there.
But, hey, who has the IDEAL situation anyway, right?

And, besides, you might get a pup that can adapt and isn't confused by the change from pads, to outside at all.


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