Puppy Pads vs. Grass Mat?

[Roy]

Good afternoon everyone,

We're picking up our standard sized Goldendoodle pup on the 28th. He'll be 9 weeks when we pick him up. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to potty train him. We don't have a balcony or backyard so I was thinking about using pads or the grass mat.

What would be the best solution to potty training for people w/o backyards?Any recommendations on products? It seems as if the puppy pads are much cheaper than using the grass mat.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ultimately how will you want to handle potty time.  He can learn whatever you want.  I like the grass idea, but I do have an outdoor area and so would transition my dog to outside eventually. My niece has a small dog she initially used a pad and still uses them when she goes out and thinks the dog won't be able to wait. 

[Adina P]

There are a few discussions on this topic by people who live in apartment buildings. I can't imagine not having any lawn at all.  But I think even if I didn't, I wouldn't want a standard size doodle going potty in the house.  I know my biggest dog really requires some space to go potty.  He'd wipe out a puppy pad in an instant.  And he tends to want to walk a bit before he poops.

[Roy]

Thanks for the reply. We'd just be using the puppy pads/grass mat until his last round of vaccinations. There's a small dog park about a block from where I live but I didn't want to bring him there until he gets all of his shots.

[Adina P]

That might work then. 
Rosco (who is 8 now) chewed up his puppy pads pretty quickly.  And although I tried a chunk of sod in the house inside an exercise pen, after a pee or two I was quickly done with that option.  But I had a yard. 

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I had bought some puppy pads when I first brought Loki home, I live in an apartment as well and at the time was switching apartments so I was hopeful the puppy pads would give him a constant thing to train him on and the first night I put one out he shredded it haha, typical since he chews everything set in front of him. I have a friend that lives in an apt with no yard- sounds similar to your situation and she has a grass mat and it works well for her. She actually made off of a Pinterest DIY that even has a drain thing set up so she can spray it down/wash it off. Pretty savy on her part!

[Rica + Margot]

We live in a downtown apartment and were able to potty train with a ugodog using a washable pad (you can use a disposable one if you want). I heard the grass mats get smelly and are hard to clean. The ugodog design also helps prevent your dog from walking on a pad that has pee on it. It's also pretty helpful for really cold days, which are often around here!

[Roy]

Thank you for idea! I will check that out!