I have used puppy pads, but never in a crate. I thought the purpose was to teach the dog where to go, and the crate is not that place.
I use them for my daughter’s mini dachshund who is terribly allergic. Billy will scratch himself raw if he gets neat grass. So he stays inside and uses the pads. Its no different than a litter box. I can see where they would be useful for a small dog in an apartment too. I would not use them in a crate for a young dog.
I don’t understand the hate. Why is it OK to have a litter box for a cat but not OK to use pee pads for a dog?
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8574646]
I use them for my daughter’s mini dachshund who is terribly allergic. Billy will scratch himself raw if he gets neat grass. So he stays inside and uses the pads. Its no different than a litter box. I can see where they would be useful for a small dog in an apartment too. I would not use them in a crate for a young dog.
I don’t understand the hate. Why is it OK to have a litter box for a cat but not OK to use pee pads for a dog?[/QUOTE]
I think it is more an issue i have that it seems that people seem to miss used them in a way that makes it rather hard to work with the dog/pup. There are totally alot of situations i can see them being rather useful when used correctly. Like with your Dachshund or in the case of weather.
But like with all things, they can be miss used in ways that they do more harm than good.
[QUOTE=SmartAlex;8574166]
Spoken like a country gal. :lol: Actually its $1-$2 a pound plus labor, thatch, water… Weeds are free.[/QUOTE]
All good points I hadn’t thought of. I’ve adjusted my attitude to the product.
Though, speaking as one who’s “lawn” is 50-75% creeping charlie, weeds work just fine too 
But I hadn’t considered young apartment puppies not having access to private greenspace. That is a legitimate concern and newspaper isn’t absorbent. Using puppy pads would indeed be prudent in a situation like that.
[QUOTE=Sswor;8574773]
Though, speaking as one who’s “lawn” is 50-75% creeping charlie, weeds work just fine too ;)[/QUOTE]
I’m considering using Creeping Charlie as groundcover in my landscape beds :lol:
My lawn is 30% white clover and plantain. :rolleyes:
On purpose?!? :eek:
[QUOTE=S1969;8573975]
This is exactly what has happened. How old is the OP?
The only people I know that use puppy pads use them with litters <6 weeks old.[/QUOTE]
They work great for seniors that have accidents when sleeping.
I feel your pain. I got a puppy from a breeder which will be 2 years as of thanksgiving this year.
I did not know the breeder potty pad trained her puppies till the day I picked him up at 8 weeks. Sadly the damage had been done. it took me a year to potty train him because he was convinced anything soft was a good place to piddle or poop. He ruined my carpet, towels and clothing.
I ended up doing major crate training. If I was not watching him he was in the crate with no pads. I would let him out the second I could and I watched him like a hawk.
My puppy had also never been outside till the day i picked him up and walked him to my car. He about had a heart attack when i walked out the door.
[QUOTE=cschattner;8576550]
I feel your pain. I got a puppy from a breeder which will be 2 years as of thanksgiving this year.
I did not know the breeder potty pad trained her puppies till the day I picked him up at 8 weeks. Sadly the damage had been done. it took me a year to potty train him because he was convinced anything soft was a good place to piddle or poop. He ruined my carpet, towels and clothing.
I ended up doing major crate training. If I was not watching him he was in the crate with no pads. I would let him out the second I could and I watched him like a hawk.
My puppy had also never been outside till the day i picked him up and walked him to my car. He about had a heart attack when i walked out the door.[/QUOTE]
Wow, that’s awful! I didn’t know breeders did that.
I really dislike the idea of training the dog to pee or poop inside!
[QUOTE=cschattner;8576550]
I feel your pain. I got a puppy from a breeder which will be 2 years as of thanksgiving this year.
I did not know the breeder potty pad trained her puppies till the day I picked him up at 8 weeks. Sadly the damage had been done. it took me a year to potty train him because he was convinced anything soft was a good place to piddle or poop. He ruined my carpet, towels and clothing.
I ended up doing major crate training. If I was not watching him he was in the crate with no pads. I would let him out the second I could and I watched him like a hawk.
My puppy had also never been outside till the day i picked him up and walked him to my car. He about had a heart attack when i walked out the door.[/QUOTE]
That poor puppy 
we breed labs, and we make a point to raise them both indoor and outdoor. When our pups leave at 8 weeks they are house trained, and kennel trained.
I cant see it at all… not letting a puppy outside to be a puppy, it seems almost inhumane. Sounds like a a not very experienced breeder, they seemed to have set their pups up for issues later on.
My puppy was born and raised on a balcony in the city. She didn’t see grass until she was 8 weeks old.
