Crate Training and Pee Pads

[Camden's Mom]

Hi Doodle Lovers! My new pup will be coming home in 5 weeks. I am very excited! I'll take a week off from work to begin potty training and transitioning the little one to its new home.

I live in an elevator building so I've decided to crate train and use pee pads to start. Has anyone house trained this way before? I would love to hear about owners' experiences with pee pads - successful or unsuccessful. What worked well or didn't work for you?

[Paula]

I haven't but my Grandma is currently training her chihuahua to pee pads and it is working really well. The only issue she has had is he pulls the pee pad out of the litter box to play with it.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Hi, The wee pads didn't work for Samantha. I took her out to the same spot each time - before and after napping, eating, playing. The mistake I made was not thinking about where I wanted her "spot" to be months down the road. Now that I want her to go potty on the side of the house, instead of in the back, where there is a fenced in pen, she looks at me like I have 3 heads. I have definitely confused her but with time she will get it. She housebroke in less than a week. It would have been earlier if I paid attention to her while cooking all the time. Because she was such a big puppy it was easy to forget she was just 12 weeks old. My mistake - not hers. Good Luck and have FUN!!!!!!!

[Adina P]

I tried it with Rosco as a pup...along with a rubbermaid container full of sod. Neither worked. He tried to dig in the sod and then the SECOND the puppy pee pad hit the floor he tried to shred it. You might try the "wiz dog" or "whiz dog" product. Also there are companies that sell sod inside of really nice containers just for such things...kinda pricey, but if you have the money it might be useful!

[Stephanie]

I haven't used pee pads...but pretty much every experience I have heard with people using them has turned into a fiasco! Unless you plan on using them forever...I wouldn't start using them.

Will your pup be a standard or miniature? If a minature you could probably get away with it because even at a full grown size s/he will be pretty small, so pee pads would work if you really wanted to use them.

If it will be a standard I highly recommend AGAINST using pee pads. First of all that is A LOT of pee and poo to be on a pad once they are full grown. Secondly, if you do plan on only using them for a small amount of time it is extremely difficult to go from pee pad to outside potty time. Everybody I've known who tried go from potty pads to outside potty time had a horrible time.

[Camden's Mom]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments. Stephanie, my pup will be a mini so I thought this method may work. I planned on using the floor of the stall shower in my second bathroom as the "spot" for the pee pads, or maybe even the whiz dog as Adina suggests. I will have the crate outside of the shower (with crate door open) and baby gate the rest of the bathroom until he is potty trained. Though he will be a mini, I am concerned about the potential for bigger poop as he gets older, but I thought maybe by then, he may be big enough to be crated for longer and then to be taken outside when I "saw the signs" (or maybe by then, we'll be in a house with a yard!) :-) I also worry about him playing with/shredding the pads. Maybe that's where the whiz dog or litter box comes in?

There seems to be no exact science to this and I may be overthinking it all. I just can't help being concerned about properly training in the beginning and being well informed and prepared for the best and worst. Do I sound like an anxious mom or what?

Thanks again for sharing. I would love to hear more stories if you have 'em!

[Tamara & Giada]

Try this Free housetraining site. It is FABULOUS!!!

http://www.thehousebreakingbible.com/

[Camden's Mom]

Thanks Tamara. I have this link bookmarked -- it's great! How long did it take you to house train?

[Adina P]

Your dog will eventually develop a poop schedule so if you keep track of when he poops you'll learn what that is and be ready to take him out at regular times and not have to rely on pads. By 16 weeks he should be okay crated for 4 hours at a time--maybe 5. And once he's 6 months+ he should be able to last 6-8 hours in the crate without a potty..but it all depends on the individual dog.