# best puppy pads?



## mike1127 (Jun 10, 2011)

I'm doing some research for a friend into the best puppy (urine absorbing) pads. She actually has bunnies, not dogs, but pretty much the same issue. She used to use Neat N Dry, and she said it was the most absorbing by far. Apparently it uses "gel", not just layered fabric or paper. But she said recently they changed the composition; it uses less gel and does not absorb well any more. She wants to know if other people have noticed this, or if it's a temporary change. Or, is there another brand that works better than Neat N Dry? Is there another brand that uses some special technology like gel?

Another option is using so-called "underpads" which are for humans (to use on a bed). They tend to be larger, so might be more economical.

Thanks,
Mike


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

mike1127 said:


> Another option is using so-called "underpads" which are for humans (to use on a bed). They tend to be larger, so might be more economical.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mike


Welcome to the forum!

My mom used the "people" incontinence bed pads that you can buy at Walgreens/walmart for her elderly dog. Much cheaper and larger than dog wee wee pads.


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## mike1127 (Jun 10, 2011)

Thanks! Do you know if these incontinence pads are more absorbent than Neat N Dry?


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Be careful with puppy pads. Some dogs will shred them, and then eat the bits. Plastic in guts= bad news (well...I'm sure one shred wouldn't hurt, but a puppy-pad worth YIKES!). Although it isn't as absorbent, newspaper is at least a little more digestible if you have to use a "pad" of some sort. Also, the ones with gel....is the gel toxic? There might be a reason they are for human adults.... The best way to go, if at all possible is straight-out house training. If you do go with pads just pay attention to whether they are getting chewed or shredded, if/when this occurs you'll need to consider different alternatives. I used pads for my puppy for 3 weeks, no problems, one day I came home and she had just started shredding...no more pads for her!


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## mike1127 (Jun 10, 2011)

My friend actually has rabbits, and they have no interest in shredding or eating the pads. I'm asking here because these kinds of pads are marketed to dog owners.

The ones with gel are not for humans. They are the Neat N Dry puppy pads.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

So you are looking for pads for rabbits, not really for puppies?


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## mike1127 (Jun 10, 2011)

Yes for rabbits--but I'm only aware of pads that are marketed to dogs, hence I am asking here.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

I've seen some kind of cloth reusable pee pad at Petsmart before but don't know how well it works or if anyone would actually want to have to wash it every day. Meijer's sells 100 ct. boxes of disposable pee pads that work pretty well.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

I use the OUT brand at Walmart. It's the cheapest I've found so far. Waaay cheaper than Petco or Petsmart. It's highway robbery there! Steer clear of the Arm & Hammer brand. They are paper thin and I can barely tell the absorbent side from the non absorbent side.

Edited to add, my puppies personally have never eaten their puppy pads.


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## Sendiulino (Jun 20, 2011)

We're currently using an expensive brand from Petsmart (Nature's Miracle ultra-absorbent pads) where we got all of our new-puppy supplies, but despite the price I can say that the pads have been spectacular. That being said, we're going to try some cheaper pads once our current supply runs out. In particular, the ones from Walmart since they are much cheaper.

Sam is 12 weeks and loves to tear and thrash her toys (hasn't torn any to pieces yet), but has not chewed up a puppy pad. She dragged one across the floor once, but I think now she realizes "Wait, I need to pee there" and hasn't done it again. She has plenty of toys she prefers over a boring old pad with her own pee on it :laugh: I also gave her a blanket just for her which she likes to drag around instead of the pad, seemingly satisfying her urge to drag something.

Pads are not an option for us so hopefully she will not start to shred them, else we'll be switching to some sort of a washable alternative.


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## Sendiulino (Jun 20, 2011)

I just wanted to come back to this thread and say that I switched from Nature's Miracle ultra-absorbent pads, to the Walmart brand puppy pads (OUT brand) -- because they were cheaper, of course. And all I can say is that I have not regretted something in the last short-term while as much as I regretted putting money into the OUT brand pads >:|

So here's my review of them:

*1) *They are bordered on all four sides by a non-absorbent "border". In essence I get the point of this.. it is a "leak lock" system I guess, but I was used to the Nature's Miracle pads that only had that sort of border on two sides. Which meant I could easily put two pads side by side, or even three or four, and make one BIG pad. With the Walmart ones, I couldn't do that, and it was annoying. If you think overlapping them would fix it, think again, because we tried that and found out that urine had leaked more than once underneath the pad set at the point of connection.

Note: the Nature's Miracle pads did not -ever- leak from the sides, the liquid is turned into a gel so it isn't necessary to worry about that. Conclusion? The four-sided design is in my opinion just a cheap solution to being less-absorbent (I'll get to that in a minute). 

But it was even more annoying because...

*2)* The Walmart OUT pads are light. Really light. So light they can be picked up by the _slightest breeze_. A draft from a door, a breeze from a window, or just if you move by them too damn fast. It's _awful_. *Edit*: At one point, we were actually scotch-taping these things to the floor.

Worse yet? Our puppy is a zoomer (runs around really, really fast randomly) so when she would run by the pads, they would scatter! Then she'd notice them and think they were something to play with.. thus came to the next problem:

*3) *These pads are not durable whatsoever. My puppy shredded one of them, pulling out all the stuffing (the absorbent part) in no time. She had never once shredded one of the better-quality pads, probably because they never attacked her by flying through the air though. But still, the Nature's Miracle ones? Are good-quality pads. These OUT brand pads are crap. I even noticed that some of the ones fresh out of the bag were _already ripped_ on the inside of the pad, leaving a non-absorbent layer of plastic where there should be absorbency, right in the middle. Not cool. 

And finally..

*4) *Not nearly as absorbent as what I can see, or at the very least the OUT brand doesn't seem to lock in the moisture nearly as well as the more expensive ones did. 



I will admit though: These pads? Maybe they're just fine for the puppy-parent who only needs the occasional pad, only needs them for short-periods of time or for the occasional accident or short trip to the grocery store or something. But our puppy lives in the kitchen for an 8 hour work-day, and so that is my review of the Walmart brand based on long-term high-standards kinda usage. We just need better than that.

So in my opinion? You get what you pay for. Right now I'm banging my head against a wall waiting for this 80-pack that I bought to be done, because when I'm through, I'm going straight back to Nature's Miracle pads from PetSmart which I _love_. I'm more than happy to pay the price now that I see the alternative.


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## Jeepers (Jul 12, 2011)

The reusable pads sound really nice. I saw them at Petsmart earlier today. They are pricier but with bunnies, your friend would be using them frequently. Reusable would be much more wallet and environmentally friendly in the long run.


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## Sendiulino (Jun 20, 2011)

I might look into something reusable tonight when I go down there. I already have a lot of laundry because I have rats who use towels as bedding (not wood chips), so I may as well add "puppy pads" to the mix  But I like to give her a big area of pads while we're out at work so it depends on the price as I'd need lots of them.


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