It took a few days to train her to go outside. But it took a year for her to go on the grass. We had a gravel drive that she preferred. As long as it was outside I didn’t worry about it. Now at almost 2 yrs old she is normal and will go on our grass. But she still won’t pee/poop on walks.
IMO- it teaches the dog to go in the house, and usually not where you want it to. I never allow wee wee pads. My dogs must learn to go outside.
Good lord, I cant imagine using them all the time for house use.
The only time ive used them was when I first got my dog from the SPCA. He wasnt fully house trained, and the first two days we had him, he got an UPSET TUMMY. So we did line his crate with them to make clean up easier.
However, I lived on the 4th floor of a building with NO elevator, and I still effectively managed (with some difficulty!) to potty train my pup in a reasonable amount of time without having to use those dumb pads. If youre too lazy to take your dog outside to potty, what the heck are you doing with those pads after your dog shits on them? I cant imagine just sticking them in the trash can……
It used to be that whelping boxes were lined with newspaper. The way to house train the puppy was to get him started on newspaper that you gradually moved closer to the door, and eventually outside. I would imagine that a similar principal is indicated with the Puppy Pads.
In my house puppy pads are in front of the litter boxes for the times when one or the other cat is in a mood, or doesn’t feel the litter is clean enough, or doesn’t feel the stars are aligned, or wants to punish me by pooping IN FRONT OF the litter box!
IMO they should be called kitty-mood-minders rather than puppy pads.
I’ve fostered a lot of puppies and the ones that were born outside knew not to soil their den and almost NEVER went in the house. They were the easiest to house train and required very little training at all. Whole liters would happily go outside as to not soil their living space, it was fabulous. I was always SO happy to have these litters.
The ones that were born inside and allowed to go on papers or puppy pads took forever to housebreak and tended to have more accidents than the ones born outside.
The ones that were born in tiny cages and had to eat, sleep, and eliminate in the same place. Well, those were near impossible to house train.
The only foster I ever kept was a little 5 lb yorkie, don’t get me wrong, she was adopted out twice. Both homes were outstanding with educated dog owners who were up to taking on this little quirky dog. Both homes failed, she’d go to the bathroom anywhere except outside. She’d shit where her food bowl was, go in the crate, on the bed, you name it. She had no instinct to keep her ‘den’ clean. NONE- as in ZERO! I still have her (13 years later) and she’s about 85% house trained now and I’m thrilled with that. She will go on command when taken outside, but if she feels like going in the house, she will. Bad thing is, it’s hard to tell where a 5 lb dog goes, until it’s too late. My poor wood floors. UGH…
[QUOTE=cnigh;8576915]
My puppy was born and raised on a balcony in the city. She didn’t see grass until she was 8 weeks old.
It took a few days to train her to go outside. But it took a year for her to go on the grass. We had a gravel drive that she preferred. As long as it was outside I didn’t worry about it. Now at almost 2 yrs old she is normal and will go on our grass. But she still won’t pee/poop on walks.[/QUOTE]
I got a dog as an adult stray who had apparently lived in a kennel (we suspected puppy mill brood bitch, she had some sort of an ear tattoo), so even though the yard is several acres, she would only eliminate on the hard surfaces outside. The asphalt driveway, the carport, the patio, the barn aisle. Yuck! It took a really long time to get her to go in the grass at all, and took months to housebreak her. Even after 8 years, she still preferred the hard surfaces to the grass when outside without me, and still wasn’t reliably housebroken. Would go months with no problems, then go in the house again (at least it was usually on the tile!) Had to monitor her always, just like a puppy, she gave very little warning. I miss that dog, but sure don’t miss that particular habit. It was such a relief when my new puppy housebroke quickly, and goes in the grass!
Had a tenant who used puppy pads. She either didn’t replace them often enough, or her dogs had really bad aim. Have to replace the brand-new kitchen floor. :mad:
I use puppy pads with my little Chi. She goes outside, but, I always have a puppy pad for her just in case and she is good at using it. I certainly never used them with my giant German shepherd dog poop though!!!
Our dachshund always goes outside but I do carry a “puppy pad” (actually chux I snag from work) when we fly in case he has a tummy ache or something and can’t make it the whole way. I put it on the plane bathroom floor if he’s acting antsy but all but 1 time the answer has been “thanks, but no thanks, I will get back into my bag and wait for grass/sidewalk lady”
I honestly wonder if puppy pads are at the root of so many small dog breeds being labeled “difficult to house train.” For those of you who live in apartments I highly recommend using a bell. Although we had to discontinue ours after a while because he would ring it incessantly when he wanted to go out and sniff/play, not just potty.
Zombie thread!
