Why NOT to use Wee Pads

[Jadotha]

Hi, all. When we first brought our puppy Boris home, we used a wee pad (just one) in the kitchen -- moving it progressively closer to, and then out the door and gone. Boris has been confined either to our (very large) kitchen, or with us in our office where we could keep a sharp eye on him. Potty training had gone very well; hence, now that he is almost 14 weeks (and no accidents for almost 2 weeks) , we let him out of the kitchen to explore the rest of our house. Well, guess what...he obviously thinks our area rugs are wee pads, lol.

 

[mkj878]

Haha oh gosh, I remember as a child that when we got our cane corso he was paper trained...I always remember wondering why anyone would do that with a dog that craps that big lololol

 

[Kelly]

When I was 17 I got a Dalmation puppy and paper trained him. We had a paper pile in the back corner of the yard, so when he finally learned not to pee inthe house, he only went in that corner. it worked out perfectly!

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

LOL. I always wondered how they would work, so you train the pup to go on the pad and then you move it outside?

 

[Jadotha]

Well, we normally haven't used wee pads at all, but in Boris's case, the breeder had used them. I'm not sure how you are actually supposed to employ them, then wean the puppy away from them, since I never read directions except as a last resort, lol. However, what we did seemed sensible and worked (until the area rug incidents). In the past with other pups we used a tactic similar to what Kelly described, And I think that -- as opposed to soft/cushy wee pads -- newspaper feels sufficiently different from rugs that puppies 'get it'. More recently, since someone is always home now, we have just used the put them outside every 30 mins and have a Happy Poo/Wee Party whenever they produce, until they understand.

 

[Gunny]

We have to use them because the vet instructed us not to take our EM outside at all untill a week after his last set of shots. We use the pads and a fake grass setup so he'll get used to going on the grass. It's a pain, and not cheap on the wallet, but we have no other choice.

 

[mkj878]

Not taking it outdoors at all? Has it had some sort of sickness or something? Thats a tiny bit extreme...they need to be outside...and to learn to go potty outside, especially a dog the size of a mastiff...

 

[Gunny]

Not taking it outdoors at all? Has it had some sort of sickness or something? Thats a tiny bit extreme...they need to be outside...and to learn to go potty outside, especially a dog the size of a mastiff...

Not at all. He's perfectly healthy but because we live in an apartment, they said the risk of picking up parvo was higher. Apparently it's going around right now too so they were pretty adament about it. They even said we might consider taking our shoes off before entering the apartment so we didn't bring anything in.

We had been taking him outside for the first week we had him prior to getting his first shots. Needless to say, we were worried sick for about two weeks hoping no symptoms would show up. I don't know if they're just being overly cautious or what.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Not at all. He's perfectly healthy but because we live in an apartment, they said the risk of picking up parvo was higher. Apparently it's going around right now too so they were pretty adament about it. They even said we might consider taking our shoes off before entering the apartment so we didn't bring anything in.

We had been taking him outside for the first week we had him prior to getting his first shots. Needless to say, we were worried sick for about two weeks hoping no symptoms would show up. I don't know if they're just being overly cautious or what.

How old is he and how many shots has he had?

We didn't use pads with Apollo, but we didn't need to, he seriously trained himself. 10 weeks old and he's sitting at the door asking to go out....we used them with Arty and are regretting it as getting him to poop outside now has become the HUGEST struggle ever. Peeing's not a problem, but poop...yah, no.

 

[Smokeycat]

I got Jiggers at 6 weeks and decided to try them since there was going to a couple of hours that nobody was going to be able to keep an eye on him. He thought they were great toys but never actually used them. At 11 weeks Kryten was old enough to learn to hold it for that time span so it wasn't an issue this time.

 

[Gunny]

How old is he and how many shots has he had?

12.5 weeks old. He's had his first two sets.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Both my two had VERY good titers after their first two shots, which means that they had immunity to parvo and distemper. Ask your vet about titering, I hate seeing you never taking him outside during these weeks. They really do need it. You can still give him the third shot if it makes you more comfortable, but yah. I understand the parvo risks, but he needs the outside exposure too.

 

[mkj878]

Both my two had VERY good titers after their first two shots, which means that they had immunity to parvo and distemper. Ask your vet about titering, I hate seeing you never taking him outside during these weeks. They really do need it. You can still give him the third shot if it makes you more comfortable, but yah. I understand the parvo risks, but he needs the outside exposure too.

I agree, if its even just to take him to places that no dogs go. Like a car trip to a drive through window for food, or anything, he needs socialization and outside time.

 

[Gunny]

I agree, if its even just to take him to places that no dogs go. Like a car trip to a drive through window for food, or anything, he needs socialization and outside time.

We've taken him to the drive through a few times but we always carry him to the truck and back in so he's not on the ground. Today we're going to look at some houses so I think we may bring him along.

 

[mkj878]

We've taken him to the drive through a few times but we always carry him to the truck and back in so he's not on the ground. Today we're going to look at some houses so I think we may bring him along.

That sounds like a plan, just avoid places were infected dogs could've been. Mac is 9 weeks old and we've gone to a million places already.

 

[metaldad904]

I don't see the point in using them at all, it encourages a dog to use the potty inside which is a big no no. Anytime i've seen someone that used them consistently the dog had accidents quite often and did for a long time even after being trained outdoors. It's best to just get them on a schedule, let them out every hour or other hour and slowly increase the time in between once they become used to it. They will start to tell you when they need to go.