Dog owner Q. #1: What do you think of the use of puppy pads?

Crate train, much easier. They learn to go outside, not inside.

@Tropical_Willie The puppy pads in this case are used not just for training but for an adult dog when he can’t be let out.

I think crate training is better too but if I wanted to pad train I might use something like this .
Then they would still like the texture of grass when they could go outside.
Right now I use this electric dog door so my dogs can let themselves out.

Don’t like them nasty things laying around, and haven’t found they worked well in my experience. You may want to find @livelaughlove, she’s got a new puppy and was crate-trianing a few weeks ago I believe.

Everyone here with dogs (my best friend has three) and my sister just buried her last dog, always either pays or barters for dog walking when they are away.

Dogs need to be walked three times a day. If you really mean to continue to travel, consider getting a cat instead.

My sister has been taking the middle dog-walking stint for two dogs whose owners are away. The official walkers work so do the early morning and evening stint, for pay.

Sis is doing some serious traveling so takes care of her doggie needs by volunteering to walk others’ or occasionally have someone else’s dog for a two- or three-day sleep over.

While my experience supports @Tropical_Willie ‘s advice. I can see how for older pet owners who may not be able to provide walks as frequently as the puppy may seem to require or for whom walking the dog in inclement weather may be a hardship, a puppy pad used properly may be helpful for the dog who urgently needs to go during the owner’s long absences.

Dogs are wonderful companions but they do need more opportunities to get outside for exercise and the take care of “toileting”. I travel with my dog and integrate her needs into our activities, or when necessary, I board her with a trusted kennel that meets most of the dogs needs.

Birds are good pets, too, but do require attention and care, but my bird class has lots of doting older parents in it. There are lots of rescues that need good homes, too!

Thanks for the referral @KNOWITALL. :)

Potty pads tell them it’s okay to pee and poop inside. And once you try to get them to completely transition to outside, it confuses the hell out of them. It’s like potty training them twice. Unless you’re going to keep the potty pads throughout the puppy’s life, don’t even start.

We got our puppy way too young – about 7 weeks old. We used the pads for about a week before tossing them. Crate training is a whole lot more effective and faster.

We took our puppy out every hour during the day and every two hours through the night for about 3 weeks. It was brutal, but we were lucky we were able to have someone home with her at all times for those first few weeks. She only pottied in the crate a few times in the beginning and now, at 4 months old, she’s house trained and crate trained and she can go 4+ hours at night without having to go potty.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. I know there are a lot of people here with dogs, but I’m going through the puppy stage right now, so I’m happy to help if I can.

My dog will shred the puppy pads, so I don’t use them.

I don’t like it. There is smell and it can confuse the dog about housebreaking. Much better to hire a dog walker if you have to leave them for long periods or not to get a puppy if you don’t have time to train it.

Get a couple kittens; much lower maintenance.

@hearkat Allergies

I had great luck crate training my Bassett hound. Worked like a charm.

So, years later, after the hound was gone, we got a Maltese. Tried crate training again, with no luck. The little white fuzz ball could not catch on.

My vet suggested puppy pads. She loved them. Got the idea right away. Great – after a little while I moved the pads closer to the door, then, eventually, outside. No joy.

Ultimately, she simply refused to go outside. What’s more, the couple times she did go out, she came back in a complete mess – requiring an unplanned bath.

Three years later, she’s still using the puppy pads inside. No messes. Fold it up, toss it in the outside trash. And, she stays bright white.

@cookieman This is what the friend suggested – for a small dog, just continuing to use the pads.

I wonder if maybe you would rather invest in the dog and get a dog walker?

@janbb: Yes – it’s pretty much essential that she’s small and her ::ahem:: “deposits” are tiny and pellet-like. Never would have worked with the Bassett hound.

I can’t stand the lingering odor, so I prefer the crate method. Our last dog absolutely loved her crate, and only messed in it when she was sick. There were times when, due to family emergencies, she would be crated for several hours at a time, and she did perfect with it.

My dog used puppy pads for many years. We moved a lot and didn’t always have a back yard for him to have access too. I would walk him in the morning and the evening when I got home. When we first had him there was no worries about walks but I always left him the pad for night time and for the few hours someone wouldn’t be home. Later it was just my husband and I and pads became a completely necessary because we didn’t have anyone to walk him in the middle of the day.

Pads are a great thing because they learn to use them and won’t pee all over the house. To me its the same as using a litter box for cats. If you make them hold their pee for too many hours they can develop urinary problems. Some people simply lock their puppy up in their apartments in a crate or kennel all day. Please don’t do that. I think that is worse than having them pee on a pad you can simply toss in the trash when done.

Plenty of people think you should just not let them eat or drink all day but I thought that cruel.
If you can’t have someone to watch him during the day or at least take him out for walks then consider either getting another dog to be with or get a cat. Dogs are very much a pack animal and being left alone all day is miserable for them.

What do you mean by “left on its own for awhile” ..how long would that be?

if the dog is small you could consider a litter box but those puppy pads are gross and I cringe when I go to a house with them. A dog as big as a bassett hound can easily handle even 10–12 hours. only leave a little water and they will sleep most of the time you are gone. It is way too easy to train a dog to go outside to have it peeing in you house on display. that’s just gross. Make sure you are up at least 2 hours before you leave in the morming so you can take the dog out when you get up and again before you leave.

@jtxl A Bassett hound puppy cannot go 10 hours without using the bathroom. Nor can any breed of puppy.