# Pee Pad Training?



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

No 8 week old puppy understands they need to go out. That doesn't happen until around 4 months. Get rid of the pee pads. Take your puppy out every thirty minutes, after playing, napping, and eating. Teach the command go potty. If in the crate it should be able to hold it for a couple hours. Your puppy is having accidents so much because your not taking it out enough and aren't supervising closely enough. If you can't directly supervise put in a crate or a gated area with hard floors. Is your puppy getting free run of the house in those 3.5 hours? Needs to be in a crate or gated area with hard floors.


----------



## wiggles-wags-and-woofs (Aug 24, 2017)

Thanks for the advice! Yes, she is gated in a small section when she is alone. She actually used a pee pad twice today. A fluke I'm sure, but two accidents I didn't have to mop up! We are definitely working on the potty command but we were only told to take her out every hour. We'll try up-ing the frequency!


----------



## Elijah41 (Jul 15, 2017)

Don't use pee pads! This tells him it's ok to pee inside, better to make him wait and praise lots for going outside! Best of luck with your new pup and congrats!


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

wiggles-wags-and-woofs said:


> Thanks for the advice! Yes, she is gated in a small section when she is alone. She actually used a pee pad twice today. A fluke I'm sure, but two accidents I didn't have to mop up! We are definitely working on the potty command but we were only told to take her out every hour. We'll try up-ing the frequency!


She is still a baby. Do not use pee pads if you are home. When your home and you can't watch go ahead and put behind a gate. We also used a gate rather then a crate. But we are home all day. We used a pee pad only at night or if we had to leave. You might want to think about crate training.


----------



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

She needs to go out way more often - about every 30-60 minutes, plus after a nap, after eating, after playing, etc. 

Ditch the pee pads - just work on teaching her that going outside is the greatest thing you've ever seen (seriously, throw a huge party when she goes outside, and treat her). I would also recommend crating her when you aren't home - she is less likely to pee in her crate if it is the right size than a gated off area where she can pee in one area and sleep in another. 

She has no control whatsoever right now over her bladder. You need to anticipate. As her bladder grows stronger and you teach her that going outdoors is the right thing, the two will come together. It will take several months.


----------



## wiggles-wags-and-woofs (Aug 24, 2017)

Thanks for all the great responses, everyone!


----------



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I am not a fan of pee pads either, basically for the same reasons other members have stated in prior posts. But you also run the risk of her tearing them up, making a mess from tearing them up-shredding them is one thing, I'd be more concerned with her eating them and causing intestinal problems. 

I would crate her when no one is at home.


----------



## wiggles-wags-and-woofs (Aug 24, 2017)

Thank you for your response so many weeks later!!

While my husband and I are at work, she's alone for about 6 hours and I'm hesitant to crate her for that long? She's gated in our 1/2 bathroom and small hallway at the moment and seems to be handling it well.

We are still at it with the pee pads and have learned that if we give her enough stimulation (kongs and puzzle toys), she doesn't chew on our walls/baseboards/pee pads. It seems so intuitive but it's been quite a learning process for us (apparently, we're the slow learners, not her!). In the past week-ish, we've been 50/50 on the pee pads - 50% on the pad and 50% holding it until we get home.

Thanks again!


----------



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Have you got a friend, neighbor or family member that can come in and let her out while you're both working? If not, you may want to check into a dog service that can come in. 6 hours is a long time for a little one and eventually she will get to the point where she will start chewing on the baseboards and walls.


----------



## wiggles-wags-and-woofs (Aug 24, 2017)

Thanks for the quick reply!!

We don't at the moment but will look into a dog walker if necessary. She seems to be doing fine during the day and hasn't destructively chewed (knock wood!) since we've been giving her the various puzzle toys. We wake her up at least two hours before we leave and she gets a big play/run (on leash, of course!) in the field right before we leave. When I get home, she's usually sleeping and doesn't show signs of stress (e.g. no zoomies, no excessive jumping/nipping, etc). I know we'll likely have to adjust our strategy as she grows but for now, it seems to be working.

Eventually, we'd like to let her roam our entire downstairs unsupervised, but I'm pretty sure we're a ways away from that!


----------



## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Get rid of the pee pads! A dog is never considered potty trained if it is using pee pads. All your doing is making more work and prolonging potty training for you and the puppy. Because now u will have to train it again to not pee on pads. A puppy should be able to hold it in a crate for 6 hrs.


----------



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

wiggles-wags-and-woofs said:


> Thank you for your response so many weeks later!!
> 
> While my husband and I are at work, she's alone for about 6 hours and I'm hesitant to crate her for that long? She's gated in our 1/2 bathroom and small hallway at the moment and seems to be handling it well.
> 
> ...


Just a word of warning, the longer you wait to properly house train her, the harder it's going to be. Instead of learning from the get go that peeing outside is the greatest thing you can ever do, she has been learning for the past four weeks that peeing inside is just fine. You're going to have to go all the way back to square one, lose the pads, crate when you can't supervise 100%, and take her out every hour when you're home. I would definitely get a dog walker, and crate her when you're not home. I don;t mean to sound negative, but I am honestly just worried that you're setting yourselves up for really great frustration. She's not just going to suddenly learn on her own to go outside. You need to teach her.


----------

